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Eurovision Song Contest Wiki

The United Kingdom made their Eurovision debut in 1957, after missing the cut-off point for the 1956 contest. Since 1959, they've held the longest uninterrupted streak of participation in contest history, with 65 consecutive entries. The United Kingdom is a member of the Big Five which enables direct qualification to the Grand Final.

Despite placing last five times, the country has also won five times, placed 2nd a record 16 times, and placed in the top 5 a record 29 times. It has also hosted the contest 9 times - 5 of them by deferral from the previous winning nation (1960, 1963, 1972, 1974 and 2023) and 4 from winning (1968, 1977, 1982 and 1998).

Over the years, they have sent many widely-known representatives, such as Shout singer Lulu, Cliff Richard, Grease's Olivia Newton-John, Black Lace (famous for Agadoo), Gina G, Katrina and The Waves (famous for Walking on Sunshine), Blue, and even Bonnie Tyler.

The Eurovision Song Contest has received somewhat of a poor reputation in the United Kingdom since the country received Nul Points for the first time in 2003, with a generally poor string of results occurring since (with the exception of 2009 and 2022) and became the first and so far only country to receive Nul Points since the voting system reform in 2016, occurring in 2021, where James Newman became the first artist to receive no points from the public or from any country's jury. During this time, they have sent novelty songs such as the slightly polarising Flying the Flag (For You). However, Eurovision's ratings remain high in the country, particularly due to the cultural significance of the contest, and it has enjoyed revived popularity since the success of 2022's entry Space Man. It is also the only country not to allow voting by SMS, due to national regulations imposed after a wide-ranging 2007 scandal surrounding fixed telephone voting on TV shows, it would be impossible for the BBC to independently verify its SMS televote. This is combined with the sheer number of would-be televoters sending SMS votes at the same time would potentially clog up the phone lines.

After 2008 entry Andy Abraham didn't do particularly well, rather than a national selection the BBC started to ask up-and-coming singers and bands such as Molly Smitten-Downes and Joe & Jake, through the former "BBC Introducing" system of finding new talent, to represent the nation. For a short while between 2016 and 2019, the BBC returned to national selection but have since partnered with BMG and TaP Music to search for potential entries.

In 2022, the BBC moved its Eurovision production offices from London to Salford, located in the Greater Manchester area.

Gallery[]

Participants[]

Year Artist Song Language Place Points Semi Points
1957 Patricia Bredin All English 7 6 No Semi Final
1958 Did not participate
1959 Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson Sing, Little Birdie English 2 16 No Semi Finals
1960 Bryan Johnson Looking High, High, High 2 25
1961 The Allisons Are You Sure? 2 24
1962 Ronnie Carroll Ring-a-Ding Girl 4 10
1963 Say Wonderful Things 4 28
1964 Matt Monro I Love the Little Things 2 17
1965 Kathy Kirby I Belong 2 26
1966 Kenneth McKellar A Man Without Love 9 8
1967 Sandie Shaw Puppet on a String 1 47
1968 Cliff Richard Congratulations 2 28
1969 Lulu Boom Bang-a-Bang 1 18
1970 Mary Hopkin Knock Knock, Who's There? 2 26
1971 Clodagh Rodgers Jack in the Box 4 98
1972 The New Seekers Beg, Steal or Borrow 2 114
1973 Cliff Richard Power To All Our Friends 3 123
1974 Olivia Newton-John Long Live Love 4 14
1975 The Shadows Let Me Be The One 2 138
1976 Brotherhood of Man Save Your Kisses For Me 1 164
1977 Lynsey de Paul & Mike Moran Rock Bottom 2 121
1978 Co-Co Bad Old Days 11 61
1979 Black Lace Mary Ann 7 73
1980 Prima Donna Love Enough For Two 3 106
1981 Bucks Fizz Making Your Mind Up 1 136
1982 Bardo One Step Further 7 76
1983 Sweet Dreams I'm Never Giving Up 6 79
1984 Belle & The Devotions Love Games 7 63
1985 Vikki Love Is 4 100
1986 Ryder Runner in the Night 7 72
1987 Rikki Only the Light 13 47
1988 Scott Fitzgerald Go 2 136
1989 Live Report Why Do I Always Get It Wrong? 2 130
1990 Emma Booth Give a Little Love Back To The World 6 87
1991 Samantha Janus A Message To Your Heart 10 47
1992 Michael Ball One Step Out Of Time 2 139
1993 Sonia Better The Devil You Know 2 164
1994 Frances Ruffelle Lonely Symphony (We Will Be Free) 10 63
1995 Love City Groove Love City Groove 10 76
1996 Gina G Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit 8 77 3 153
1997 Katrina and The Waves Love Shine a Light 1 227 No Semi Finals
1998 Imaani Where Are You? 2 166
1999 Precious Say It Again 12 38
2000 Nicki French Don't Play That Song Again 16 28
2001 Lindsay Dracass No Dream Impossible 15 28
2002 Jessica Garlick Come Back 3 111
2003 Jemini Cry Baby 26 0
2004 James Fox Hold Onto Our Love 16 29 Member of the Big Four
2005 Javine Touch My Fire 22 18
2006 Daz Sampson Teenage Life 19 25
2007 Scooch Flying the Flag (For You) 22 19
2008 Andy Abraham Even If 25 14
2009 Jade Ewen It's My Time 5 173
2010 Josh Dubovie That Sounds Good To Me 25 10
2011 Blue I Can 11 100 Member of the Big Five
2012 Engelbert Humperdinck Love Will Set You Free 25 12
2013 Bonnie Tyler Believe in Me 19 23
2014 Molly Smitten-Downes Children of the Universe 17 40
2015 Electro Velvet Still In Love With You 24 5
2016 Joe & Jake You're Not Alone 24 62
2017 Lucie Jones Never Give Up On You 15 111
2018 SuRie Storm 24 48
2019 Michael Rice Bigger Than Us 26 11
2020 James Newman My Last Breath Contest cancelled
2021 Embers 26 0 Member of the Big Five
2022 Sam Ryder Space Man 2 466
2023 Mae Muller I Wrote a Song 25 24
2024 Olly Alexander Dizzy

