Wales in the Eurovision Song Contest

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The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 64 times. It first took part in the second contest in and has entered every year since . Along with Sweden and the

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, the UK is one of only three countries with Eurovision victories in four different decades. It is one of the " Big Five" countries, along with

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and

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, that are automatically prequalified for the final each year as they are the biggest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The British national broadcaster, the

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, broadcasts the event and has, on multiple occasions, organised different national selection processes to choose the British entry. The United Kingdom has won the Eurovision Song Contest five times, and has finished as runner-up on a record sixteen occasions. The UK has hosted the contest a record eight times, four times in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(, , and ) and once each in

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(), Brighton (),

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() and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

(), and will host the contest for a ninth time in in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

. The United Kingdom's five winners are

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with the song " Puppet on a String" (),

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with " Boom Bang-a-Bang" ( in a four-way tie),

Brotherhood of Man Brotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s. They won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with " Save Your Kisses for Me". Created in 1969 by songwriter and record producer Tony Hiller, Brotherhood of Man was initi ...

with "

Save Your Kisses for Me "Save Your Kisses for Me" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1976, performed for the by Brotherhood of Man in The Hague, Netherlands. The lyrics and music were written by Tony Hiller, Lee Sheriden, and Martin Lee, the latter two ...

" (), Bucks Fizz with "

Making Your Mind Up "Making Your Mind Up" is a song by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, representing the , and was composed by Andy Hill and John Danter. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut sing ...

" () and Katrina and the Waves with "

Love Shine a Light "Love Shine a Light" is a song by British rock band Katrina and the Waves. It represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1997. It was released as a single on 28 April 1997 and was later included on the band's ninth studio a ...

" (). The UK has also achieved a record sixteen second-place finishes, the first in and the most recent in . The United Kingdom finished outside the top ten on only three occasions prior to 2000 (, and ). In the 21st century, the United Kingdom has had a considerably poorer record in the competition, only reaching the top ten three times, with

Jessica Garlick Jessica Julie Anne Garlick (born 1981) is an English-born Welsh pop singer. Garlick made her first steps into show business when she was 16. At that age, she won the Welsh final of BBC One's talent show '' Star for a Night''. The same year she a ...

third (),

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fifth (), and

Sam Ryder Sam Ryder Robinson (born 25 June 1989) is a British singer, songwriter, producer, composer and social media personality. He rose to prominence in 2020, after posting music covers on TikTok, during the first UK lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic ...

second (), compounded by eleven non-top 20 finishes, including

Jemini Jemini were a British pop group from Liverpool, best known for scoring ''nul points'' and finishing in last place at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with " Cry Baby". Early career Chris Cromby and Gemma Abbey (born 10 March 1981) met in 1995 ...

's infamous ''nul points'' result, which was the first time that the country had come last in the contest. The UK has since finished in last place in with Andy Abraham (14 points), in with

Josh Dubovie Josh James Dubovie (; born 27 November 1990) is a British singer. Dubovie is most notable for having represented the UK at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Oslo, Norway, in May 2010, after winning the UK national selection competitio ...

(10 points), in with Michael Rice (11 points), and in with James Newman (0 points).

History

1950s to 1970s

It was alleged that the United Kingdom were expected to take part in the first contest in 1956, and that they missed the submission deadline and therefore could not take part. This was later revealed by the EBU in January 2017 to be a myth created by fans of the contest. The EBU further went on to explain that the '' Festival of British Popular Song'', a contest created by the

...
for the United Kingdom, was the inspiration that brought in format changes to the contest elements from onwards.

