Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003

RTBF internally selected its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2003. RTBF asked record companies which records by Belgian artists will soon be on the market so that they can scout them for potential songs.^[3] On 18 December 2002, the broadcaster announced that they had selected the group Urban Trad to represent Belgium in Riga, performing the song "Sanomi" at the contest.^[4] The song was written by member of the group, Yves Barbieux, and was performed in imaginary language. "Sanomi" was also the first ever entry at the Eurovision Song Contest that was in imaginary language.^[5] On 31 March 2003, RTBF held a press conference in Brussels where the song was presented to the public. The music video for the song, filmed in late March 2003, was released on the same day of the presentation.^[6]

Following the announcement of the Belgian entrant, it was revealed by the Belgian State Security Service that one of the members of Urban Trad, Soetkin Collier, had been linked to extreme right wing political groups and has had two criminal records relating to participations in prohibited protests. It was alleged that Collier had also attended a commemorative event in honour of the Nazi leader Rudolf Hess in Antwerp in 1996. Following pressure from local politicians, RTBF announced on 19 February 2003 that Collier would not perform with the group at Eurovision.^[7][8] In July 2003, a report from Comité I, which monitors the Belgian State Security Service, was published that revealed that the time of the initial investigation into Soetkin Collier she had already been deemed as 'no longer a danger to democracy' for at least five years prior.^[3]

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the bottom five countries in the 2002 contest competed in the final on 24 May 2003.^[9] On 29 November 2002, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Belgium was set to perform in position 22, following the entry from Latvia and before the entry from Estonia.^[10] Belgium finished in second place with 165 points.^[11]

The contest was broadcast in Belgium by both the Flemish and Walloon broadcasters. VRT broadcast the show on TV1 with commentary in Dutch by André Vermeulen and Anja Daems.^[12] RTBF televised the shows on La Une with commentary in French by Jean-Pierre Hautier.^[13] The show was also broadcast by RTBF on La Première with commentary in French by Patrick Duhamel and Sophie Brems, and by VRT on Radio 2 with commentary in Dutch by Julien Put and Michel Follet.^{[citation needed]}

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Belgium and awarded by Belgium in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Turkey in the contest.^[14] RTBF appointed Corinne Boulangier as its spokesperson, to announced the Belgian votes during the show.^{[citation needed]}

Points awarded to Belgium[14] Score Country 12 points  France  Poland  Spain 10 points  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Ireland  Latvia  Netherlands  Ukraine 8 points  Estonia  Greece  Israel  Romania 7 points  Iceland  Turkey 6 points  Germany  Portugal 5 points  United Kingdom 4 points  Austria 3 points  Cyprus  Norway  Russia  Slovenia 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Belgium[14] Score Country 12 points  Turkey 10 points  Spain 8 points  Netherlands 7 points  Russia 6 points  Norway 5 points  Poland 4 points  Sweden 3 points  Iceland 2 points  Austria 1 point  Ireland