The Eurovision Song Contest 1960 was the fifth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on Tuesday 29 March 1960 at the Royal Festival Hall in London, United Kingdom, and hosted by British television presenter and actress Catherine Boyle. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the United Kingdom was offered the rights to stage the contest after the Netherlands, which had won the 1959 contest, declined the opportunity after having organised the event in 1958.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) organised a national final, the Eurovision Song Contest British Final, to select the United Kingdom's entry for the contest. The United Kingdom was represented by the song "Looking High, High, High", performed by Bryan Johnson, and placed 2nd, the United Kingdom's joint best placing in the competition at the time.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) organised a national final to select the United Kingdom's entry for the contest. The song selected was "Sing, Little Birdie", performed by Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson. The song placed second in the contest, at the time the United Kingdom's best result in the competition, and remained so until their first victory in 1967.
The United Kingdom competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. In addition, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on 9 May 1998 after the nation won the competition in 1997 with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. The BBC organised a public selection to select its entry for the contest, The Great British Song Contest 1998. Eight songs competed over two rounds, with four songs selected through a radio-broadcast semi-final advancing to the televised final round, held on 15 March 1998, where viewers selected the winning entry through televoting. Imaani received the most votes and was selected to represent the UK in the contest with the song "Where Are You?". Imaani performed 16th at the international contest, and at the close of the voting process the UK finished in second place with 166 points, the nation's 15th second-place finish since its debut.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "Don't Play That Song Again" written by John Springate and Gerry Shepherd. The song was performed by Nicki French. The British entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden, was selected via the national final A Song for Europe 2000, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Eight acts competed in the national final which consisted of a semi-final and a final, during which the winner was selected entirely through a public televote.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "No Dream Impossible" written by Russ Ballard and Chris Winter. The song was performed by Lindsay Dracass. The British entry for the 2001 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, was selected via the national final A Song for Europe 2001, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Eight acts competed in the national final which consisted of a semi-final and a final, during which the winner was selected entirely through a public televote.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "Come Back" written by Martyn Baylay. The song was performed by Jessica Garlick. The British entry for the 2002 contest in Tallinn, Estonia, was selected via the national final A Song for Europe 2002, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Eight acts competed in the national final which consisted of a semi-final and a final, during which the winner was selected entirely through a public televote.
Pearl Lavinia Carr and Edward Victor "Teddy" Johnson were English husband-and-wife entertainers who were best-known during the 1950s and early 1960s. They were the UK's Eurovision entrants at the 1959 contest with "Sing, Little Birdie", which came second.
The United Kingdom first participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest at the inaugural 2003 edition which took place in Copenhagen, Denmark. ITV, a member organisation of the United Kingdom Independent Broadcasting (UKIB) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), was responsible for the selection process of their participation from 2003 to 2005. The United Kingdom used a national selection format, broadcasting a show entitled Junior Eurovision Song Contest: The British Final, for their participation at the contests. The first representative to participate for the nation at the 2003 contest was Tom Morley with the song "My Song For The World", which finished in third place out of sixteen participating entries, achieving a score of one hundred and eighteen points. The United Kingdom withdrew from competing after the 2005 contest, but returned to the contest in 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia, with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) replacing ITV as the country's broadcaster.
France has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 66 times since its debut at the first contest in 1956. France is one of only seven countries to be present at the first contest, and has been absent from only two contests in its history, missing the 1974 and 1982 contests. Along with Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, France is one of the "Big Five" countries that are automatically prequalified for the final, due to their participant broadcasters being the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). France has won the contest five times.
Eurovision: You Decide is the most recent name of a BBC television programme that was broadcast annually to select the United Kingdom's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The show had previously gone under several other names, including Festival of British Popular Songs (1957), Eurovision Song Contest British Final (1959–1960), The Great British Song Contest (1996–1999), Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up (2004–2007), Eurovision: Your Decision (2008), and Eurovision: Your Country Needs You (2009–2010), but was known, for most of its history, as A Song for Europe.
"Puppet on a String" is a song recorded by British singer Sandie Shaw, written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter. It represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1967, held in Vienna, winning the contest, becoming the first of the United Kingdom's five Eurovision wins.
"Sing, Little Birdie" is a song recorded by husband-and-wife duo Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson with music composed by Stan Butcher and English lyrics written by Syd Cordell. It represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 held in Cannes, placing second. It was the first British Eurovision entrant to be recorded, reaching number 12 in the UK singles chart.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Even If" written by Andy Abraham, Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins. The song was performed by Andy Abraham. The British entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia was selected via the national final Eurovision: Your Decision, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected through three rounds of voting.
The United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 66 times. Its first participation was at the second contest, in 1957, and it has entered every year since 1959. The country has won the contest five times: in 1967, with Sandie Shaw and the song "Puppet on a String"; in 1969, with Lulu and the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang"; in 1976, with Brotherhood of Man and the song "Save Your Kisses for Me"; in 1981, with Bucks Fizz and the song "Making Your Mind Up"; and in 1997, with Katrina and the Waves and the song "Love Shine a Light". The UK has also achieved a record sixteen second-place finishes, the first in 1959 and the most recent in 2022.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Love Will Set You Free" written by Martin Terefe and Sacha Skarbek. The song was performed by Engelbert Humperdinck, who was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Humperdinck was announced as the British entrant on 1 March 2012, while the song "Love Will Set You Free" was presented to the public on 19 March 2012.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Bigger than Us" written by Laurell Barker, Anna-Klara Folin, John Lundvik and Jonas Thander. The song was performed by Michael Rice. Songwriter John Lundvik represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest the same year with the song "Too Late for Love". The British entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel was selected via the national final Eurovision: You Decide, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected through two rounds of voting.
The United Kingdom originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "My Last Breath" written by James Newman, Ed Drewett, Adam Argyle and Iain James. The song was performed by James Newman, who was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Newman and "My Last Breath" was announced as the British entry on 27 February 2020.
The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy. British singer-songwriter Sam Ryder represented the country with his song "Space Man", which he co-wrote with Max Wolfgang and Amy Wadge. He was selected as the 2022 UK entrant by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in collaboration with record label TaP Music and their management company.
The United Kingdom returned to compete in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Armenia, which was held on 11 December 2022 in Yerevan. On 25 August 2022, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) announced that the country would return to the contest after a sixteen-year absence, replacing ITV who previously organised the country’s participation in the contest between 2003 and 2005. Freya Skye was selected as the UK entrant with the song "Lose My Head".
"Looking High, High, High"