United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

Eurovision Song Contest 2016
Country  United Kingdom
National selection
Selection process Eurovision: You Decide
Selection date(s) 26 February 2016
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2015 • 2016

The United Kingdom will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The British entry will be selected via the national final Eurovision: You Decide, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts will compete in the national final and the winner will be selected entirely through a public vote.

Background

Prior to the 2016 contest, the United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-eight times.[1] Thus far, the United Kingdom has won the contest five times: in 1967 with the song "Puppet on a String" performed by Sandie Shaw, in 1969 with the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang" performed by Lulu, in 1976 with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" performed by Brotherhood of Man, in 1981 with the song "Making Your Mind Up" performed by Bucks Fizz and in 1997 with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. To this point, the nation is noted for having finished as the runner-up in a record fifteen contests. Up to and including 1998, the UK had only twice finished outside the top 10, in 1978 and 1987. Since 1999, the year in which the rule was abandoned that songs must be performed in one of the official languages of the country participating, the UK has had less success, thus far only finishing within the top ten twice: in 2002 with the song "Come Back" performed by Jessica Garlick and in 2009 with the song "It's My Time" performed by Jade Ewen. For the 2015 contest, the United Kingdom finished in twenty-fourth place out of twenty-seven competing entries with the song "Still in Love with You" performed by Electro Velvet.

The British national broadcaster, BBC, broadcasts the event within the United Kingdom and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. BBC announced that the United Kingdom would participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 on 9 September 2015.[2] Between 2011 to 2015, BBC opted to internally select the British entry. For their 2016 entry, the broadcaster announced that a national final would be organised featuring a competition among several artists and songs to choose the British entry for Eurovision. This marked the first time since 2010 that a national final involving a public vote would be held to select United Kingdom's entry.[3]

Before Eurovision

Eurovision: You Decide

Eurovision: You Decide is the national final developed by the BBC in order to select the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. Six acts will compete in a televised show on 26 February 2016 held at The O2 Forum venue in Kentish Town, London and hosted by Mel Giedroyc. The winner will be selected entirely through a public vote.[4] The show will be broadcast on BBC Four.[5]

Competing entries

On 30 September 2015, BBC announced an open submission for interested artists to submit their songs in the form of a video recording.[6] The submission period lasted until 20 November 2015. The received submissions from the open call were reviewed and a shortlist was compiled by the UK branch of the international OGAE fan club. Additional entries were provided to the BBC by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) who ran a songwriting competition amongst its members. The BBC also collaborated with the former music director of RCA Records and founder of Innocent Records, Hugh Goldsmith, to consult with music industry experts including writers, producers, artist managers and members of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in order to encourage entry submissions and involvement in the national final. Songs from all entry methods were included in a final shortlist which was presented to a professional panel that ultimately selected six finalists to compete in the national final.[3][5] The six competing songs will be premiered during The Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2 on 22 February 2016.[7]

Final

Six acts will compete in the televised final on 26 February 2016. In addition to their performances, guest performers will include previous Eurovision Song Contest winners Måns Zelmerlöw, who won the contest for Sweden in 2015 with the song "Heroes", and Katrina Leskanich, who won the contest for the United Kingdom in 1997 as the lead vocalist of the band Katrina and the Waves performing the song "Love Shine a Light".[8] A panel of experts will provide feedback regarding the songs during the show. A public vote consisting of televoting and online voting will select the winner.[9]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big 5", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final on 14 May 2016. In addition to their participation in the final, the United Kingdom is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. During the semi-final allocation draw on 25 January 2016, the United Kingdom was assigned to broadcast and vote in the second semi-final on 12 May 2016.[10]

In the United Kingdom, the semi-finals will be broadcast on BBC Four, while the final will be televised on BBC One.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "United Kingdom | Country profile | Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Eurovision United Kingdom: BBC confirms participation in Eurovision 2016". esctoday.com. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Public to help choose UK Eurovision entry - BBC News". BBC News Online. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (17 January 2016). "United Kingdom Final on 26th February". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "This year ‘you decide’ our UK Eurovision 2016 act!". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  6. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (30 September 2015). "BBC unveils biggest song search ever for 2016 UK entry". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Weaver, Jessica (18 January 2016). "United Kingdom: National final entries to premiere on 22 February". esctoday.com. ESCToday.com. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  8. ↑ Hyde, Anne (22 January 2016). "United Kingdom NF – More details revealed!". escbubble.com. ESCBubble. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Eurovision: You Decide". radiotimes.com. Radio Times. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  10. ↑ Jordan, Paul (25 January 2016). "Allocation Draw: The results!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.