Belgium was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1963 with the song "", composed by with lyrics by Wim Brabants, and performed by Jacques Raymond. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Dutch-speaking (BRT), selected its entry through a national final. Raymond had previously finished second in the , and would later represent the country in a duet with Lily Castel in .
Before Eurovision
was the national final format developed by Dutch-speaking broadcaster (BRT) which determined the song that would represent Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest 1963. The competition consisted of nine semi-finals held between October 1962 and February 1963, and a final on 16 February 1963.
Canzonissima 1963 was the first of four series of the show, with seasons in , 1967–1968, and . The 1966–1967 and 1970–1971 editions of the show acted as BRT's national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in their respective years. The Canzonissima format would also inspire the format for , the first edition of Eurosong – the long-term Dutch-speaking selection for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Format 1963 consisted of nine semi-finals and final. Each semi-final consisted of twelve songs which would be scored by a jury panel and through audience voting. The top three songs from each semi-final qualified to the next semi-final, whilst the remaining songs would be eliminated and be replaced with new songs in the next semi-final. For a song to qualify to the final, it would have to finish in the top three in three consecutive semi-finals.
Since songs introduced in semi-finals 8 and 9 could not participate in three semi-finals, the rules for qualification were changed in semi-final 9. Instead, songs would have to get more than the average number of points that every song that qualified to the final got in their last semi-final.
Competing entries Twelve artists, chosen by BRT, competed in 1963: Bob Benny, Chris Ellis, , , Jacques Raymond, , Jo Leemans, Lieve Olga, Lize Marke, , Staf Wesenbeek, and Will Ferdy. However, a list published by prior to the start of the first show claimed that Chris Wijnen would compete, instead of Bob Benny.
BRT opened submission periods for interested composers for all nine semi-finals separately. The submission deadline for each semi-final was 21 days prior to the airing of that semi-final. All submissions had to be anonymous (the names of the songwriter(s) of an entry were only revealed after a song was chosent to compete), include the lyrics and at least a piano score of the song, not have been published beforehand, and had to last no longer than 3½ minutes. A total of 88 songs were chosen to compete in 1963.
The songwriter(s) of a song were allowed to pick which of the twelve artists they would like to perform their song. However, BRT did not always follow the songwriter(s) recommendation. If a songwriter did not specify an artist then the same jury that chose the competing entries would select an artist for them. +Competing entries and respective performers (in the semi-finals)ArtistSongSongwriter(s)Composer(s)Lyricist(s)Bob Benny"Dans een polka"A. VetsyFrankie Woods"Estramadura"P. VanondzeilYvonne Lex"Kleine blauwe zwaluw"Armand Preud'homme"Mia bella Marinella"Fer Roes"Morgen is 't weer vakantietijd"Jacques Raymond"Twee harten"Henri Wolfaert"Van hart tot hart"And. SimonsChris Ellis"Geen eigenwijze nozem"Leon van IngelgemHektor van den Eede"In de lente van mijn leven"André Frère"In Shangai""Paris"Roger Snoeck"Toen... werd ik verliefd""Veel mooier"Jean MarrynM. Demil"De eerste melodie"Nelly D'HondtFrans Buermans"Heimwee naar mijn dorpje"Armand Beliën"Laat ons dromen"Jean CortiLeopold Loos"Leugens"Marcel Hellemans"Mijn droom is voorbij"Omer de CockFrans Buermans"Song festival"Marcel Hellemans"Verlangen"Marcel Hellemans"Wanneer de rozen bloeien""De lente in mijn hart"Cl. MoreauFrankie Woods"Dingen waarvan ik veel hou"M. van der Linden"Namanouito"Roger Snoeck"O wist je"L. Logie"Ontrouw"François VermettenJacques Raymond"De oude berkenboom"Guido Van HoveEmiel Van Hove"Denk steeds aan mij"A. GorkE. Nelly"Het beloofde land"Paul QuintensPhil van Cauwenbergh"Het geluk""Illusie"Jacques Raymond"Fata morgana"Ernie Sons"Langs de blauwe wegen"Valeer Van Kerckhoven"Romantiek"Val Dewaert"Voorbij""Waarom?""Als je lacht... (ben je veel mooier)"Leonard van Dijck"Belinda""Blauw, blauw"A. VetsyFrankie Woods"De gouden wals"Paul Bouveroux"Erna""Hello aardig meisje"Wilfried De Puydt"Op mijn schildersatelier""Snel gaat de tijd""Stof en as"Frans BuermansJo Leemans"'k Ben zo gelukkig""Een lied"Paul QuintensPhil Van Cauwenbergh"Er zweeft een engel"Willy Hartman"Kleurensymfonie"Anton Peters"Levensdroom"Jacques Raymond"Mambo op het strand"Jo Deensen"Meer dan eens"Val Dewaert"Zo mooi"Pol DorloisLieve Olga"Con amore"Marius MarioHuby Hermans"Ik hou van Antwerpen""Vierentwintig uren"Franz van den Bosch"Zij aan zij"A. van SteyvoortNelly BylLize Marke"3 x 3 = 9"Valeer Van Kerckhoven"Alleen maar 'liedjes zingen'"Armand BeliënGust Van Gool"Het houten brugje"B. Gillaerts"Luister naar de wind"André PoppeLia Cliquet"Mijn engel""Saksisch porselein"Pol Dorlois"Troubadour"Pol Dorlois"Antonio""Dat is hij"Marcel Denies"Dromen"Ernie Sons"Er speelt een orgel"Ernie Sons"Het sprookje"Ernie Sons"Mijn kleine gouden ster""'t Was met mimosa""Zeg mij dat mijn hart"Staf Wesenbeek"Als jij maar bij me bent"Ben Maes"Blij refrein"Willy Claes"Dat klein gebaar"André Van SteyvoortLieve Van Steyvoort"Dromen aan 't kanaal"Franz van den Bosch"Heimwee naar jou"Jacques Raymond"Kom, zeg me eens"Val. DewaertKestens-Dewaert"Nooit meer""Slechts jij alleen"Paul QuintensPhil Van Cauwenbergh"Zonder jou"Will Ferdy"Dag lieve juffrouw lente"Armand Preud'hommeLode Verbeeck"'k Had het willen zien""Het straatje"Henri Cordon"Kleine jongen""Lente""Ode aan de zon""Toen"J. Marinto
Shows