Videos[]

Eurovision Song Contest
Editions
195619571958195919601961196219631964196519661967196819691970197119721973197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Countries
AlbaniaAndorraArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBelarusBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzechiaDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGeorgiaGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandIsraelItalyLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgMaltaMoldovaMonacoMontenegroMoroccoThe NetherlandsNorth MacedoniaNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaSerbia and MontenegroSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUnited KingdomUkraineYugoslavia
Winning Songs
RefrainNet Als ToenDors, mon amourEen beetjeTom PillibiNous les amoureuxUn premier amourDanseviseNon ho l'etàPoupée de Cire, Poupée de SonMerci, ChériePuppet on a StringLa, La, LaBoom Bang-a-BangVivo CantandoUn jour, un enfantDe TroubadourAll Kinds of EverythingUn banc, un arbre, une rueAprès ToiTu Te ReconnaîtrasWaterlooDing-a-DongSave Your Kisses For MeL'Oiseau et l'enfantA-Ba-Ni-BiHallelujahWhat's Another YearMaking Your Mind UpEin bißchen FriedenSi la vie est cadeauDiggiloo DiggileyLa Det SwingeJ'aime La VieHold Me NowNe Partez Pas Sans MoiRock MeInsieme: 1992Fångad av en stormvindWhy Me?In Your EyesRock 'n' Roll KidsNocturneThe VoiceLove Shine a LightDivaTake Me To Your HeavenFly on the Wings of LoveEverybodyI WannaEveryway That I CanWild DancesMy Number OneHard Rock HallelujahMolitvaBelieveFairytaleSatelliteRunning ScaredEuphoriaOnly TeardropsRise Like a PhoenixHeroes1944Amar pelos doisToyArcadeZitti e buoniStefaniaTattoo
Specials
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song ContestEurovision's Greatest HitsEurope Shine a Light
Aspects of Eurovision
CommentatorEuroClubEurovision VillageExecutive SupervisorFlag ParadeGrand PrixGreen RoomHead of DelegationInterval ActNational FinalNational JuryOfficial RulesOpening CeremonyPre-PartiesPre-Song PostcardsReference GroupRest of the World VoteRunning Order DrawSemi-FinalsScoreboardSpokespersonTelevotingVoting Systems
Miscellaneous
Big FiveCurse of 43Curse of Number TwoCurse of GreenDouze Points!ESCRadio AwardsESC Top 250Eurovision AgainEurovision National BroadcastersEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire SagaFounding SevenLGBT visibilityLynda WoodruffMarcel Bezençon AwardsNul PointsOGAERecordsStand-insThe Reorder BoardTie SituationTop Scoring SongsVoting DiasporaWinner's CurseWithdrawn SongsYou're a Vision Award
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