United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025
| United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2025 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) | |||
| Country |  United Kingdom | |||
| Selection process | Internal selection | |||
| Announcement date | 7 March 2025 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "What the Hell Just Happened?" | |||
| Artist | Remember Monday | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Participation chronology | ||||
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The United Kingdom will be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the song "What the Hell Just Happened?", written by Charlotte Steele, Holly-Anne Hull, Julie Aagaard, Kes Kamara, Lauren Byrne, Sam Brennan, Thomas Stengaard, and Tom Hollings, and performed by Steele, Hull, and Byrne as Remember Monday. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), internally selected its entry for the contest.
As a member of the "Big Five", the United Kingdom automatically qualifies to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Background
[edit]Prior to the 2025 contest, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing the United Kingdom sixty-six times since its first entry in 1957.[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.[2] After its last win, it has failed to be consistently successful, only reaching the top ten four times: in 1998, 2002, 2009, and 2022; and ending last five times: in 2003 (the first time in the country's history in the contest), 2008, 2010, 2019, and 2021.[3] In 2024, it was represented by "Dizzy" performed by Olly Alexander, which finished in 18th place.[1] The United Kingdom is the country that has hosted the contest the most times, with nine in total (in 1960, 1963, 1968, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1998, and 2023).
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 used various methods to select its entry: From 1957 to 2010, it organised a national final which featured a competition among several artists and songs to choose its entry for the contest. Between 2011 and 2015, the BBC opted to internally select its entry.[4] For its 2016 entry, the broadcaster announced that a national final would be organised again.[5] The same process was used in 2017 and 2018, and changes were brought in for 2019. From 2020, the BBC opted to return to an internal selection.[6]
Before Eurovision
[edit]Internal selection
[edit]The BBC internally selected its entry for the 2025 contest. On 16 October 2024, in a press release, the broadcaster announced that its internal selection would be lead by Andrew Cartmell, who was appointed as the head of delegation for the country, and David May, who previously served as manager for Sam Ryder, who finished in second place for the United Kingdom in 2022. The BBC confirmed that its search for the British entry had been underway for several months with a multitude of British record labels, publisher, songwriters, and the broadcaster's music production labels BBC Music and BBC Introducing. It was also revealed that the British entry would released to the public in March 2025.[7][8]
On 29 January 2025, during The Scott Mills Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, Mills confirmed that the British entry had already been selected and that work was underway in its final presentation.[9] On 4 February 2025, BBC Radio 1 hosts Natalie O'Leary and Vicky Hawkesworth stated that the group Remember Monday had been selected to represent the United Kingdom in Basel, leading to a multitude of British media outlets confirming the group to be the selected entrants;[10][11] the BBC did not respond to the speculation. On 7 March 2025, during The Scott Mills Breakfast Show, Remember Monday were officially confirmed as the British representatives with the song "What the Hell Just Happened?".[12][13] The song was written by group members Charlotte Steele, Holly-Anne Hull, and Lauren Byrne, alongside Julie Aagaard, Kes Kamara, Sam Brennan, Thomas Stengaard, and Tom Hollings.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "United Kingdom". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ Eames, Tom (11 May 2023). "UK at Eurovision: Who has won the Song Contest for the UK and when have they finished last?". Smooth. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- ^ "United Kingdom in Eurovision Voting & Points". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- ^ Adams, William Lee (16 May 2011). "Eurovision 2011: Have Jedward and Blue Made the World's Biggest Song Contest Cool Again?". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- ^ "Public to help choose UK Eurovision entry". BBC News Online. BBC. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ^ "BBC drops Eurovision selection public vote". BBC News Online. BBC. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
- ^ "United Kingdom confirms artist and song plans for Eurovision 2025". bbc.co.uk (Press release). BBC. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
- ^ Bijuvignesh, Darshan (16 October 2024). "🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Eurovision 2025 Artist and Song Selection Process Underway". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
- ^ Bijuvignesh, Darshan (29 January 2025). "🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Eurovision 2025 Entry Has Been Chosen". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
- ^ "Eurovision 2025 UK entry 'leaked' by BBC Radio 1 in the most anticlimactic way". Metro. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
- ^ Lee Adams, Williams (4 February 2025). "Remember Monday are the UK's Eurovision 2025 act". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
- ^ Stephenson, James (6 March 2025). "🇬🇧 United Kingdom: 2025 Act Will Be Announced Friday 7 March". Eurovoix. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
- ^ "BBC Radio 2 - The Scott Mills Breakfast Show, Pressing play on the UK Eurovision entry!". BBC. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
- ^ "Remember Monday will represent the United Kingdom at Eurovision 2025 with What The Hell Just Happened?". bbc.co.uk (Press release). BBC. 7 March 2025. Retrieved 7 March 2025.