United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000

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Eurovision Song Contest 2000
Participating broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
National selection
Selection process A Song for Europe 2000
Selection date(s)Semi-final:
14 January 2000
Final:
20 February 2000
Selected artist(s) Nicki French
Selected song"Don't Play That Song Again"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result16th, 28 points
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1999 •2000• 2001►

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "Don't Play That Song Again", written by John Springate and Gerry Shepherd, and performed by Nicki French. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), organised a public selection process to determine its entry for the contest, A Song for Europe 2000. 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.

Contents

As a member of the "Big Four", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 3, the United Kingdom placed sixteenth out of the 24 participating countries with 28 points.

Background

Prior to the 2000 contest, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing the United Kingdom forty-two times. [1] Thus far, it 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 "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, it had only twice finished outside the top 10, in 1978 and in 1987. For the 1999 contest, it finished in twelfth place out of twenty-three competing entries with the song "Say It Again" performed by Precious, which was its worst result since 1987.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, the BBC organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster has traditionally organised a national final featuring a competition among several artists and songs to choose its entry for Eurovision. For its 2000 entry, the BBC announced that a national final involving a public vote would be held to select its entry, reverting to the historic A Song for Europe title but retaining the format from the previous selection show The Great British Song Contest (1996–99). [2]

Before Eurovision

A Song for Europe 2000

Nicki French represented the United Kingdom in 2000 after winning A Song for Europe Nicki French Oxford (cropped).jpg
Nicki French represented the United Kingdom in 2000 after winning A Song for Europe

A Song for Europe 2000 was the national final developed by the BBC in order to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. Eight acts competed in the competition which consisted of a radio semi-final on 14 January 2000 and a televised final on 20 February 2000. The semi-final was broadcast on BBC Radio 2, while the final was broadcast on BBC One. [3]

Competing entries

On 12 August 1999, BBC together with the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) announced an open submission for interested songwriters to submit their songs until October 1999. [4] [5] The 1,000 received submissions were reviewed and a 25-song shortlist was compiled (the song "Stand Up" written by Richard Silver was automatically included in the shortlist after winning the London International Song Contest which was also ran by BASCA) and presented to a professional panel headed by music producer Jonathan King that ultimately selected eight semi-finalists to compete in the national final. [5] [6] [7] [8] The eight artists were announced on 15 December 1999, while the competing songs were premiered during The Ken Bruce Show and Wake Up to Wogan on BBC Radio 2 between 10 and 13 January 2000. [7] Before the national final, the artist Pas De Deux was renamed as India. [9]

Shows

Semi-final

Eight acts competed in the radio semi-final which was hosted by Terry Wogan and Ken Bruce on 14 January 2000. A public televote, which registered 32,105 votes, selected the top four songs that proceeded to the final. [9] [10]

Contestants and results of the semi-final – 14 January 2000
DrawArtistSongSongwriter(s)TelevotePlace
1Helene Hørlyck"Aria"
  • John Tonks
  • Helene Hørlyck
1,8267
2 Catherine Porter "Crazy"
9,1401
3 Nicki French "Don't Play That Song Again"
5,5502
4Sexy Sadie"I Won't Let You Do This to Me"
  • Mike Connaris
  • Teri Bradley
  • Paul Brown
4,4033
5Six Chix"Only the Women Know" Kimberley Rew 4,1154
6Jayne Tretton"Stand Up"Richard Silver2,1826
7Catherine Porter"The Answer"
  • Tony Moore
  • Catherine Porter
1,6358
8India"Wherever You Go"
3,2545

Final

Four acts competed in the televised final on 20 February 2000 which was held at the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire and hosted by Katy Hill. A public televote selected the winner, "Don't Play That Song Again" performed by Nicki French. The televote in the final registered 129,526 votes. [10] [11]

Contestants and results of the final – 20 February 2000
DrawArtistSongTelevotePlace
1Sexy Sadie"I Won't Let You Do This to Me"10,4944
2 Catherine Porter "Crazy"29,3483
3Six Chix"Only the Women Know"42,3292
4 Nicki French "Don't Play That Song Again"47,3551

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 took place at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. Globen 30 ar, febr 2019a.jpg
The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 took place at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 took place at Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, on 13 May 2000. According to Eurovision rules, the participants list included the previous year's winning country, the "Big Four" countries (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom), the countries with the highest average scores between the 1995 and 1999 contests, and any countries which had not competed in the 1999 contest. As a member of the "Big Four", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the contest. [12] On 21 November 1999, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and the United Kingdom was set to perform in position 3, following the entry from the Netherlands and before the entry from Estonia. [13] The United Kingdom finished in sixteenth place with 28 points. [14]

In the United Kingdom, the contest was televised on BBC One and BBC Prime with commentary by Terry Wogan as well as broadcast on BBC Radio 2 with commentary by Ken Bruce. [15] [16] The BBC appointed Colin Berry as its spokesperson to announce the results of the British televote during the broadcast.

Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the United Kingdom and awarded by the United Kingdom in the contest. Around 535,000 valid votes were registered in the UK in total during the five-minute voting window, which determined the nation's points. The United Kingdom awarded its 12 points to Denmark in the contest.

Related Research Articles

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Cry Baby", written by Martin Isherwood, and performed by the duo Jemini. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), organised a public selection process to determine its entry for the contest, A Song for Europe 2003. 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 regional televote.

