| Year: | 1998 |
| Broadcaster: | French: [[RTBF|Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française]]|i=no (RTBF) |
| Country: | Belgium |
| Preselection: | French: Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998 |
| Preselection Date: | 13 March 1998 |
| Entrant: | Mélanie Cohl |
| Song: | French: Dis oui|i=no |
| Final Result: | 6th, 122 points |
| Prev: | 1996 |
Belgium was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "French: Dis oui|i=no", written by Philippe Swan, and performed by Mélanie Cohl. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Walloon French: [[RTBF|Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française]]|i=no (RTBF), selected its entry through a national final. The entry placed sixth out of the 25 entries, scoring 122 points.
See main article: Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to the 1998 contest, Belgium had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in .[1] Since then, they have won the contest on one occasion with the song "French: [[J'aime la vie]]|i=no", performed by Sandra Kim. In, the latest Belgian entry, "Dutch; Flemish: Liefde is een kaartspel|i=no" by Lisa del Bo placed sixteenth.
The Belgian participation in the contest alternates between two broadcasters: Flemish Dutch; Flemish: [[VRT (broadcaster)|Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie]]|i=no (VRT) and Walloon French: [[RTBF|Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française]]|i=no (RTBF) at the time, with both broadcasters sharing the broadcasting rights. Both broadcasters –and their predecessors– had selected the Belgian entry using national finals and internal selections in the past. RTBF had the turn to participate in 1998. The broadcaster returned to the contest after a two-year absence following Belgium's relegation from as one of the six countries with the least average points over the preceding four contests. RTBF selected its entry for the 1998 contest through the national final French: Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998.[2]
French: Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998 was the national final organised by RTBF to select its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. 128 entries were received for the competition following a submission period, from which ten acts were selected by a committee chaired by Head of the RTBF variety and entertainment department Pierre Meyer and announced on 12 December 1997.[3] The national final was broadcast live at 20:20 CET on 13 March 1998 on La Une from Studio 6 in the RTBF Studios in Brussels and was hosted by Jean-Pierre Hautier.[4] [5] The winner, "Dis oui" performed by Mélanie Cohl, was selected solely by public televoting with the results being revealed by Belgium's six regions: four provinces in Wallonia with votes from Namur and Luxembourg being combined, a "Rest of Belgium" region made up of votes from Flanders, and Brussels.[6] [7] [8]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Televote | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexis | "Rien qu'une passagère" | Jacques Broun, Alexis Vanderheyden | 2,661 | 5 | |
| 2 | Betty | "Ferme la porte à tes larmes" | Pierre Theunis | 1,761 | 7 | |
| 3 | Valérie Buggea | "Dans quel monde" | Daniel Willem, Joseph Reynaerts, Damir Ceric | 1,131 | 10 | |
| 4 | Curt Close | "Ton image" | Curt Close | 2,503 | 6 | |
| 5 | Mélanie Cohl | "Dis oui" | Philippe Swan | 15,424 | 1 | |
| 6 | Alain Colard and Sabrine | "Pour t'entendre encore" | Alain Colard | 2,700 | 4 | |
| 7 | Maira | "Ma séduction" | Christian Vidal, Wota, M. Pools | 1,217 | 9 | |
| 8 | Les Mas | "Ils sont là" | Asukulu Yunu Mukalay | 11,021 | 2 | |
| 9 | Dida Robbert | "Tant besoin de toi" | Luc Mourinet | 1,227 | 8 | |
| 10 | Manon Selyn | "Tu es libre" | Martine Cugnon, Adelin Deltenre | 4,831 | 3 |
| 1 | "Rien qu'une passagère" | 53 | 147 | 159 | 2,008 | 112 | 182 | 2,661 | |
| 2 | "Ferme la porte à tes larmes" | 75 | 434 | 216 | 650 | 121 | 265 | 1,761 | |
| 3 | "Dans quel monde" | 103 | 128 | 80 | 459 | 151 | 210 | 1,131 | |
| 4 | "Ton image" | 159 | 378 | 229 | 704 | 450 | 583 | 2,503 | |
| 5 | "Dis oui" | 1,002 | 5,281 | 1,690 | 2,228 | 2,565 | 2,658 | 15,424 | |
| 6 | "Pour t'entendre encore" | 229 | 546 | 375 | 434 | 290 | 756 | 2,700 | |
| 7 | "Ma séduction" | 69 | 219 | 147 | 404 | 174 | 204 | 1,217 | |
| 8 | "Ils sont là" | 942 | 3,851 | 1,211 | 1,443 | 1,303 | 2,271 | 11,021 | |
| 9 | "Tant besoin de toi" | 79 | 217 | 129 | 152 | 190 | 460 | 1,227 | |
| 10 | "Tu es libre" | 326 | 896 | 1,054 | 727 | 540 | 1,288 | 4,831 |
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the eight countries which had obtained the lowest average number of points over the last five contests competed in the final on 9 May 1998. On 13 November 1997, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Belgium was set to perform in position 20, following the entry from and before the entry from .[9] [10] The day before the contest, Belgium was considered one of the favourites among bookmakers to win the competition, featuring alongside the entries from the, Sweden,, and the .[11] Belgium finished in sixth place with 122 points.[12]
The contest was broadcast in Belgium by both the Flemish and Walloon broadcasters. VRT broadcast the show on TV1 and Radio 2 with commentary in Dutch by André Vermeulen and Andrea Croonenberghs.[13] [14] [15] RTBF televised the show on La Une with commentary in French by Jean-Pierre Hautier.[16] RTBF appointed Marie-Hélène Vanderborght as its spokesperson to announce the results of the Belgian televote during the final.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Belgium and awarded by Belgium in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to the Netherlands in the contest.