United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

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United Kingdom
Member station	BBC
National selection events	Eurovision: Your Decision
Appearances	50
First appearance	1957
Best result	1st, 1967, 1969, 1976, 1981, 1997
Worst result	Last (26th), 2003 Last (25th), 2008
External links
BBC page
United Kingdom's page at Eurovision.tv

This is an overview of the performance of the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest since they first took part in 1957, the competition's second year. The UK have the longest unbroken participation record in the contest, having appeared in the final every year since 1959. ^[1] Only Germany have entered the competition more times.

In 1999 the rules changed and the United Kingdom, along with France, Germany and Spain, now automatically qualify for the next year's final irrespective of their recent scores because they are the highest-paying European Broadcasting Union subscribers.

Up to and including 1998 (where the UK came second, following a win the previous year) the UK had almost always been in the top 10. Since then, with the exception of 2002, the record has been much worse, with none of their entries making it into the top 10. The infamous 2003 "nul points" result was the first time that the UK had come last in the contest, something that was then repeated in 2008. In the 2007 contest only two countries, Malta and Ireland, awarded the UK entry any points, with Malta awarding the maximum score of twelve points for the Scooch entry "Flying the Flag (For You)". It has later been stated^{[citation needed]} this was a protest against the dominance of Eastern European countries. Only the Irish entry received a lower points total in that year. The elimination of language restrictions in 1999 saw the UK, along with Malta and Ireland, lose the advantage of being the only countries able to send songs sung in English.

It was reported in February 2008 that there is nothing to prevent Scotland taking part in the Eurovision^[2] which may also lead to separate entries for England, Wales and Northern Ireland rather than a United Kingdom entry. However, the EBU has reported that there are 'no discussions' about the possibility and the BBC have the contract to submit a UK entry which they have no plans to end.^[3] However on 26 May 2008, the BBC anounced it would participate in Eurovision Song Contest 2009 as the UK.^[4][5]

Contents 1 Records 2 Voting history 3 Hostings 4 Possible participation of Scotland as a separate entrant 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Records

The UK has by far the best cumulative points record of any country in the contest, having won it five times (second only to Ireland's seven), and by coming second fifteen times.

Until 2004, the UK also had the record for the largest number of points scored in a single contest, in 1997 with the runaway winner 'Love Shine A Light' which scored 227 points. However, in 1997, only 25 countries voted, whilst in 2004, when the points record was broken, 36 countries voted. The UK still holds the record for winning by the largest margin, 70 points, which was also in the 1997 contest.

In 1976 the UK received 164 points from 17 countries, which gave them an average of 9.64 points per country; this record has yet to be broken by any other country.

The UK also holds the record of having hosted the event the most times: 8. Even though the UK has won the contest 5 times, it has also stepped in when other countries turned down the chance to host it. Ireland has hosted the event 7 times due to their 7 wins.

The UK holds the record for receiving the most set of 12 points in one show. They received 10 sets of twelve points in 1997, however they share this record with Greece who also received 10 sets of twelve points in 2005. However, it is hard to compare these two years, as 25 countries voted in 1997 and 39 countries in 2005. ^[6]

