Belgium was represented by Emly Starr, with the song '"Samson", at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Dublin on 4 April. The Belgian preselection consisted of three heats, followed by the final on 7 March. All the shows took place at the Amerikaans Theater in Brussels, hosted by Luc Appermont. Future Belgian representatives Stella Maessen (1982) and Liliane Saint-Pierre (1987) also took part in the 1981 selection.
Semi-finals
Three heats were held with twelve songs in each, from which the top ten songs across the heats went forward to the final. The songs were not voted on at the time, but after the final heat a recap of all 36 songs was broadcast and viewers were then invited to vote for ten of the songs. Voting took place by the unusual means of filling out and submitting a lottery-style form. Prizes such as cars, holidays and home entertainment equipment were on offer to those who managed to forecast all ten qualifying songs correctly, and it is believed that over 180,000 forms were sent in. This led to some criticism that viewers were being asked to vote not for their own favourite songs, but rather for those which they thought would have the widest appeal to other people.[1]
Heat 1
14 February 1981
Draw
Artist
Song
Qualification
1
Della Bosiers
"Mij kan niets meer gebeuren"
N
2
Ronald
"Als man iemand so bemint"
N
3
Jacky Lafon
"Dag meneer"
N
4
Jeff Elbers
"Gummibal"
N
5
Fancy Free
"De wereld is een showtoneel"
Y
6
Jo Vally
"De wereld draait"
N
7
Anne-Marie
"Twee is teveel"
N
8
John Sates
"Topconditie"
N
9
De Opers
"De opera"
Y
10
Gene Summer
"Zing het maar"
Y
11
Perte Totale
"Compagnie verliefd"
N
12
Johnny White
"Op dat kamertje voor ons twee"
N
Heat 2
21 February 1981
Draw
Artist
Song
Qualification
1
Jennifer
"In mijn armen"
N
2
Rick Heylen Group
"Vanavond en vannacht"
N
3
Stella
"Veel te veel"
Y
4
Dorina
"Het ware geluk"
N
5
Patty Devick
"Daar waar liefde is"
N
6
Cindy
"Ik ben verliefd"
N
7
Mary Helena
"Liefde is..."
N
8
Bea Cardon
"Elke traan"
N
9
Peter En Zout
"Eens was het anders"
N
10
Ria Geraerts
"Dromen bouwen"
N
11
Ann Michel
"Ik ben gelukkig"
Y
12
Claire
"Zonder jou"
N
Heat 3
28 February 1981
Draw
Artist
Song
Qualification
1
Johann Stollz
"Hello Hello"
Y
2
Nancy Dee
"Blij bij je te zijn"
N
3
Mary Scott
"Ik ga weg van jou"
N
4
Mark Manuel
"Marianne uit vroegen dagen"
N
5
Kathy & Nancy
"Zaterdagavond"
N
6
Emly Starr
"Samson en Delilah"
Y
7
Lester & Denwood
"Bonnie"
Y
8
Lode de Ceuster
"Dit wijsje vond ik in jouw ogen"
N
9
Mik Deboes
"Ik kom terug"
N
10
Venus
"Talisman"
Y
11
Liliane Saint-Pierre
"Brussel"
Y
12
Karin Setter
"Es war een tijd"
N
Final
The national final was held on 7 March with the winning song chosen by a 7-member "expert" jury. Only the winner was announced, but it is understood that Liliane Saint-Pierre came second[2]
7 March 1981
Draw
Artist
Song
Place
1
Fancy Free
"De wereld is een showtoneel"
-
2
De Opera
"De opera"
-
3
Gene Summer
"Zing het maar"
-
4
Stella
"Veel te veel"
-
5
Ann Michel
"Ik ben gelukkig"
-
6
Johann Stollz
"Hello, Hello"
-
7
Emly Starr
"Samson en Delilah"
1
8
Lester & Denwood
"Bonnie"
-
9
Venus
"Talisman"
-
10
Liliane Saint-Pierre
"Brussel"
2 ?
At Eurovision
Prior to the contest, the song title was shortened to "Samson". On the night of the final Starr performed 16th in the running order, following Portugal and preceding Greece. At the close of the voting "Samson" had received 40 points (the highest being 8 from Yugoslavia), placing Belgium 13th of the 20 entries. The Belgian jury awarded its 12 points to Denmark.[3]
Belgium
Denmark
Germany
United Kingdom
Cyprus
Greece
Yugoslavia
Sweden
France
Netherlands
Ireland