Patricia Bredin Patricia Bredin (born 14 February 1935) is an English actress and one-time singer, who is best known as the first representative of the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest. She took part in the 1957 contest, held in Frankfurt and fini ...

was the first performer to represent the UK at Eurovision, finishing seventh in 1957. The UK was the first choice to stage the third contest in 1958, however following a failure to get an agreement from various artistic unions, the BBC withdrew their bid in the summer of 1957 and the UK did not enter for the second and last time to date. At their second attempt in the contest in 1959, the UK achieved the first of their record sixteen runner-up positions, when

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and

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sang " Sing, Little Birdie". The UK would achieve four more second-place finishes with Bryan Johnson in 1960, The Allisons in 1961,

Matt Monro Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons, 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career. AllMusic has described Monro as "one of the m ...

in 1964 and

Kathy Kirby Kathy Kirby (born Catherine Ethel O'Rourke; 20 October 1938 – 19 May 2011) was an English singer, reportedly the highest-paid female singer of her generation. She is best known for her cover version of Doris Day's " Secret Love" and for re ...

in 1965, before eventually winning for the first time in 1967.

was already a successful performer, having twice topped the UK Singles Chart, and she comfortably won in

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with " Puppet on a String", which became her third UK number one and topped the charts all around Europe. In 1968, another successful performer was selected to represent the UK with the song "

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". In London,

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gave the UK their sixth second-place finish, losing to Spain's

Massiel María de los Ángeles Felisa Santamaría Espinosa (born 2 August 1947), professionally known as Massiel, is a Spanish pop singer. She won the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song "La, la, la", beating the British pop singer Cliff Richard' ...

. "Congratulations" remains one of only two non-winning UK Eurovision entries to top the UK charts. The UK's second victory was provided by the Scottish singer

, who won with the song " Boom Bang-a-Bang" in 1969, in a four-way tie with France, Spain and the Netherlands. Another established performer, she had topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with " To Sir with Love" in 1967. Having finished second on three further occasions in the 1970s, with

Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer-songwriter best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single "Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists ...

in 1970,

The New Seekers The New Seekers are a British pop group, formed in London in 1969 by Keith Potger after the break-up of his group, The Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music would have ...

in 1972 and

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in 1975. The UK achieved their third victory in 1976 with

and "

", who won with 164 points, which would remain the highest points total for ten years. In 1977, the UK finished second for the tenth time represented by singer-songwriters Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran.

1980s and 1990s

The UK's fourth victory came in 1981, with Bucks Fizz and "

". The group was created especially for the UK televised selection contest, "A Song for Europe" (a programme which in later years would be renamed to "Making Your Mind Up"). At Eurovision in Dublin, they defeated Germany's

Lena Valaitis Lena Valaitis (born 7 September 1943) is a Lithuanian–German schlager singer who had her greatest success during the 1970s and 1980s. She finished second at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest. Early life and education Valaitis was born on 7 Se ...

by four points. The group went on to continued success, with 13 UK top 40 hits over the next five years. This would be the last UK win for 16 years, although the country continued to be competitive at the contest with four more second-place results during this time. In 1988,

Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

lost to

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

, who was representing Switzerland, by just one point. In 1989,

Live Report Live Report, originally called Midnight Blue, composed of Ray Caruana (vocals), John Beeby, Brian Hodgson, Maggie Jay, Mike Bell (keyboards) and Peter May. Brian Hodgson was a musician, producer and composer and former member of the UK pop grou ...

lost out to Yugoslavia by seven points.

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in 1992, also finished second, behind Linda Martin of Ireland. The 1993 entry,

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, had already had 10 UK top 30 hits, including a 1989 number one with " You'll Never Stop Me Loving You", when she was selected to represent the UK in

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. With one country (Malta) left to vote, Ireland's

Niamh Kavanagh Niamh Kavanagh ( ; born 13 February 1968) is an Irish singer who sang the winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1993. The 1993 Eurovision Song Contest was held in Millstreet, County Cork, Republic of Ireland. She sang "In Your Eyes" ...

led Sonia by 11 points. By the time it got to the announcement of the 12 points, neither the UK or Ireland had been mentioned. If the UK had received the 12, they would have won by one point. In the end Ireland received the top marks and won by 23 points. Despite only finishing eighth in the 1996 contest,

Gina G Gina G (born Gina Mary Gardiner, 3 August 1970) is an Australian singer who represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996, with the song " Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. The ...

went on to huge success with her entry " Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", which became only the second non-winning UK entry to top the UK Singles Chart. It also reached the top 20 of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and received a Grammy nomination for

Best Dance Recording The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...

