The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 with the song "Looking High, High, High", written by John Watson, and performed by Bryan Johnson. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), selected its entry through the Eurovision Song Contest British Final. In addition, the BBC was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the Royal Festival Hall in London, after the winner of the previous edition, Nederlandse Televisie Stichting (NTS) from the Netherlands, opted not to host the event.
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 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 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.
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 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 British participant broadcaster in the contest is the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The country has won the contest five times: in 1967, with "Puppet on a String" performed by Sandie Shaw; in 1969, with "Boom Bang-a-Bang" by Lulu ; in 1976, with "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man; in 1981, with "Making Your Mind Up" by Bucks Fizz; and in 1997, with "Love Shine a Light" by Katrina and the Waves. 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 2013 with the song "Believe in Me" written by Desmond Child, Lauren Christy and Christopher Braide. The song was performed by Bonnie Tyler, who was internally selected by the British broadcaster BBC to represent the United Kingdom at the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. Tyler and the song "Believe in Me" were announced as the British entry on 7 March 2013.
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 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 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 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 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.
The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, with the song "I Wrote a Song", written by Holly Mae Muller, Lewis Thompson, and Karen Poole, and performed by Mae Muller herself. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), internally selected both the song and the performer, in collaboration with record label TaP Music and their management company. In addition, the BBC was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the Liverpool Arena in Liverpool on behalf of the winning broadcaster of the previous edition, the Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC).
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