Jean-Pierre Hautier’s Eurovision adventure began in 1992, in Dublin. “I started out as a presenter at about the same time that the eastern countries entered the contest. They arrived with their biggest stars and gave a new life to the Eurovision, which was slowly starting to fill out. In my opinion, this was the factor that relaunched the Eurovision.”

A fervent defender of our candidates, Jean-Pierre Hautier has known all the steps of Belgium’s path, from Mélanie Cohl to Urban Trad, from unexpected victories to the most stinging of defeats. He could see the passion of the Nordic countries for the Eurovision, where the old glories continued to reproduce themselves with the same success, without being seen as old-fashioned.

“I’ve had the chance to travel quite a bit thanks to the Eurovision, and I can tell you that there is a big buzz in the air in the Nordic countries, they really go all out. These are professionals who really know how to put on a show. The proof of their skills: the team (directors, technicians) that puts together the Eurovision events is Swedish.”

Over the course of his 15 years of Eurovision, despite the commercial aspect of the event and the “formatting” of the music, Jean-Pierre Hautier has known some unique moments, like the appearance of the famous Dana International who represented Israel in 1998. “Her song will go down in history, just like Abba’s Waterloo, Celine Dion’s Ne partez pas sans moi (“Don’t leave without me”) or Sandra Kim’s J’aime la vie (“I love life”).

“The second place won by Urban Trad is also proof that the quality of Eurovision is improving. It took a lot of nerve to represent ourselves with a slightly adjusted folk song. It was a real risk. And as soon as one group does something different, the next year they are always emulated. Five or six groups, influenced by current trends, want to do the same thing.”

“As a television viewer, I find that the Eurovision has never had as great a reason for existing as now, with the continuing expansion of Europe. It is interesting to see what countries like Slovenia or Belarus propose, to discover their trends.”

So do we select a good song, in Belgium, for example?

“It is terribly difficult to find an original song. Yet God knows we enjoy a very rich musical scene for a small country like Belgium. It is important to have flair, to not hesitate to go against the current, to already be in tomorrow’s era. It’s a poker game each time. The programme “Pour la Gloire” (“For the Glory”) has served as a springboard for young artists, and allowed us to discover Mélanie Cohl. Another question would be to ask which are the best judges to select a song: world music specialists or the public who vote for their favourite candidate?

Semi-final: Thursday 10 May 2007 on RTBF La Une (One)

Final: Saturday May 12, 2007 on RTBF La Une (One)

Like every year, you can enjoy the semi-finals and the grand finals of the Eurovision Song Contest live from Helsinki, on the RTBF channel La Une (One).

Jean-Pierre Hautier, with his 15 years of experience as a Eurovision commentator, will be on hand.

For Leslie Cable, TV producer, “The Eurovision is without a doubt the largest cultural event worldwide and the one that receives the most media coverage on a global scale. It is an extraordinary event because 40 nations with different cultures and mentalities put themselves on an equal footing in the framework of a contest. The 40 delegates, in the space of one week, come together, creating links and exchanges.”

“The broadcast, sold well beyond the borders of the EBU’s members (in Australia and the United States), brings together over 300 million television viewers. In most of the countries, the Eurovision Song Contest is the largest viewing audience of the year and is a highlight of TV programming. Since last year, there has been a net renewal of interest of 20% more audience for the Eurovision than in the past 10 years. The Eurovision Song Contest has again become a programme to watch with family or friends, and for which viewers play at forecasting points. It must be said that since 2006, the quality of the songs presented is much higher.”

“One often hears the public say that the dice are loaded because the eastern countries or the Nordic countries vote between themselves for each others’ candidates. But the analyses prove that this phenomenon doesn’t come into play for the top of the list. The three best songs really are the best!”

“The organisation of the programme in Belgium alternates between the RTBF and the VRT. This year, it is the RTBF’s turn. Throughout the years there have been many different ways of selecting the Belgian candidate. We have had national selections (for Mélanie Cohl in 1998) and internal selections (for Urban Trad in 2003 or this year with The KMG’s). The KMG’s achieved unanimity. Without working together, several people had seen them or heard them, at the Spa Francofolies, among other places. And the opinions converged into one consensus: it was THE group which should represent us this year.”

BY RADIO

On Saturday 24 February 24 at 9:00 A.M., VivaCité is making an appointment with its listeners for an important, exclusive event: the very first broadcast on the air waves of the song that will represent Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest! From that date, RTBF’s “proximité” radio will ensure that the song is played on heavy rotation.

On Monday 26 February, VivaCité is offering a second, not-to-be-missed broadcast: Thomas Van Hamme will conduct one of the group’s first radio interviews in his A vous de voir (For you to see) programme (3:30 P.M. to 5:30 P.M.)

And that’s not all: during the 15 days preceding the Eurovision, VivaCité will organise a contest to send some lucky listeners to Helsinki in order to take part in the semi-finals and finals.  

Finally, on Saturday 12 May, the RTBF radio will broadcast the entire contest live in a special programme.