Belgium was represented by

Claude Lombard Claude Lombard (25 February 1945 – 20 September 2021) was a Belgian singer, best known internationally for her participation in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest. Early career Lombard studied at INSAS, a college of film, theatre and televisi ...

, with the song "Quand tu reviendras", at the

1968 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1968 was the 13th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's first victory at the with the song " Puppet on a String" by Sandie Shaw. Despite hav ...

, which took place on 6 April in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The song was chosen at the Belgian preselection, held on 13 February. Former Belgian representative Tonia (

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

) and future participant Nicole Josy (

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, as one half of

Nicole & Hugo Nicole and Hugo were a Belgian singing duo of Nicole Josy (born Nicole Van Pamel; 21 October 1946, Wemmel – 4 November 2022) and Hugo Sigal (born 10 November 1947 as Hugo Verbraeken, Leopoldstad/Léopoldville, now Kinshasa). Beginnings The du ...

) also took part.

Before Eurovision

Avante-Première Eurovision

''La Sélection Belge pour le Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1968'' was the national final format developed by RTB in order to select Belgium's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1968. The competition was held on 13 February 1968.

Competing entries

RTB, in collaboration with SABAM, selected 10 artists to participate in the contest, who each submitted their own song.

Final

The final was held on 13 February 1968, in the Studio Mathonet, in Evere, Brussels, from 20:30 to 21:15 CET, and was hosted by Paule Herreman. Ten songs competed in the contest, with the winner being decided upon by regional public juries from 4 Walloon provinces; Brussels, Liège, Mons, and Namur. The four juries each had 10 points which they could hand out to the songs.

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Lombard performed 3rd in the running order, following the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and preceding

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. At the close of the voting "Quand tu reviendras" had received 8 points (3 from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and 1 apiece from

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

), placing Belgium joint 7th (with

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

) of the 17 participating countries. The Belgian jury awarded 6 of its 10 points to France.ESC History - Belgium 1968
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Voting

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1968

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...