Eurovision news: Belgium candidate Laura Groeseneken will go under the artist name Sennek to Portugal
Belgium to perform in the first semi-final
Vrijdag 26 januari 2018 — Our Belgian candidate has big news to share: she will be taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest under the artist name Sennek. VRT announced Laura’s candidacy the end of last September, she will be representing Belgium in Lisbon. Sennek is the name under which she has been making music for the last couple of years, and the name under which she will now be performing in Portugal. She is currently working on the song she will perform at the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon. Her song will be announced in the coming months.
What does Sennek mean? Laura explains:
"I've been making music under the artist name Sennek for a while now. I chose that name because it's a bit mysterious, and it also has a personal link: my last name is Groeseneken. Because I am so closely involved in all the choices during this Eurovision project, it was a logical choice to take on this adventure with my own artist name."
Sennek to perform in the first semi-final
Today the EBU announced which countries will participate in which semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Belgium was drawn into the first semi-finals taking place on the 8th of May, and will perform in the first half of this semi-final. The order of performances has not yet been determined. This will be decided once all countries have sent in the song they will be competing with. This is done to provide the public with a varied and engaging program.
Laura followed the semi-final allocation draw live today. What is her first reaction?
- "I didn't have a preference, but think this is a nice spot in the competition. I have a song, an artist name and now I have a spot in the semi-final. The puzzle pieces are starting to come together. Very exciting!"
Who will be her opponents?
The countries drawn into the first semi-finals:
- Belarus
- Bulgaria
- Lithuania
- Albania
- Czech Republic
- Belgium
- Azerbaijan
- Israel
- Switzerland
- Finland
- Austria
- Ireland
- Armenia
- Cyprus
- Croatia
- Greece
- Iceland
- Estonia
- FYR Macedonia
In the second semi-finals, 18 countries wil perform.
Did you know…?
- Our Belgian candidates were also drawn in the first semi-finals allocation draw in both 2015 and 2017.
- This year, the Eurovision Song Contest will be presented by four women: Filomena Cautela, Sílvia Alberto, Daniela Ruah and Catarina Furtado. Filomena has presented the show last year during her position as chairwoman of the Portuguese jury and Silvia has been presenting the national preselection of Portugal since 2008.
- About nine years ago, Laura already performed in Lisbon. This was at the Belgian consulate.
- Sennek is the third Laura that VRT is sending to the Eurovision Song Contest. Laura Tesoro (2016) and Iris, whose real name is Laura (2012), alse represented Belgium in the contest.
Note to the editors: Laura is still working hard on her song and is currently not available for interviews. When her song is announced, we will let everyone know and of course interviews will be possible then.