. The UK's fifth victory came in 1997, when Katrina and the Waves, famous for their 1980s hit " Walking on Sunshine", comfortably won the contest with the song "

". They scored 227 points, which would remain the highest points total of the pre semi-final era. At the 1998 contest in

Imaani Imaani Saleem (born Melonie Crosdale on 1 January 1972) is an English singer, best known for representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 in Birmingham with the song " Where Are You". The song placed second in the contest ...

achieved the UK's 15th second-place finish and 20th top two result, with the song " Where Are You?", losing to Israel's

Dana International Sharon Cohen ( he, שרון כהן; born 2 February 1969), professionally known as Dana International ( he, דנה אינטרנשיונל), is an Israeli pop singer. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums. She wa ...

. The UK would not finish in the top two again for 24 years.

21st century

The UK has fared less well in the contest in the 21st century. After girl-group Precious finished 12th in 1999, the UK regularly placed in the bottom half of the scoreboard, with a few exceptions. In the 2000s, those exceptions were

in 2002, who finished joint third with the song " Come Back", and

in 2009, who was praised for ending the country's poor run of results for much of the decade, by finishing fifth with the song " It's My Time". In 2003, the UK finished last in the final for the first time with the duo

, who received the infamous ''nul points''. The country then finished last on two further occasions over the next 7 years, with Andy Abraham, who received 14 points in 2008, and

, who received 10 points in 2010. In 2011, the BBC announced that they would forgo the national selection and instead internally select the next representative, eventually selecting the boy band

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to represent the UK. They finished 11th with 100 points. In 2012, the UK were facing calls to quit the contest when the UK entry, Engelbert Humperdinck, finished 25th (out of 26) with only 12 points. However, the UK confirmed their participation in the 2013 contest, with the Welsh singer

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...

, most famous for her 1983 US and UK number one hit "

Total Eclipse of the Heart "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was written and produced by Jim Steinman, and released on Tyler's fifth studio album, ''Faster Than the Speed of Night'' (1983). The song was released as a single b ...

", who would perform the song " Believe in Me". In Malmö, she finished 19th with 23 points. She went on to win two internationally voted Eurovision Song Contest radio awards for Best Female Singer and Best Song. In 2014, the BBC internally selected unknown singer

Molly Smitten-Downes Molly Alice Smitten-Downes (born 2 April 1987), known by her mononym Molly, is an English singer and songwriter. Early life Born in Anstey, Leicestershire, Molly grew up in Rothley and attended Our Lady's Convent School in Loughborough. She ...

, through

BBC Introducing BBC Music ''Introducing'' is BBC Radio's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. It gives artists the opportunity to be played on Local BBC Radio and nationally on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, ...

, which supports new and unsigned acts. She represented the UK in

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under her artist name Molly. In the final, she performed the song " Children of the Universe", which she co-wrote with Anders Hansson and finished in 17th place with 40 points, having been regarded as one of the favourites to win the contest. In October 2014, Guy Freeman stated that the BBC are still engaging with record companies and the BBC Introducing platform in order to find an entry for the 2015 contest via the internal selection process, but announced that in addition, for the first time since 2008, they are giving the general public the option to submit an entry for consideration. Ultimately, the entry for 2015 came through open submission, with the song " Still in Love with You" performed by the duo

Electro Velvet Electro Velvet are a British vocal duo that represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song " Still in Love with You" finishing 24th. The duo consist of Alex Larke and Bianca Nicholas. Career Early beginnings Nic ...

, which finished in 24th place with five points. On 30 September 2015, the BBC confirmed the national selection show would return in 2016. Six acts competed in the national final on 26 February and the winner was selected entirely through a public vote, consisting of televoting and online voting. " You're Not Alone" performed by Joe and Jake won the national final broadcast live on BBC Four. At the final they came 24th with 62 points in total. Of these only 8 were from the public vote, the second lowest public score, following 0 to the Czech Republic. In spite of the latest disappointing result, the BBC announced that the national final format would be retained for 2017. Six acts again participated in the final, which was held on 27 January 2017. It was broadcast on BBC Two as opposed to BBC Four the previous year, and the winner was determined by a combination of scores from a professional jury and televoting (including votes cast online). Former ''X Factor'' contestant