Year	Artist	Song	Place	Points	UK Chart Pos[7]
Info link	Author	Composer	Conductor
1957	Patricia Bredin	All	7	6
UK info	Alan Stranks	Reynell Wreford	Eric Robinson
1959	Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson	Sing, Little Birdie	2	16	12
UK info	Syd Cordell	Stan Butcher	Eric Robinson
1960	Bryan Johnson	Looking High, High, High	2	25	20
UK info	John Watson	John Watson	Eric Robinson
1961	The Allisons	"Are You Sure"	2	24	2
UK info	Bob & John Allison	Bob & John Allison	Hank Robinson
1962	Ronnie Carroll	Ring-a-Ding Girl	4	10	46
UK info	Stan Butcher	Syd Cordell	Wally Stott
1963	Ronnie Carroll	Say Wonderful Things	4	28	6
UK info	Norman Newell	Philip Green	Eric Robinson
1964	Matt Monro	I Love the Little Things	2	17
UK info	Tony Hatch	Tony Hatch	Harry Rabinowitz
1965	Kathy Kirby	I Belong	2	26	36
UK info	Phil Peters	Peter Lee Sterling	Eric Robinson
1966	Kenneth McKellar	A Man Without Love	9	8	30
UK info	Peter Callander	Cyril Ornadel	Harry Rabinowitz
1967	Sandie Shaw	Puppet on a String	1	47	1
UK info	Bill Martin	Phil Coulter	Kenny Woodman
1968	Cliff Richard	Congratulations†	2	28	1
UK info	B. Martin & P. Coulter	B. Martin & P. Coulter	Norrie Paramor
1969	Lulu	Boom Bang-a-Bang	1	18	2
UK info	Peter Warne	Alan Moorhouse	Johnny Harris
1970	Mary Hopkin	Knock Knock - Who's There?	2	26	2
UK info	J. Carter & G. Stephens	J. Carter & G. Stephens	Johnny Arthey
1971	Clodagh Rodgers	Jack in the Box	4	98	4
UK info	David Myers	John Worsley	Johnny Arthey
1972	The New Seekers	Beg, Steal or Borrow	2	114	2
UK info	T. Cole, G. Hall & S. Wolfe	T. Cole, G. Hall & S. Wolfe	David MacKay
1973	Cliff Richard	Power to All Our Friends	3	123	4
UK info	G. Fletcher & D. Flett	G. Fletcher & D. Flett	David MacKay
1974	Olivia Newton-John	Long Live Love	4	14	11
UK info	V. Avon & H. Spiro	V. Avon & H. Spiro	Nick Ingman
1975	The Shadows	Let Me Be the One	2	138	12
UK info	Paul Curtis	Paul Curtis	Alyn Ainsworth
1976	Brotherhood of Man	Save Your Kisses for Me	1	164	1
UK info	T. Hiller, L. Sheridan & M. Lee	T. Hiller, L. Sheridan & M. Lee	Alyn Ainsworth
1977	Lynsey de Paul & Mike Moran	Rock Bottom	2	121	19
UK info	L. De Paul & M. Moran	L. De Paul & M. Moran	Ronnie Hazlehurst
1978	Co-Co	The Bad Old Days	11	61	13
UK info	S. de Sykes & S. Slater	S. de Sykes & S. Slater	Alyn Ainsworth
1979	Black Lace	Mary Ann	7	73	42
UK info	Peter Morris	Peter Morris	Ken Jones
1980	Prima Donna	Love Enough for Two	3	106	48
UK info	S. de Sykes & S. Slater	S. de Sykes & S. Slater	Johnny Coleman
1981	Bucks Fizz	Making Your Mind Up	1	136	1
UK info	Andy Hill	John Danter	Johnny Coleman
1982	Bardo	One Step Further	7	76	2
UK info	Simon Jeffries	Simon Jeffries	Ronnie Hazlehurst
1983	Sweet Dreams	I'm Never Giving Up	6	69	21
UK info	R. Roker, J. Pulsford & P. Wigger	R. Roker, J. Pulsford & P. Wigger	Johnny Coleman
1984	Belle & the Devotions	Love Games	7	63	11
UK info	P. Curtis & G. Sacher	P. Curtis & G. Sacher	Johnny Coleman
1985	Vikki Watson	Love Is	4	100	49
UK info	V. Watson & J. Kaleth	V. Watson & J. Kaleth	Johnny Coleman
1986	Ryder	Runner in the Night	7	72
UK info	Maureen Darbyshire	Brian Wade	No Conductor
1987	Rikki	Only the Light	13	47
UK info	Richard Peebles	Richard Peebles	Ronnie Hazlehurst
1988	Scott Fitzgerald	Go	2	136
UK info	Julie Forsyth	Julie Forsyth	Ronnie Hazlehurst
1989	Live Report	Why Do I Always Get It Wrong?	2	130	73
UK info	Brian Hodgson	John Beeby	Ronnie Hazlehurst
1990	Emma	Give a Little Love Back to the World	6	87	33
UK info	Paul Curtis	Paul Curtis	Alyn Ainsworth
1991	Samantha Janus	A Message to Your Heart	10	47	30
UK info	Paul Curtis	Paul Curtis	Ronnie Hazlehurst
1992	Michael Ball	One Step Out of Time	2	139	20
UK info	P. Davies, T. Ryan & V. Stratton	P. Davies, T. Ryan & V. Stratton	Ronnie Hazlehurst
1993	Sonia	Better the Devil You Know	2	164	15
UK info	D. Collinson & B. Teasdale	D. Collinson & B. Teasdale	Nigel Wright
1994	Frances Ruffelle	Lonely Symphony (We Will Be Free)	10	63	25
UK info	G. de Angelis & M. Dean	G. de Angelis & M. Dean	Michael Reed
1995	Love City Groove	Love City Groove	10	76	7
UK info	S. Rudden, C. Mais, J. Williams, P. Hardy & Y. Charles	S. Rudden, C. Mais, J. Williams, P. Hardy & Y. Charles	Mike Dixon
1996	Gina G	Ooh Aah...Just a Little Bit	8	77	1
UK info	S. Tauber & S. Rodway	S. Tauber & S. Rodway	Ernie Dunstall
1997	Katrina & the Waves	Love Shine a Light	1	227	3
UK info	Kimberley Rew	Kimberley Rew	Don Airey
1998	Imaani	Where Are You?	2	166	15
UK info	S. English, S. Stirling & P. Mankiza	S. English, S. Stirling & P. Mankiza	James McMillan
1999	Precious	Say it Again	12	38	6
UK info	Paul Varney	Paul Varney	No Conductor
2000	Nicki French	Don't Play that Song Again	16	28	34
UK info	J. Springate & G. Shephard	J. Springate & G. Shephard	No Conductor
2001	Lindsay D	No Dream Impossible	15	28	32
UK info	R. Ballard & C. Winter	R. Ballard & C. Winter	No Conductor
2002	Jessica Garlick	Come Back	3	111	13
UK info	Martyn Baylay	Martyn Baylay	No Conductor
2003	Jemini	Cry Baby	26	0	15
UK info	Martin Isherwood	Martin Isherwood	No Conductor
2004	James Fox	Hold on to Our Love	16	29	13
UK info	G. Miller & T. Woodcock	G. Miller & T. Woodcock	No Conductor
2005	Javine Hylton	Touch My Fire	22	18	18
UK info	J. Hylton & J. Themis	J. Hylton & J. Themis	No Conductor
2006	Daz Sampson	Teenage Life	19	25	8
UK info	D. Sampson & J. Matthews	D. Sampson & J. Matthews	No Conductor
2007	Scooch	Flying the Flag (for You)	23	19	5
UK info	R. Spencer, M. Schjolin, A. Hill & P. Tarry	R. Spencer, M. Schjolin, A. Hill & P. Tarry	No Conductor
2008	Andy Abraham	Even If	25	14	67
UK info	A. Abraham, A. Watkins & P. Wilson	A. Abraham, A. Watkins & P. Wilson	No Conductor

