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Eurovision Song Contest 1967
Participating broadcaster	Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (BRT)
Country	Belgium
National selection
Selection process	Canzonissima
Selection date(s)	25 February 1967
Selected artist(s)	Louis Neefs
Selected song	"Ik heb zorgen"
Selected songwriter(s)	Paul Quintens Phil van Cauwenbergh
Finals performance
Final result	7th, 8 points
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1966 • 1967 • 1968►

Belgium was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1967 with the song "Ik heb zorgen", composed by Paul Quintens, with lyrics by Phil van Cauwenbergh, and performed by Louis Neefs. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Flemish Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (BRT), selected its entry through a national final. Neefs would represent Belgium again in 1969.

Before Eurovision

Canzonissima

Canzonissima was the national final format developed by Flemish broadcaster Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (BRT) which determined the song that would represent Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest 1967. This was the 2nd edition of Canzonissima, after previously being used to select BRT's 1963 entry. The competition consisted of nine semi-finals held between October 1966 and February 1967, and a final on 25 February 1967. All shows were held in the Amerikaans Theater in Brussels, and hosted by Jan Theys.

Format

Canzonissima 1967 consisted of nine semi-finals and a final. Ten artists competed in each semi-final and the top three songs would appear again in the next semi-final, while the other seven artists would have to select new songs. For a song to qualify to the final, it would have to get top three in three consecutive semi-finals.

Competing Entries

BRT shortlisted 10 artists for Canzonissima 1967: Rita Deneve, Kalinka [nl; ro], Marva, Ann Soetaert [nl], Chris Wijnen, Hugo Dellas [nl], Jimmy Frey [nl; vls], Louis Neefs, Ronny Temmer [nl], and Will Tura. However, Will Tura was eventually replaced by Johnny White [nl] for unknown reasons. A total of 70 songs took part in Canzonissima 1967.

Shows

Semi-finals

Voting in the semi-finals was done by a 10-member jury panel. Since songs introduced in semi-finals 8 or 9 could not get to the top 3 in 3 semi-finals and qualify for the final, the rules to qualify for the final were changed for semi-final 9. Songs had to receive at least 72.1 points, the average number of points that every song that qualified to the final got in their last semi-final.

After Semi-final 1, Louis van Rymenant, Ann Soetaert's producer, filed a complaint against "Waar is de zomer" and "Wondermooi" for lasting over 3 minutes during the show, despite lasting under 3 minutes during rehearsals. The two songs were disqualified and the two songs tied for 4th place qualified instead.

Semi-final 2 was hosted by Willem Duys, as Jan Theys was sick.

Louis Neefs was absent from semi-final 3 as he was in Berlin for a TV programme and would have been too ill to return to Brussels in time.

Semi-final 6 was not broadcast live like the other eight semi-finals. It was recorded on the 30th December and broadcast on the 31st.

After Semi-final 8, Louis Neefs withdrew "Alleen met z'n tweeën" as he wanted to participate with a different song in semi-final 9.

After the songs were performed, "Je naam" and "Hoor je dat hart" were disqualified for lasting longer than 3 minutes.

Final

Even though eight songs qualified for the final, only seven songs took part, as Louis Neefs had decided to withdraw "Zij was zo mooi" in order not to run the risk of splitting his vote.

Voting was done by a 15-member jury who each gave one point to their favourite song. Only three of the songs registered any points on the board.

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Neefs performed 10th in the running order, following Germany and preceding eventual contest winners the United Kingdom. At the close of the voting "Ik heb zorgen" had received 8 points (the highest being 3 from Finland), placing Belgium 7th of the 17 participating countries. The highest marks from the Belgian jury were 3s to Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Voting

Points awarded to Belgium Score Country 3 points  Finland 1 point  Germany  Ireland  Portugal  United Kingdom  Yugoslavia

Points awarded by Belgium Score Country 3 points  Ireland  United Kingdom 1 point  Germany  Luxembourg  Spain  Yugoslavia

References

1. ^ Vermeulen, André (2021). Van Canzonissima tot Eurosong. 65 jaar Belgische preselecties voor het Eurovisiesongfestival. Leuven: Kritak. ISBN 978-94-014-7609-6. OCLC 1240241113.
2. ESC National Finals database - Belgium final 1967
3. ESC History - Belgium 1967
4. ^ "Results of the Final of Vienna 1967". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.

• Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
• Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1967
• 1967 in Belgian television