Lucie Jones Lucie Bethan Jones (born 20 March 1991) is a Welsh singer, musical theatre actress, and model. Jones first came to prominence while competing on series 6 of ''The X Factor UK'' in 2009, where she finished eighth. She represented the United Ki ...

won the show and earned the right to represent the UK at the 2017 contest in Kyiv, with the song " Never Give Up on You", becoming the 60th UK Eurovision entry. The song was praised for its impressive staging, and finished 15th in the final with a combined score of 111 points, finishing 10th in the jury vote with 99 points and 20th in the televote with 12 points. In

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, "

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" by SuRie was selected by the public to represent the UK. Her performance during the final was marred by an invader who ran onstage halfway through the song and grabbed her microphone, interrupting her performance; however, she was able to complete her performance. She finished in 24th with a combined score of 48. Michael Rice's song " Bigger than Us" was selected by the public to represent the UK in 2019. It finished in 26th place in the final after amassing 11 points, marking the fourth time since the turn of the century that the UK had finished last. Ahead of the 2020 contest, the BBC stated that they would return to internally selecting the representative (in collaboration with record label BMG). James Newman was chosen as the entrant with his song "

My Last Breath "My Last Breath" is a song by James Newman that would have represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam. It serves as the lead single from Newman's debut EP ''The Things We Do''. The song was released as a dig ...

"; however, the 2020 contest was cancelled due to restrictions connected to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The BBC subsequently announced that

BBC Studios BBC Studios is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide. ...

would produce '' Eurovision: Come Together'', a replacement show for BBC One featuring classic Eurovision performances, interviews and a look at the entries that would have taken part in 2020. The show was part of the BBC's plan to "entertain the nation in time of need". The contest returned in , with Newman being selected again with a new song, " Embers". However, the song finished in last place and became the second UK entry to receive ''nul points'' (also the first full ''nul points'' since the 2016 voting system was first implemented). For the 2022 contest, the BBC retained the internal selection format, this time working in partnership with TaP Music.

and his song " Space Man" were selected for the contest and went on to place second with 466 points, the best result achieved by the UK since 1998, earning the most points in the jury vote, and the most points ever received for a UK entry. Ryder also won the

Marcel Bezençon Award Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder * Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian ...

in the Press category, becoming the first ever UK act to receive the award since its inception in 2002. He was praised by the media for his positive attitude and desire to change the UK public and press' perception of the contest.

United Kingdom and the "Big Five"

In , a rule change allowed the United Kingdom, along with , and , to automatically qualify for the final (irrespective of their recent scores and without entering a semi-final), due to being the biggest financial contributors to the EBU. Due to their untouchable status in the contest, these countries became known as the " Big Four" (which became the "Big Five" in following the return of to the contest). In 2008, it was reported that the "Big Four" could lose their status and be forced to compete in the semi-finals; however, this never materialised, and the rule remained in place. In the same year, the BBC defended using money from TV licence fee payers for the contest when

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Richard Younger-Ross Richard Alan Younger-Ross (born Richard Alan Ross, 29 January 1953) is a politician in England. He was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Teignbridge from 2001 to 2010, having contested the seat in 1992 and 1997, finally winnin ...

had tabled a Commons

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which called on the corporation to withdraw its £173,000 funding for the annual contest. Former Eurovision commentator Sir Terry Wogan, that same year, also claimed that the show is "no longer a music contest" after the final of that year's edition ended. Since the introduction of the Big Four/Five, the United Kingdom has finished last in the contest five times, with Germany finishing last four times. The United Kingdom also has the fewest top ten results of the Big Five in the 21st century, but has achieved more top five results than Spain, having reached the top five in 2002, 2009 and 2022.

