The long awaited news has arrived! Last night, British broadcaster BBC announced on Twitter that the United Kingdom’s 2020 entry for Eurovision would be announced on Thursday 27th February! UK fans only have a few more days to wait until the big announcement…
The artist and song will be revealed by Greg James on BBC Radio 1 and by Ken Bruce on BBC Radio 2. The cross-over period between these two radio shows is 10:30-11:00 CET, so the announcement is expected around this time.
First internal selection since 2015
The United Kingdom are known as a country who traditionally select their entry via a national final. This is only the sixth year in which the UK are not holding a national final to select their Eurovision entry – the last time this happened was in 2015.
Between 2011 and 2015, the BBC internally selected the British acts for Eurovision and the entries brought mixed results for the UK. The first British act to be internally selected was Blue in 2011. They finished in 11th place at Eurovision with their song, “I Can”. Blue brought the UK their best result of the 2010s, with the island nation failing to reach the top 10 in the last decade.
Bonnie Tyler in 2013 and Molly in 2014 brought the UK two top 20 finishes. Bonnie finished in 19th place with “Believe in Me” and Molly finished in 17th place with “Children of the Universe”.
The other two internally selected acts – Engelbert Humperdinck (2012) and Electro Velvet (2015) – brought considerably worse results, finishing in 25th place and 24th place respectively. After teaming up with record label, BMG, the UK are hoping for better results in Rotterdam!
United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest
The United Kingdom made their Eurovision debut in 1957, after missing the first contest in Lugano. Their debut entry, “All”, performed by Patricia Bredin finished in 7th place with 6 points.
Over the years, the UK has won the contest five times. Their most recent win was in 1997 when Katrina & The Waves walked away from Dublin victorious with their song, “Love Shine a Light”. The UK have also finished in second place 15 times, and in third place a further three times.
In Tel Aviv, Michael Rice represented the United Kingdom with “Bigger Than Us”. After only racking up a total of 11 points, Michael finished last place in the final, bringing the UK their fourth last-place finish.
Are you excited to hear the UK’s Eurovision entry? What are you hoping from the island nation?
Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA.