40 songs in total took part in the De gouden zeemeermin, which consisted of four semi-finals between 3 and 24 February 1996 and a final on 9 March 1996. All five shows took place at the Knokke Casino studios in Knokke, hosted by Michel Follet and Alexandra Potvin. Ten songs competed in each semi-final with the top three from each qualifying for the final. The results for the semi-finals were determined exclusively by a seven-member jury, who each awarded 12, 10, 8–1 points to their top ten songs, although they could give each song any mark they wished. The results in the final were determined by the votes of five regional juries in Belgium, a press jury and an expert jury.
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 3 February 1996 where ten entries were performed. The top three entries voted upon by a seven-member jury advanced to the final. As there was a tie between the third and fourth place, the tie for third place was broken by each judge naming their preferred song, with 5 choosing Garry Hagger against 2 choosing Chris.
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 10 February 1996 where ten entries were performed. The top three entries voted upon by a seven-member jury advanced to the final.
Semi-final 3
The third semi-final took place on 17 February 1996 where ten entries were performed. The top three entries voted upon by a seven-member jury advanced to the final.
Semi-final 4
The fourth semi-final took place on 24 February 1996 where ten entries were performed. The top three entries voted upon by a seven-member jury advanced to the final.
Final
The final took place on 9 March 1996 where the twelve entries that advanced from the preceding four semi-finals were performed. The winner was selected by a combination of votes from five regional juries in Belgium, a press jury and an expert jury. "Liefde is een kaartspel" performed by Lisa del Bo was selected as the winner, having been ranked first by all but the press jury. The top three songs had all come from the third semi-final.
At Eurovision
In 1996, for the only time in Eurovision history, an audio-only pre-qualifying round of the 29 songs entered was held in March in order for the seven lowest-scoring songs to be eliminated before the final. "Liefde is een kartspel" placed 12th, thus qualifying for the final. As of 2020, this is the last time Belgium had sung its entry in Dutch. On the night of the final del Bo performed 16th in the running order, following the Netherlands and preceding the eventual winner Ireland. At the close of the voting "Liefde is een kaartspel" placed 16th of the 23 entries, having received 22 points. Oddly, 17 of its points came from two of the first three countries to vote: the maximum 12 from Spain and 5 from the United Kingdom. The result was not good enough to prevent Belgium from being relegated from the 1997 contest on the cumulative countback rule. The Belgian jury awarded its 12 points to the United Kingdom. "Liefde is een kaartspel" later became embroiled in controversy when it was alleged that it had been plagiarised by Sweden's 2001 Eurovision entry "Listen To Your Heartbeat". This was initially denied by the writers of the Swedish song, but Belgian songwriters' association SABAMthreatened legal action, and a cash settlement was agreed to forestall this.