National selection process ("You Decide")

As well as broadcasting the contest each year, the BBC also organises the selection process for the entry, often with a televised national final (historically titled ''

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''). The process has varied between selecting both performer and song, or just the song, with the artist being selected internally. For most years the public has been able to vote for the winner, in the past with postcard voting, where the viewers sent postcards with their vote to the BBC, but more recently

televoting Televoting, telephone voting or phone voting is a method of decision making and opinion polling conducted by telephone. Televoting can also extend to voting by SMS text message via a mobile cell phone. Broadcast contest televoting Televoting ...

and online. In 2009 and 2010, the singer was chosen by a public vote and the song internally selected. From 2011 to 2015, there was no televised selection, and both the artist and song were selected internally by the BBC. This resulted in the national selection process being suspended; however, this returned in 2016, re-titled '' Eurovision: You Decide'', with viewers once again choosing which song to enter into the contest. Since 2017, the votes from a professional jury panel have been combined with the public vote to select the winner. The televised selection process was suspended again in September 2019, with the BBC returning to internally selecting its entry (in partnership with BMG in 2020 and 2021, and with TaP Music in 2022 and 2023).

Participation overview

Below is a list of all songs and their respective performers that have represented the United Kingdom in the contest:

''Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest''

Although the United Kingdom was entered twice into '' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'', with

's 1968 runner-up entry "

" and

's 1976 winning song "

", the

...
decided not to air the event or participate in the voting, but instead aired an hour-long special programme, titled '' Boom Bang-a-Bang: 50 Years of Eurovision'' and hosted by

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 week ...

''Eurovision: Come Together''

Following the cancellation of the due to the

, the BBC decided to host ''Eurovision: Come Together'', an all-stars contest on the night of what would have been the 2020 final. The show was broadcast just before the EBU's main replacement show '' Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light''. An expert panel selected the 19 competing entries, four of which were UK entries.

Hostings

The United Kingdom has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest a record eight times. The United Kingdom stepped in and hosted the contest for the in , in , in and in due to the winning countries' financial and capacity issues. On four occasions (1968, 1977, 1982 and 1998) the UK was given the right to host as a result of a victory. The

...
offered to joint host the contest in

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Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

with Irish broadcaster RTÉ, but ultimately RTÉ decided to stage the event solo. The UK will host the contest for a ninth time in , after the winner was unable to meet the demands of hosting the event due to security concerns caused by the Russian invasion of the country.

''Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits''

In 2015,

hosted ''

Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits ''Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits'' (also known as ''Eurovision's Greatest Hits'') was a live television concert programme organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to ...

'', an event to commemorate the 60th anniversary, which was recorded for television on 31 March 2015 and was shown in 26 countries, starting with the UK and Ireland on 3 April 2015.

Awards

AP Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

Related involvement

Conductors

Additionally, several British conductors have conducted for other countries (not counting instances where a British musical director had to step in for another country that didn't bring their own conductor), including:

Heads of delegation

Costume designers

Commentators and spokespersons

Over the years BBC commentary has been provided by several experienced radio and television presenters, including Tom Fleming,

David Vine David Martin Vine (3 January 1935 – 11 January 2009) was an English television sports presenter. He presented a wide variety of shows from the 1960s onwards, most notably his coverage of major snooker tournaments for the BBC. Early life Born i ...

, David Jacobs,

Dave Lee Travis David Patrick Griffin (born 25 May 1945), known professionally as Dave Lee Travis, is an English disc jockey, radio presenter and television presenter. Travis began his broadcasting career on the pirate radio station Radio Caroline in 1965. He ...

, Pete Murray, John Dunn and

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', ''This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...

. However, Terry Wogan provided BBC TV commentary every year from 1980 to 2008. It was confirmed on 12 August 2008 that

would no longer present the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK. The BBC Radio 2 DJ, who had fronted the BBC's coverage for 37 years, said it was "time for someone else to take over". He was replaced in 2009 by

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comed ...

for the final. Norton has continued in the role ever since. The final of the contest has been broadcast by

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

(previously BBC Television Service and BBC TV) since the first contest in 1956, the first live colour transmission of the contest in the United Kingdom was the

Eurovision Song Contest 1970 The Eurovision Song Contest 1970 was the 15th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest and took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), the ...

