Top 70

Belgium's public broadcaster RTBF marked seventy years of television with a live one-off special that turned its own archive into a celebration of collective memory. Hosted by Adrien Devyver and Sara De Paduwa on a set evoking the golden age of the medium, the evening counted down the 70 most memorable moments in Belgian TV history, as voted by the public in real time.

The format is built around participation. Viewers cast their votes throughout the broadcast, shaping the final ranking as the show plays out. On stage, a rotating cast of comedians, singers, and beloved television personalities share personal memories and anecdotes tied to the archive clips, giving familiar footage new emotional weight.

Live performances, surprise appearances, and the arrival of iconic fictional characters from Belgian television history punctuate the countdown, keeping the pace unpredictable. The studio atmosphere carries the energy of a live event rather than a standard retrospective.

For acquiring broadcasters, the format offers a versatile template. The core mechanics — public voting, archive-driven nostalgia, and guest-led storytelling — transfer readily to any market with a substantial television heritage and an audience willing to revisit it. The Belgian original, produced in 2024, demonstrates the model in a fully realised form.