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the song "Love City Groove", written by Paul Hardy, Jay Williams, Tatsiana Mais, and Stephen Rudden, and performed by Love City Groove. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), selected its entry through a national final. It finished in 10th place with a total of 76 points.

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Where Are You?", written by Scott English, Phil Manikiza, and Simon Stirling, and performed by Imaani. 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 it 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?". She 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 was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1999 with the song "Say It Again", written by Paul Varney, and performed by the group Precious. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), organised a public selection process to determine its entry for the contest, The Great British Song Contest 1999. Eight songs competed over two rounds, with four songs selected through a radio-broadcast semi-final to advance to the televised final round, held on 7 March 1999, where viewers selected the winning entry through televoting. "Say It Again" performed by girl group Precious received the most votes and was selected to represent the nation in the contest.

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "No Dream Impossible", written by Russ Ballard and Chris Winter, and performed by Lindsay Dracass. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), organised a public selection process to determine its entry for the contest, A Song for Europe 2001. 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 was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "Come Back", written by Martyn Baylay, and performed by Jessica Garlick. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), organised a public selection process to determine its entry for the contest, A Song for Europe 2002. 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 was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Hold Onto Our Love", written by Gary Miller and Tim Woodcock, and performed by James Fox. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), organised a public selection process to determine its entry for the contest, Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up 2004. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected entirely through a public vote.

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Touch My Fire", written by Javine Hylton, John Themis, and Jonathan Shalit, and performed by Javine. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), organised a public selection process to determine its entry for the contest, Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up 2005. Five acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected entirely through a public vote.

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Teenage Life", written by Daz Sampson and John Matthews, and performed by Sampson himself. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), organised a public selection process to determine its entry for the contest, Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up 2006. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected entirely through a public vote.

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Flying the Flag ", written by Russ Spencer, Morten Schjolin, Andrew Hill, and Paul Tarry, and performed by the group Scooch. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), organised a public selection process to determine its entry for the contest, Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up 2007. Six acts competed in the national final and the winner was selected through two rounds of public televoting.

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 participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "It's My Time" written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Diane Warren. The song was performed by Jade Ewen. The British entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia was selected via the national final Eurovision: Your Country Needs You, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Six acts competed in the national final which consisted of two heats, 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 2010 with the song "That Sounds Good to Me" written by Pete Waterman, Mike Stock and Steve Crosby. The song was performed by Josh Dubovie. The British entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway was selected via the national final Eurovision: Your Country Needs You 2010, 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 participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Children of the Universe" written by Molly Smitten-Downes and Anders Hansson. The song was performed by Molly, who was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. Molly and "Children of the Universe" was announced as the British entry in a special presentation show titled The UK Launch broadcast on the BBC Red Button service in March 2014.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Still in Love with You" written by David Mindel and Adrian Bax White. The song was performed by the duo Electro Velvet, which was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. Electro Velvet and "Still in Love with You" was announced as the British entry in a special presentation show titled Our Song for Eurovision 2015 broadcast on the BBC Red Button service in March 2015.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "You're Not Alone" written by Matt Schwartz, Justin J. Benson and S. Kanes. The song was performed by Joe and Jake. The British entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden 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 entirely through a public vote.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Never Give Up on You" written by Daniel Salcedo, Emmelie de Forest and Lawrie Martin. The song was performed by Lucie Jones. Songwriter Emmelie de Forest represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Only Teardrops" where she won the competition. The British entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine 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 the combination of a public vote and the votes of an eight-member professional jury.

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Storm" written by Nicole Blair, Gil Lewis and Sean Hargreaves. The song was performed by SuRie. The British entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal 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 the combination of a public vote and the votes of an eight-member professional jury.

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 participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Embers" written by James Newman, Conor Blake, Danny Shah, Tom Hollings and Samuel Brennan. The song was performed by James Newman, who was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2021 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands after he was due to compete in the 2020 contest with "My Last Breath" before the event's cancellation. Newman was announced as the British entrant on 19 February 2021, while the song "Embers" was presented to the public on 11 March 2021.

References

  1. ↑ "United Kingdom | Country profile | Eurovision Song Contest". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "2000". songs4europe.com. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  3. ↑ "Song for Europe 2000". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  4. ↑ "The Biz". Northampton Chronicle and Echo. 12 August 1999. p. 34. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Euro hope for Tesni". North Wales Weekly News. 14 October 1999. p. 31. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  6. ↑ "18 December 1999" (PDF). Music Week. 18 December 1999. p. 3. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Nicki French will sing 'Don't play that song again'". La ESCena. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  8. ↑ "Latest Developments". glitterband.com. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  9. 1 2 "United Kingdom 2000". mylittleworld.nfshost.com. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  10. 1 2 "United Kingdom: A Song for Europe 2000". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  11. ↑ "BBC News | ENTERTAINMENT | UK Euro entry has French flavour". news.bbc.co.uk. 20 February 2000. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  12. ↑ "Rules of the 45th Eurovision Song Contest, 2000" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  13. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 2000 Details". Myledbury.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  14. ↑ "Final of Stockholm 2000". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "Samedi 29 mai" [Saturday 29th May]. TV8 (in French). Zofingen, Switzerland: Ringier. 11 May 2000. pp. 16–21. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022– via Scriptorium.
  16. ↑ "The Eurovision Song Contest – BBC One". Radio Times . 13 May 2000. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022– via BBC Genome Project.
  17. 1 2 "Results of the Final of Stockholm 2000". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
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