Semi-finals Voting in the semi-finals was done by an applause meter and a 5-member jury panel. The applause meter gave out 1 to 50 points depending on how loud the applause from the audience was, but since it only counted noise, boos were also counted by the applause meter. The 5-member jury panel consisted of Pieter Leemans, Jef Claessen, , , and Gerd Mertens, who would each give out 1 to 10 points to every song. +Semi-final 1 – 13 October 1962 Artist Song Public Jury Total Place Result 1 Jo Leemans "Mambo op het strand" 19 23 42 9 2 Staf Wesenbeek "Dromen aan 't kanaal" 34 39 73 2 Advanced 3 Lieve Olga "Vierentwintig uren" 16 26 42 9 4 Jacques Raymond "Het beloofde land" 25 23 48 7 5 Lize Marke "Saksisch porselein" 27 45 72 3 Advanced 6 "Dingen waarvan ik veel hou" 15 29 44 8 7 Will Ferdy "Dag lieve juffrouw lente" 21 39 60 5 8 "'t Was met mimosa" 13 26 39 12 9 Bob Benny "Kleine blauwe zwaluw" 50 36 86 1 Advanced10 Chris Ellis "Paris" 29 39 68 4 11 "Als je lacht... (ben je veel mooier)" 15 42 57 6 12 "Laat ons dromen" 19 23 42 9
+Semi-final 2 – 27 October 1962 Artist Song Public Jury Total Place Result 1 Bob Benny "Mia bella Marinella" 38 33 71 5 2 "De eerste melodie" 32 25 57 9 3 Staf Wesenbeek "Dromen aan 't kanaal" 32 31 63 8 4 Lize Marke "Het houten brugje" 45 29 74 3 Advanced 5 "Op mijn schildersatelier" 25 22 47 12 6 "Dat is hij 36 19 55 11 7 Jacques Raymond "Voorbij" 32 32 64 7 8 Lize Marke "Saksisch porselein" 45 41 86 1 Advanced 9 Staf Wesenbeek "Dat klein gebaar" 31 26 57 9 10 Bob Benny "Kleine blauwe zwaluw" 41 31 72 4 11 Jo Leemans "'k Ben zo gelukkig" 43 26 69 6 12 Will Ferdy "Ode aan de zon" 43 33 76 2 Advanced
+Semi-final 3 – 10 November 1962 Artist Song Public Jury Total Place Result 1 Will Ferdy "Kleine jongen" 33 25 58 10 2 Lize Marke "Het houten brugje" 45 30 75 4 3 "De gouden wals" 31 29 60 9 4 Jo Leemans "Levensdroom" 41 20 61 8 5 "Namanouito" 38 19 57 11 6 Lieve Olga "Ik hou van Antwerpen" 34 18 52 12 7 Will Ferdy "Ode aan de zon" 50 30 80 3 Disqualified 8 "Er speelt een orgel" 46 38 84 2 Advanced 9 Staf Wesenbeek "Zonder jou" 50 22 72 6 10 Lize Marke "Saksisch porselein" 50 41 91 1 Qualified 11 Jacques Raymond "Langs de blauwe wegen" 43 31 74 5 12 Chris Ellis "Toen... werd ik verliefd 50 22 72 6
After semi-final 3, "Ode aan de zon" was disqualified as it was released by the composer Henk van Montfoort. Because of this, the 4th places of semi-final 2 and semi-final 3 were added to semi-final 4, causing it to have 14 songs instead of 12. +Semi-final 4 – 24 November 1962 Artist Song Public Jury Total Place Result 1 Jacques Raymond "Illusie" 34 30 64 9 2 Chris Ellis "In Shangai" 38 17 55 13 3 Staf Wesenbeek "Nooit meer" 36 19 55 13 4 "Er speelt een orgel" 44 36 80 1 Advanced 5 Bob Benny "Van hart tot hart" 37 32 69 6 6 Lize Marke "Het houten brugje" 36 30 66 7 7 Jacques Raymond "Het geluk" 42 23 65 8 8 Bob Benny "Kleine blauwe zwaluw" 47 32 79 2 Disqualified 9 Lieve Olga "Zij aan zij" 44 20 64 9 10 "O wist je" 44 26 70 5 11 Jo Leemans "Zo mooi" 41 30 71 4 12 "Hello aardig meisje" 32 25 57 12 13 "Mijn droom is voorbij" 40 35 75 3 Advanced 14 Staf Wesenbeek "Als jij maar bij me bent" 35 25 60 11
After semi-final 4, "Kleine blauwe zwaluw" was disqualified as Bob Benny had published the song. Instead, "Zo mooi" by Jo Leemans qualified for the next semi-final.
