Les plus grands Belges ( French for "The Greatest Belgians"), is a television show that aired in 2005 on the Belgian French-speaking public channel RTBF. [1] [2] In the program the audience could vote for the greatest Belgian by using the website, sending an SMS or using the telephone. In total several hundred thousand votes were cast. Nominees needed to have lived between 50 BC and now, between the borders of present-day Belgium. This is because Belgium only gained its independence in 1830, while numerous historical individuals from, for example, the Spanish Netherlands, are considered to be "Belgians".
A separate vote " De Grootste Belg" by the Belgian Dutch-speaking public channel VRT was held around the same time, producing strikingly different results, such as both top-10s sharing only three personalities, namely Jan Van Bosch, Father Damien and Eddy Merckx. [3] To some this illustrates the low significance of any national cultural identity that remains shared among the two predominant language communities of the country.
Because Father Damien holds the highest average ranking of the three shared personalities (third on this list and first on the Flemish list) it has been argued that he is the only one to be entitled "Greatest Belgian", as voted by all Belgians.
Rank | Personality | Notability | Nomination defended by | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jacques Brel | Singer, most famous for Ne Me Quitte Pas and Le Plat Pays. Celebrated for his passionate, satirical and acerbic songs. Internationally covered by many singers and admired for his free-spirited nature. | Serge Lama, singer. [2] | [2] | |
2 | Baudouin of Belgium | King. Admired for his very personal concern for his country. Created the King Baudouin Foundation to improve the living conditions of the Belgian people. | [2] | ||
3 | Father Damien | Priest and humanitarian. Went to help leprosy victims in Molokai. Beatified in 1995. | Guy Gilbert, priest, and Laurette Onkelinx, politician [2] | [2] | |
4 | Eddy Merckx | Cyclist, often named the greatest in his sport. Won more than 525 individual races, including three world championships, five times the Tour de France and an hour record which stood for 28 years. | Rodrigo Beenkens, sports journalist. [2] | [2] | |
5 | Soeur Emmanuelle | Nun and humanitarian activist. Helped the poor in Turkey and Egypt. | Joëlle Milquet, politician. [2] | [2] | |
6 | José van Dam | Opera bass-baritone singer. Internationally celebrated and respected. | Gérard Corbiau, film director. [2] | [2] | |
7 | Benoît Poelvoorde | Actor, comedian and film director. Co-director of the internationally lauded cult film Man Bites Dog. | Stefan Liberski, film script writer, comedian and TV presenter. [2] | [2] | |
8 | Hergé | Comics artist. Creator of The Adventures of Tintin, one of the best-selling comics series worldwide. | Alain Berenboom , lawyer and novelist. [2] | [2] | |
9 | René Magritte | Painter. Creator of Ceci n'est pas une pipe and one of the most iconic Surrealist artists of all time. | Marc Ysaye, rock musician and head of radio channel Classic 21. [2] | [2] | |
10 | Georges Simenon | Novelist. Creator of Inspector Maigret, which made him one of the globally best-selling novelists of all time. | [2] |
Les plus grands Belges ( French for "The Greatest Belgians"), is a television show that aired in 2005 on the Belgian French-speaking public channel RTBF. [1] [2] In the program the audience could vote for the greatest Belgian by using the website, sending an SMS or using the telephone. In total several hundred thousand votes were cast. Nominees needed to have lived between 50 BC and now, between the borders of present-day Belgium. This is because Belgium only gained its independence in 1830, while numerous historical individuals from, for example, the Spanish Netherlands, are considered to be "Belgians".
A separate vote " De Grootste Belg" by the Belgian Dutch-speaking public channel VRT was held around the same time, producing strikingly different results, such as both top-10s sharing only three personalities, namely Jan Van Bosch, Father Damien and Eddy Merckx. [3] To some this illustrates the low significance of any national cultural identity that remains shared among the two predominant language communities of the country.
Because Father Damien holds the highest average ranking of the three shared personalities (third on this list and first on the Flemish list) it has been argued that he is the only one to be entitled "Greatest Belgian", as voted by all Belgians.
Rank | Personality | Notability | Nomination defended by | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jacques Brel | Singer, most famous for Ne Me Quitte Pas and Le Plat Pays. Celebrated for his passionate, satirical and acerbic songs. Internationally covered by many singers and admired for his free-spirited nature. | Serge Lama, singer. [2] | [2] | |
2 | Baudouin of Belgium | King. Admired for his very personal concern for his country. Created the King Baudouin Foundation to improve the living conditions of the Belgian people. | [2] | ||
3 | Father Damien | Priest and humanitarian. Went to help leprosy victims in Molokai. Beatified in 1995. | Guy Gilbert, priest, and Laurette Onkelinx, politician [2] | [2] | |
4 | Eddy Merckx | Cyclist, often named the greatest in his sport. Won more than 525 individual races, including three world championships, five times the Tour de France and an hour record which stood for 28 years. | Rodrigo Beenkens, sports journalist. [2] | [2] | |
5 | Soeur Emmanuelle | Nun and humanitarian activist. Helped the poor in Turkey and Egypt. | Joëlle Milquet, politician. [2] | [2] | |
6 | José van Dam | Opera bass-baritone singer. Internationally celebrated and respected. | Gérard Corbiau, film director. [2] | [2] | |
7 | Benoît Poelvoorde | Actor, comedian and film director. Co-director of the internationally lauded cult film Man Bites Dog. | Stefan Liberski, film script writer, comedian and TV presenter. [2] | [2] | |
8 | Hergé | Comics artist. Creator of The Adventures of Tintin, one of the best-selling comics series worldwide. | Alain Berenboom , lawyer and novelist. [2] | [2] | |
9 | René Magritte | Painter. Creator of Ceci n'est pas une pipe and one of the most iconic Surrealist artists of all time. | Marc Ysaye, rock musician and head of radio channel Classic 21. [2] | [2] | |
10 | Georges Simenon | Novelist. Creator of Inspector Maigret, which made him one of the globally best-selling novelists of all time. | [2] |