(though the 1968 contest had been repeated in colour on BBC Two the day after the live telecast on BBC One), and the first high definition broadcast of the contest began in 2007 when the contest was simulcast on

BBC HD BBC HD was a 24-hour high-definition television channel provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007 before its discontinuation on 26 March 2013. It broadcast ...

for the first time (this continued until the channel's closure). The final is also broadcast on radio, initially on

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

until the 1967 contest. From 1968 it was broadcast on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

(simulcast on Radio 2), moving to BBC Radio 2 from the 1971 contest where it has remained ever since (except from 1983 to 1985, the first year of which due to a scheduling clash with the St. George's Day Concert). Between 1963 and 1976, in 1980 and again from 1983 until 1985, the contest was also broadcast on BFBS Radio. A simulcast of the 2002 contest was broadcast on

BBC Choice BBC Choice was a British digital television channel which was owned by the BBC and was launched on 23 September 1998. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, as well as the BBC's second non-analogue-terres ...

with alternative commentary by

Jenny Eclair Jenny Eclair (born Jenny Clare Hargreaves; 16 March 1960) is an English comedian, novelist, and actress, best known for her roles in ''Grumpy Old Women'' between 2004 and 2007 and in ''Loose Women'' in 2011 and 2012. Early life Eclair was born ...

. This was the only time the BBC had provided three different commentary options. From 2004 to 2015, and again in 2022, both semi-finals were broadcast on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...

. During BBC Three's tenure as an online only channel, semi-final coverage was broadcast on BBC Four. The semi-finals in 2023 will be broadcast on BBC One. In 2014, Matronic provided commentary for the second semi-final of the 2014 contest on

BBC Radio 2 Eurovision BBC Radio 2 Eurovision was a pop-up Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB service from the BBC which launched at 12 noon on Thursday 8 May 2014. The station continued to broadcast for 12 hours each day until Sunday 11 May 2014. The station returned a ...

, a temporary station which was broadcast on DAB radio over four days, as well as the BBC Radio 2 website. She continued this role in 2015. In the contest, hosted in Birmingham, Terry Wogan acted as both commentator and on-stage presenter (together with

Ulrika Jonsson Eva Ulrika Jonsson (born 16 August 1967) is a Swedish-British television presenter and model. She became known as a TV-am weather presenter, moved on to present the ITV show ''Gladiators'', and as a team captain of the BBC Two show '' Shooting ...

). In the contest, each song was introduced by a presenter from its country, the United Kingdom entry being introduced by

Noel Edmonds Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English television presenter, radio DJ, writer, producer, and businessman. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presente ...

. In recent years, the dual-commentator format during the semi-finals has allowed for the broadcaster to incorporate additional segments, interviews and live viewer interaction during the programme's live airing. In 2019 the BBC launched ''Eurovision Calling'', a weekly BBC Sounds

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

hosted by Mills and comedian

Jayde Adams Jayde Pricilla Gail Adams (born 26 November 1984) is a British comedian, actress, writer and opera singer from Bristol. She is the winner of the 2014 Funny Women Award. Career Adams started performing stand-up comedy in 2011, following the pr ...

. On 20 January 2022, it was announced that the BBC would move their coverage of the contest from

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

. This therefore means that spokespersons in contests from 2022 onwards will announce the points of the national jury live from dock10 studios in Salford.

Separate entrants

For several years the Scottish National Party (SNP) has campaigned for a place in the Eurovision Song Contest for Scotland but had been rejected numerous times because Scotland is represented as a part of the British entry and is represented by the BBC. On 11 February 2008, the EBU stated that a Scottish broadcaster could apply for EBU membership, but under the current rules could not enter the Eurovision Song Contest as the BBC currently has exclusive rights to represent the entire United Kingdom. It was announced in late May 2008 that the UK would be participating in the 2009 contest and, therefore, Scotland was not represented in 2009 as a separate entrant. Scotland could be represented by STV, ITV Border or BBC Scotland. MEP

Alyn Smith Alyn Edward Smith (born 15 September 1973) is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stirling at the 2019 general election. He also served as a Member of the E ...

has said in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

: "Other small countries have done it ntered the competitionand I will be happy to help any of the broadcasting companies through the progress." In 2011, the EBU stated that there was nothing to prevent Scotland from submitting its own entry, although STV stated that there were no current plans for a separate entry. If Scotland were to participate, it is unknown whether or not

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

would show any interest in entering the Eurovision Song Contest independently as well, although S4C (the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

media channel) has expressed an interest and, in addition, already holds a yearly national song contest called '' Cân i Gymru'' (Song for Wales). S4C also considered a bid for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 but decided not to go ahead. Wales eventually made its Junior Eurovision debut in . In 2009, MEP for Wales

Jillian Evans Jill Evans (born 8 May 1959) is a Plaid Cymru politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Wales from 1999 to 2020. She was the first person to use the Welsh language in debate at the European Parliament. In June 199 ...

stated her interest in securing Wales a place in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2010 The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Oslo, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song " Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak. Organised by the European Broadcasting U ...

