Country Belgium Selected entrant Micha Marah Final result 18th=, 5 points | Selection process Eurosong Selected song "Hey Nana" | |
Selection date(s) 3, 10, 17 & 24 February 1979
3 March 1979 | ||
Belgium was represented by the song "Hey Nana", performed by Micha Marah at the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Jerusalem on 31 May. Although the Belgian preselection consisted of only six songs (all performed by Marah), broadcaster BRT managed to spin out the selection process for five weeks by means of a one-off format which, rather unsurprisingly, was never used again. All the shows were held at the Amerikaans Theater in Brussels and hosted by Karl Buts.
Semi-finals
Four semi-finals were held in February 1979 to select the three songs to progress to the final. In the first three semi-finals the lowest-placed song, after a public vote, was eliminated, leaving three songs in the fourth semi-final, where they were joined by Marah's own second-chance choice from the three previously eliminated songs. In the fourth semi-final, again the bottom song was eliminated and the three survivors went on to the final. Many found the whole process - whereby it had taken four weeks to narrow six songs down to three - somewhat absurd and pointless, particularly as the three songs which ended up qualifying for the final had been the top three songs in every round of voting.