United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

United Kingdom
Member station	BBC
National selection events	Eurovision: Your Country Needs You
Appearances
Appearances	53
First appearance	1957
Best result	1st: 1967, 1969, 1976, 1981, 1997
Worst result	Last: 2003, 2008, 2010
External links
BBC page
United Kingdom's page at Eurovision.tv

Javine in Kiev (2005)

Scooch in Helsinki (2007)

Andy Abraham in Belgrade (2008)

Josh Dubovie in Oslo (2010)

The United Kingdom first participated at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957, the second contest. The BBC had wanted to take part in the first contest in 1956, but had submitted their entry to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) after the deadline had passed.

In 1999 a rule change allowed the United Kingdom, along with France, Germany and Spain, to automatically qualify for the next year's final irrespective of their recent scores due to being the highest-paying EBU subscribers. In 2008 it was rumoured that the "Big 4" as they are known, would lose their automatic qualification, and would have to compete in the semi-finals for the first time.^[1] However it was announced by the EBU that the "Big 4" will still compete in the final of the 2009 contest without having to qualify through the semi-final^[2], and this has remained so for the 2010 Contest.

Up to and including 1998 the UK had only twice finished outside the top 10 (in 1978 and 1987). Since then, the country has had less success, only finishing within the top ten twice, and 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 and 2010. 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)". Only the Irish entry received a lower points total in that year. Jessica Garlick in 2002 and Jade Ewen in 2009 have been the only two entrants to have succeeded in earning a top five finish since 1998, and Ewen in particular was praised after her performance of "It's My Time" for ending the run of poor results it had suffered for much of the decade. However, in 2010, the United Kingdom finished last once more, receiving only 10 points.

Records

The UK ranks joint 2nd in its number of Eurovision victories and has the highest cumulative points total of any country in the contest. The UK has won five times (joint second with France and Luxembourg to Ireland's seven wins), and has come 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. Until the 2009 contest the UK held the record for winning by the largest margin, 70 points, which was also in the 1997 contest held in Dublin's Point Theatre in Ireland. This record was broken by Norway on 16 May 2009, though, only 25 countries voted in 1997, whereas 42 voted in 2009.

In 1976 the UK received 164 points from 17 countries, which gave them an average of 9.64 points per country; this remains the record and is unlikely to be broken due to the vastly increased number of countries now eligible to vote in the final, though Norway's 2009 entry fell just 0.20 points short, attaining 387 points from 41 countries for an average of 9.44.

The UK has hosted the event the most times: eight. Even though the UK has only won the contest five times, it has also stepped in when other countries have turned down the chance to host it.

For eight years the UK held the record for receiving the most set of 12 points in one show. They received ten sets of twelve points in 1997 in Dublin, however they then shared this record for four years with Greece who also received ten sets of twelve points in 2005. In 2009 Norway now holds the record with their 387 point win in Moscow. However, only 25 countries voted in the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, compared to 42 countries in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, meaning the United Kingdom got a higher percentage of 12 points.

The United Kingdom currently holds the record for uninterrupted Eurovision appearances, having appeared in 51 consecutive contests since 1959. The only other country which comes close is Spain, ever-present since 1961.

United Kingdom and the "Big Four"

Since 1998, four particular countries have automatically qualified for the Eurovision final, regardless of their positions on the scoreboard in previous Contests.^[3] They earned this special status by being the four biggest financial contributors to the EBU (without which the production of the Eurovision Song Contest would not be possible). These countries are the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain. Due to their untouchable status in the Contest, these countries became known as the "Big Four". Contest Executive Supervisor Svante Stockselius told reporters in a meeting with OGAE Serbia, that if Italy were to return to the contest in the future, that it would also qualify automatically for the finals, becoming part of a "Big Five".^[4][5]

Contestants

† 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).^[6] See also: Allegations of vote-rigging in the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest

Voting history (1975-2010)

United Kingdom benefits regularly from votes from countries where English is an official language; Ireland, Malta and to a lesser degree Cyprus and Israel.

Since the introduction of televoting and the semi-finals at the 2004 contest, the United Kingdom have given Turkey and Greece high points, with either Turkey or Greece receiving the top 12 points each year except in 2006 in which Finland got the 12 points. It has also given Malta high points as well as Ukraine.

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

Rank	Country	Points
1	Ireland	194
2	Sweden	143
3	Germany	138
4	Switzerland	112
5	Greece	110

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

Rank	Country	Points
1	Austria	167
2	Ireland	166
3	Portugal	153
4	Germany	146
5	Belgium	145
=	France	145

NOTE: The totals in the above tables include only points awarded in Eurovision finals, and not the semi-finals since 2004.

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 and Terry Wogan

Commentators

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 provided BBC TV commentary every year from 1980 - 2008.^[7] It was confirmed on 12 August 2008, that Terry Wogan will no longer present the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK. The BBC Radio 2 DJ who has fronted the BBC's coverage for 37 years, said it was "time for someone else to take over".^[8] He was replaced in 2009 by Graham Norton for the final.

Additionally, since 2004, Paddy O'Connell has commentated on the semi-final shows. In 2007, 2009 and 2010 he was also joined by Sarah Cawood. In 2008 he was joined by Caroline Flack. 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 programmes live airing.^[9]

The contest is also broadcast on BBC Radio 2, with Ken Bruce serving as the regular commentator.

Possible participation of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as separate entrants

For several years the Scottish National Party (SNP) has campaigned for a place in Eurovision for Scotland but had been rejected numerous times owing to the fact that Scotland is represented as a part of the British entry 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 Alyn Smith has 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 unknown 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 holds a yearly national song contest called "Cân i Gymru" (Song for Wales)^[15]. S4C also considered a bid for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 but decided not to go ahead.^[16] If Northern Ireland ever considers entering Eurovision, it could be represented by UTV or BBC Northern Ireland.

However, it was announced in late May 2008 that the UK would be participating in 2009 and, therefore, Scotland was not represented in 2009 as a separate entrant.^[17]

In 2009 MEP for Wales Jillian Evans stated her interest in securing Wales a place in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010.

However, to date, these changes have not occurred and the United Kingdom still participates at the Eurovision Song Contest as a united country.

References

External links

• BBC Eurovision site
• UK Eurovision Myspace
• Points to and from the United Kingdom eurovisioncovers.co.uk