Report Card: Belgium at Eurovision in the 2020s

Image: EBU / Corinne Cumming

With five Eurovision Song Contests completed this decade, how is each nation faring?

In an ongoing series, the Aussievision team will rate the performance of each Eurovision nation in alphabetical order.

We’ll look back at their results from 2021 to 2025, their qualification record, give our team’s rating, and see how they stack up against other countries.

Belgium's Eurovision results of the 2020s

• 2021: Hooverphonic – The Wrong Place : 19th in the Grand Final

• 2022: Jérémie Makiese – Miss You : 19th in the Grand Final

• 2023: Gustaph – Because of You : 7th in the Grand Final

• 2024: Mustii – Before the Party’s Over : 13th in Semi-Final 2 (Did not qualify)

• 2025: Red Sebastian – Strobe Lights : 14th in Semi-Final 1 (Did not qualify)

• Top 10s: 20%

• Qualifications: 60%

Team rating of Belgium: 53.3%

We asked the Aussievision team to rate Belgium's Eurovision 2020s entries on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).

This gave us an average overall score from the nine contributors who voted. We then converted that into a percentage.

Belgium's score was: 53.3%

The scores ranged from 3/10 to 6/10, with five team members scoring 6/10.

Team comments

The bright light in the last few years is Gustaph. Hooverphonic and Jeremie Makiese were fine, but were never going to trouble the left hand side of the scoreboard. Sadly their last two entries flopped badly and both Belgian networks had high expectations for these artists. A 3/5 qualifying record is a pass- just, in this case. ~ Fleur

It's kind of hard to judge Belgium - you have two broadcasters, which work largely independently of each other and don't follow the same selection processes. Nonetheless (and this feels particularly notable in the last two years) what strikes me is that both broadcasters feel a little bit stuck in the past? Both Before the Party's Over and Strobe Lights feel like the sort of thing which would have brought the house down in 2014 - and as someone who was around 18 in 2014, that obviously reads well to me. Nonetheless, it feels a bit like both broadcasters need to read the room a bit better - Hooverphonic and Gustaph were fab, but they can't just keep hitting the 90s nostalgia button every time they want to qualify. Not a horrible run, but I Am Concerned. ~ Craig

2021 and 2022 were underrated, in my opinion, but 2023 is the point where its shine seems to fade. Loic Nottet, Blanche, and Laura Tesoro were perfect representatives for Belgium, but now, all of its momentum that the country experienced in the mid- to late 2010s fell flat starting from 2023, and it's high time for the country to change its approach. ~ John Christian

Although many people think of Loïc and Blanche results when it comes to Belgium's history at Eurovision, they generally struggle (50% qualifying record in the 2010s). So I don't necessarily mark down their 60% qualifying record here. However, their main issue is execution. They often have songs and artists (2024/2025 as examples) where they just get it wrong and underperform. If I had to think of a colour when it comes to Belgium in the 2020s it would be beige. It's there, it's often inoffensive, but it doesn't connect. Gustaph was the only bright light with his authenticity, dynamic staging and something that felt "real" compared to their other entries. ~ Dale

I would characterise Belgium's performance at Eurovision this decade as average. 60% qualification and one top ten is good, and the country is known to struggle in throughout its long long participation in the contest (fun fact it was the first country to score nul puan at Eurovision in 1962). However it is a prominent western European country with a sizeable population. Their last two entries blew big leads when it came to the betting, going from favourites to win to shock non-qualifiers. If there is something Belgium needs to work on this decade it is their staging, which turns potential winners into full on hot messes. ~ Sam

Updated rankings:

Here’s how the leaderboard looks so far in our 2020s Report Card series:

1st: Austria - 71.4%

2nd: Armenia - 70.8%

3rd: Albania - 67.5%

4th: Belgium - 53.3%

5th: Australia - 45.4%

6th: Azerbaijan - 32.5%

We'll see how they rank against other nations in the coming days and weeks.

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How would you rate Belgium at Eurovision in the 2020s?

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