3minBelgium

Belgium’s Eurovision performances used nation branding to advertise their country to all of those around the world. Sometimes advertisements do not correctly portray the product, and that is the case here with Belgium. Their use of nation branding did not reflect their national identity. Paul Jordan defines nation banding as “ the phenomenon by which governments engage in self-conscious activities aimed at producing a certain image of the nation state (Bolin & Ståhlberg, 2010, p. 82), can be understood as a commercial practice … as a means for a nation state to redefine and reposition itself within the master narrative of globalization (Jansen 2008).” (Jordan, 2014, P.16) Belgium’s Eurovision performances from 2015-2017 participate in nation branding, and in this blog post I will examine how this compares to the country’s national identity.             In Blog Post One I highlighted that Belgium is a young country that ha...

      Eurovision performances often tell a story but are portrayed in different ways. Choices are made with a distinct purpose, especially since over 180 million people will be watching a single three-minute performance to be forever associated with the country. Belgium’s choices of Eurovision performers and types of performances can show how they want to be represented as a country and their stance on diversity.         Belgium’s Loïc Nottet was only 17 years old when he was on stage for the Eurovision Finals in 2015 but was not afraid to show the world a unique performance. He performed a song called “Rhythm Inside” (2015) in Vienna. Nottet performed with much passion and confidence. He stood out from the other performers on stage due to a contrast in colors of clothing. He was wearing black while the backup performers were wearing all white. The performance was different than traditional Eurovision performances. He was never in the middle of t...