† In a 2008 Spanish documentary, film-maker Montse Fernandez Vila alleged that vote-rigging by Francisco Franco is the reason that Cliff Richard's Congratulations did not win the contest (it lost out by 1 vote).^[8] See also: Allegations of vote-rigging in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest

[edit] Voting history

This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the talk page for details.(May 2008)

The United Kingdom has given the most points to...

Rank	Country	Points
1	Ireland	187
2	Sweden	136
3	Germany	126
4	Switzerland	112
5	Israel	100

The United Kingdom has received the most points from...

Rank	Country	Points
1	Austria	167
3	Ireland	152
2	Belgium	145
4	Portugal	143
5	France	141

However, if we look at the voting history since the introduction of televoting for all countries in 1998 (televoting began in 1997 in five countries), the top five countries are different:

Rank	Country	Points
1	Malta	58
2	Ireland	40
3	Croatia	25
=	Turkey	25
4	Estonia	22
=	Israel	22
5	Romania	17

Had the televotes from Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden in 1997 been included, Austria would have given the UK a total of 24 points, Sweden 23, and Germany and Switzerland 21 in the last ten years.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Hostings

Year	Location	Venue	Presenter
1960	London	Royal Festival Hall	Katie Boyle
1963	London	BBC Television Centre	Katie Boyle
1968	London	Royal Albert Hall	Katie Boyle
1972	Edinburgh	Usher Hall	Moira Shearer
1974	Brighton	Brighton Dome	Katie Boyle
1977	London	Wembley Conference Centre	Angela Rippon
1982	Harrogate	Harrogate International Centre	Jan Leeming
1998	Birmingham	National Indoor Arena	Ulrika Jonsson, Terry Wogan

Over the years BBC commentary has been provided by several experienced radio and television presenters, including Tom Fleming, David Vine, David Jacobs, Dave Lee Travis, Pete Murray, John Dunn and Michael Aspel. However Terry Wogan has provided BBC commentary every year since 1980.^[9]

[edit] Possible participation of Scotland as a separate entrant

Scotland could be making their Eurovision debut in the 2009 contest. For several years the Scottish National Party (SNP) has campaigned for a place in Eurovision for Scotland but had been rejected numerous times due to the fact that Scotland is represented as a part of the UK and is represented by the BBC.^[10]

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 contest as the BBC currently has exclusive rights to represent the entire United Kingdom.^[10]

Scotland could be represented by STV, Border TV or BBC Scotland. MEP Alan Smyth had said in the European Parliament "Other small countries have done it [entered the competition] and I will be happy to help any of the broadcasting companies through the progress."^{[11][12][13][14]}

If Scotland were to participate, however, it is unsure whether or not Wales and Northern Ireland would show any interest in entering Eurovision although S4C (the Welsh language media channel) has expressed an interest, and in addition already hold a yearly regional song contest called "Cân i Gymru" (Song for Wales)^[15].

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• BBC Eurovision site
• A British perspective on the Eurovision Song Contest
• UK Eurovision Myspace

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