+Semi-final 5 – 8 December 1962 Artist Song Public Jury Total Place Result 1 "Antonio" 35 21 56 9 2 Lize Marke "Alleen maar 'liedjes zingen'" 37 26 63 4 3 "Belinda" 35 24 59 7 4 "Heimwee naar mijn dorpje" 23 21 44 12 5 Jo Leemans "Een lied" 30 28 58 8 6 Will Ferdy "'k Had het willen zien" 25 36 61 5 7 "Er speelt een orgel" 36 39 75 1 Qualified 8 Lieve Olga "Con amore" 42 24 66 3 Advanced 9 Bob Benny "Morgen is 't weer vakantietijd" 25 30 55 10 10 Chris Ellis "Geen eigenwijze nozem" 28 27 55 10 11 "Mijn droom is voorbij" 21 39 60 6 12 Jo Leemans "Zo mooi" 37 35 72 2 Advanced
+Semi-final 6 – 22 December 1962 Artist Song Public Jury Total Place Result 1 Jacques Raymond "Fata morgana" 25 18 43 10 2 Chris Ellis "In de lente van mijn leven" 24 15 39 12 3 Stef Wesenbeek "Blij refrein" 30 21 51 7 4 "Dromen" 34 33 67 1 Advanced 5 "De lente in mijn hart" 26 20 46 9 6 Jo Leemans "Zo mooi" 25 37 62 3 Qualified 7 "Blauw, blauw" 28 20 48 8 8 "Song festival" 33 23 56 6 9 Jacques Raymond "De oude berkenboom" 26 32 58 5 10 Lieve Olga "Con amore" 42 22 66 2 Advanced 11 Stef Wesenbeek "Slechts jij alleen" 26 17 43 10 12 Lize Marke "3 x 3 = 9" 37 25 62 3 Advanced
+Semi-final 7 – 5 January 1963 Artist Song Public Jury Total Place Result 1 "Dromen" 29 34 63 4 2 Stef Wesenbeek "Heimwee naar jou" 23 24 47 9 3 Lize Marke "3 x 3 = 9" 34 27 61 5 4 Jacques Raymond "Waarom?" 34 32 66 2 Advanced 5 "Leugens" 27 26 53 6 6 "Stof en as" 20 20 40 11 7 Lieve Olga "Con amore" 39 25 64 3 Qualified 8 Jo Leemans "Er zweeft een engel" 24 27 51 8 9 Bob Benny "Twee harten" 27 25 52 7 10 Lize Marke "Luister naar de wind" 41 39 80 1 Advanced 11 Will Ferdy "Het straatje" 17 20 37 12 12 "Het sprookje" 23 24 47 9
+Semi-final 8 – 19 January 1963 Artist Song Public Jury Total Place Result 1 Jacques Raymond "Romantiek" 28 21 49 7 2 "Verlangen" 23 26 49 7 3 "Snel gaat de tijd" 18 27 45 10 4 Lize Marke "Mijn engel" 41 21 62 3 Advanced 5 Will Ferdy "Lente" 28 29 57 5 6 Jo Leemans "Meer dan eens" 29 31 60 4 7 Stef Wesenbeek "Kom, zeg me eens" 24 23 47 9 8 Jacques Raymond "Waarom?" 31 34 65 2 Advanced 9 Lize Marke "Luister naar de wind" 50 40 90 1 Advanced 10 Bob Benny "Dans een polka" 34 21 55 6 11 "Mijn kleine gouden ster" 22 22 44 11 12 "Ontrouw" 21 18 39 12
+Semi-final 9 – 2 February 1963 Artist Song Public Jury Total Place Result 1 Chris Ellis "Veel mooier" 19 19 38 12 2 Jacques Raymond "Denk steeds aan mij" 29 28 57 5 3 Lize Marke "Mijn engel" 31 22 53 7 4 Will Ferdy "Toen" 38 19 57 5 5 "Wanneer de rozen bloeien" 16 24 40 11 6 "Erna" 25 24 49 8 7 Lize Marke "Troubadour" 31 28 59 4 8 "Zeg mij dat mijn hart" 22 23 45 10 9 Jacques Raymond "Waarom?" 41 35 76 2 Qualified 10 Lize Marke "Luister naar de wind" 50 39 89 1 Qualified 11 Bob Benny "Estramadura" 35 27 62 3 12 Jo Leemans "Kleurensymfonie" 16 32 48 9