Prior to the 2018 contest, Belgium had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-nine times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in. Since then, the country has won the contest on one occasion in with the song "J'aime la vie" performed by Sandra Kim. Following the introduction of semi-finals for, Belgium had been featured in only six finals. However, in the last three previous contests Belgium had achieved three consecutive top ten results in the final. In 2017, Blanche represented the country with the song "City Lights", qualifying to the final and placing fourth. The Belgian broadcaster for the 2018 Contest, who broadcasts the event in Belgium and organises the selection process for its entry, was Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie. The Belgian participation in the contest alternates between two broadcasters: the Flemish VRT and the Walloon Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française. Both broadcasters have selected the Belgian entry using national finals and internal selections in the past. In 2016, VRT organised the national final Eurosong in order to select the Belgian entry, while in 2017 RTBF internally selected a contestant from the reality singing competition The Voice Belgique to represent the nation. On 9 May 2017, commentator for VRT Peter Van de Veire confirmed that Belgium would participate in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest and that the Belgian entry would be internally selected.
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
On 28 September 2017, VRT announced Sennek as the Belgian entrant at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 during the talk showVan Gils & gasten, aired on Één. The song, described by the singer as a "unique pop song with a mysterious feeling", was due to be revealed on 6 March 2018. However, it was leaked online on 4 March 2018.
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 29 January 2018, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Belgium was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 8 May 2018, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show. Once all the competing songs for the 2018 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Albania was set to perform in position 4, following the entry from Albania and preceding the entry from Czech Republic.
Semi-final
Sennek performed fourth in the first semi-final on 8 May, following Albania and preceding the Czech Republic. At the end of the night, Belgium was not one of the ten countries announced as proceeding to the grand final, making it their first non-qualification since 2014. It was later revealed that Belgium placed twelfth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 91 points: 20 points from the televoting and 71 points from the juries.
Voting
Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.
Points awarded to Belgium
Points awarded by Belgium
Split voting results
The following five members comprised the Belgian jury:
Bob Savenberg – Chairperson – singer, songwriter, musician, manager