. Wales could be represented by either

BBC Cymru Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is b ...

ITV Wales & West ITV Wales and West, previously known as Harlech Television (HTV), was an ITV franchise area in the United Kingdom until 31 December 2013, licensed to a broadcaster by the regulator Ofcom. There is no channel, past or present, named "ITV Wales ...

or S4C. There is a small campaign in Northern Ireland for a separate entrant and it could be represented by UTV or BBC Northern Ireland. There are no current plans for England to enter separately. However, to date, these proposed changes have not occurred, and the United Kingdom still participates in the Eurovision Song Contest as a single entrant. In the run-up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, it was unknown what would happen if Scotland were to become an independent country. On 25 November 2013, the Scottish government released a referendum blueprint which detailed plans for the transfer of BBC Scotland into the

Scottish Broadcasting Service ''Scotland's Future'' is a government white paper published on 26 November 2013 by the Scottish Government under First Minister Alex Salmond. It lays out the case for Scottish independence and the means through which Scotland would become an ind ...

(SBS) and EBU membership, as well as participation in competitions, including Scottish entries in the Eurovision Song Contest. However, the referendum result on 18 September 2014 was to remain part of the UK, and the aforementioned BBC retains exclusive rights to represent the UK, including Scotland. Since 2006, Gibraltarian broadcaster Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) has been attempting to gain EBU membership and thus participate independently in the Eurovision Song Contest. However, GBC cannot obtain EBU membership due to the British Overseas Territory not being independent from the UK.

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

broadcast the final of the contest from to .

Gallery

File:Eurovisie Songfestival 1962 te Luxemburg, voor Engeland Ronnie Carroll, Bestanddeelnr 913-6611.jpg,

Ronnie Carroll Ronnie Carroll (born Ronald Cleghorn; 18 August 1934 – 13 April 2015) was a Northern Irish singer, entertainer and political candidate. Career Carroll was born Ronald Cleghorn in 116 Roslyn Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1934, the son o ...

in Luxembourg (

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

) File:Eurovision Song Contest 1965 - Kathy Kirby.jpg,

in Naples ( 1965) File:Eurovision Song Contest 1976 rehearsals - United Kingdom - Brotherhood of Man 20.jpg,

in The Hague (

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

) File:ESC 2007 UK Scooch - Flying the flag (for you).jpg,

Scooch Scooch is a British pop group, comprising performers Natalie Powers, Caroline Barnes, David Ducasse and Russ Spencer. Scooch represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki with their song " Flying the Flag (Fo ...

in Helsinki ( 2007) File:Andy Abraham - ESC 2008.jpg, Andy Abraham in Belgrade (

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

) File:Esc Jade Louise Ewen.jpg,

in Moscow ( 2009) File:UK rehearsals Eurovision 2010 2.jpg,

in Oslo ( 2010) File:Blue eurovision 2011 uk.jpg,

in Düsseldorf ( 2011) File:Bonnie Tyler ESC - United Kingdom 01 crop.JPG,

in Malmö (

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

) File:Molly, ESC2014 press conference 04 (crop).jpg, Molly in Copenhagen (

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

) File:20150520 ESC 2015 Electro Velvet 9139.jpg,

in Vienna ( 2015) File:ESC2016 - United Kingdom 04 (crop).jpg, Joe and Jake in Stockholm (

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

) File:Lucie Jones Eurovision 2017.jpg,

in Kyiv (

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

) File:SuRie (United Kingdom 2018).jpg, SuRie in Lisbon (

) File:ESC2019-UK.jpg, Michael Rice in Tel Aviv (

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

)

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest