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United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024

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Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Participating broadcasterBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Country United Kingdom
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)
  • Artist: 16 December 2023
  • Song: 1 March 2024
Selected artist(s)Olly Alexander
Selected song"Dizzy"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result18th, 46 points
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2023 • 2024 • 2025►

The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song "Dizzy" written by Olly Alexander and Daniel Harle, and performed by Olly Alexander himself. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), internally selected both the song and the performer.

As a member of the "Big Five", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 13, the United Kingdom placed eighteenth out of the 25 performing countries with 46 points.

Background

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Main article: United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2024 contest, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing the United Kingdom sixty-five 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 latest 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 2023, it was represented by Mae Muller with "I Wrote a Song", which finished in 25th 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

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Olly Alexander (pictured in 2019) was internally selected by the BBC.

Internal selection

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On 1 August 2023, TaP Music, the label with which the BBC had collaborated to internally select the British act in 2022 and 2023, announced that it had terminated their partnership with the broadcaster.[7] On 24 August, the head of entertainment at BBC, Kalpna Patel-Knight,[8] commented on the news, indicating that the broadcaster's intention was to look for another specialist team for 2024.[9]

On 17 October 2023, the BBC revealed that executive producer Lee Smithurst and Will Wilkin, commissioning executive at BBC Music, had led the search for both the 2024 act and song during the summer.[10][11] By October, Olly Alexander was selected, which the artist himself announced during the final of the 21st series of Strictly Come Dancing on 16 December.[12] His song for the contest, titled "Dizzy" and co-written with Danny L Harle, was released on 1 March 2024.[13] Later that evening, Alexander appeared on a special broadcast on BBC One, titled Graham Meets Olly, where he was interviewed by Graham Norton, followed by the first full televised broadcast of the song's music video.[14]

Preparation and promotion

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On 16 February 2024, Alexander travelled to Tbilisi, where he met with Georgian representative Nutsa Buzaladze before filming the music video for "Dizzy" in the country.[15]

Following the release of "Dizzy", Alexander made appearances on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, where the song received its radio premiere on The Radio 2 Breakfast Show with Zoe Ball.[16][17] Alexander performed "Dizzy" live on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on 9 March 2024, as part of the End of the Show Show segment. The day prior to this performance, 8 March 2024, Alexander performed "Dizzy" for Vevo's Live from Vevo Studio series.[18] In late April 2024, he travelled to New York, where he was a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show.[19] On 1 May 2024, the singer made a cameo appearance on an episode of the soap opera EastEnders, where he was seen rehearsing his Eurovision performance.[20]

As part of the promotion of his participation in the contest, Alexander attended the London Eurovision Party on 7 April 2024 as the headline act, as well as the PrePartyES in Madrid on 30 March 2024, the Eurovision in Concert event in Amsterdam on 13 April 2024, and the Nordic Eurovision Party in Stockholm on 14 April 2024.[21]

Controversy

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See also: Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 § Calls for exclusion

After his reveal as the British entrant for the contest, it emerged that, in October, Alexander had signed a letter by LGBT association Voices4London which accused Israel – one of the participating countries – of committing apartheid against Palestinians and "Zionist propaganda" of pinkwashing the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.[22] The Israeli embassy in London, as well as spokespeople of the Israeli government in the UK, criticised Alexander's views as "biased" and the BBC for "sending an entrant to Eurovision who espouses [...] partial views of Israel and promotes [...] dehumanising language of Israelis".[23][24] The BBC commented that it was not in a position to cut ties with someone who is not a journalist over their personal use of social media, thereby confirming Alexander as the 2024 UK representative.[25] The incident occurred in the backdrop of the Israel–Hamas war, which led to calls for Israel to be excluded from the contest.

On 29 March 2024, Alexander released a joint statement with other Eurovision 2024 entrants – namely Bambie Thug (Ireland), Gåte (Norway), Iolanda (Portugal), Megara (San Marino), Mustii (Belgium), Nemo (Switzerland), Saba (Denmark), Silvester Belt (Lithuania) and Windows95man (Finland) – calling for "an immediate and lasting ceasefire" in Gaza as well as the return of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.[26] Alexander received criticism over his refusal to boycott the contest despite Israel's participation, and a dedicated petition was signed by over 450 queer artists, with a protest calling for his withdrawal subsequently taking place outside Outernet London on the day of the London Eurovision Party.[27][28] In an interview with The Times on 2 May 2024, the singer claimed to have experienced severe stress on the occasion, "trying not to have a breakdown" and feeling "ashamed of [himself] and embarrassed", while reiterating that he would participate as his withdrawal would not "make a difference" with regard to the humanitarian and hostage crises.[29][30]

At Eurovision

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Olly Alexander during a rehearsal before the final.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 took place at Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden. It consisted of two semi-finals held on 7 and 9 May, respectively, and the final on 11 May 2024. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete in the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progressed to the final. As a member of the "Big Five", the United Kingdom automatically qualifies to compete in the final on 11 May 2024, but is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. This was decided via a draw held during the semi-final allocation draw on 30 January 2024, when it was announced that the United Kingdom would be voting in the first semi-final.[31][32] For the first time for a contest held outside of the United Kingdom, the BBC made the draw available on its online platform BBC iPlayer.[33] Despite being an automatic qualifier for the final, the British entry was also performed during the semi-final.[34] On 4 May 2024, a draw was held to determine which half of the final each "Big Five" country would perform in; the United Kingdom drew to perform in the first half of the show.[35]

The BBC broadcast all three shows of the contest on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with semi-final commentary by Scott Mills and Rylan Clark and final commentary by Graham Norton, as well as on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds, with semi-final commentary by Richie Anderson and final commentary by Mills and Clark,[36] and on BBC Red Button with British Sign Language interpreters.[37][38][39] In addition, as part of the Eurovision programming, the BBC cooperated with DR and SVT alongside other EBU member broadcasters – namely ARD/WDR, ČT, ERR, France Télévisions, NRK, NTR, RÚV, VRT, and Yle – to produce and air a documentary titled ABBA – Against the Odds, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Sweden's first victory at the contest with "Waterloo" by ABBA.[40][41] The BBC also rebroadcast the 1974 contest in full as part of the anniversary celebrations; the contest aired on BBC Four on 7 April 2024 and was preceded by an introduction from 2023 co-host Hannah Waddingham.[42] A BBC-produced documentary following Alexander's Eurovision journey premiered during the week of the contest.[20]

Performance

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Olly Alexander took part in technical rehearsals on 2 and 4 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 10 and 11 May.[43] The theme of his performance of "Dizzy" at the contest is set around a "post-apocalyptic dystopian boxing gym locker room, aboard a spaceship hurtling toward Earth through a black hole in 1985", with four male backing dancers and the singer himself dressed in red boxing gear.[44]

Final

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On 4 May 2024, a draw was held to determine which half of the final each "Big Five" country would perform in; the United Kingdom drew to perform in the first half of the show.[35] The United Kingdom performed in position 13, following the entry from Greece and before the entry from Norway.[45] Olly Alexander once again took part in dress rehearsals on 10 and 11 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show on 11 May. He performed a repeat of his semi-final performance during the final on 11 May. The United Kingdom placed eighteenth in the final, scoring 46 points, all of which came from the juries.

Voting

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See also: Voting at the Eurovision Song Contest

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to and by the United Kingdom in the first semi-final and in the final. Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting in the final vote, while the semi-final vote was based entirely on the vote of the public.[46] The UK jury consisted of Maia Beth, Adam Murray, Louise Redknapp, Rika, and Kojo Samuel.[47][48] In the final, the United Kingdom placed 18th with 46 points. Over the course of the contest, the UK awarded its 12 points to Lithuania in the first semi-final, and to Portugal (jury) and Israel (televote) in the final.[49][50]

The BBC appointed Joanna Lumley as its spokesperson to announce the British jury's votes in the final.[51]

Points awarded to the United Kingdom

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Points awarded to the United Kingdom (Final)[50]
Score Televote Jury
12 points
10 points
8 points
7 points
6 points  Belgium
5 points
4 points
3 points
2 points  Spain
1 point

Points awarded by the United Kingdom

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Detailed voting results

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Each participating broadcaster assembles a five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent. Each jury, and individual jury member, is required to meet a strict set of criteria regarding professional background, as well as diversity in gender and age. No member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.[52] The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.

The following members comprised the British jury:[47][48]

Detailed voting results from United Kingdom (Semi-final 1)[49]
Draw Country Televote
Rank Points
01  Cyprus 10 1
02  Serbia 14
03  Lithuania 1 12
04  Ireland 2 10
05  Ukraine 4 7
06  Poland 5 6
07  Croatia 3 8
08  Iceland 11
09  Slovenia 13
10  Finland 7 4
11  Moldova 12
12  Azerbaijan 15
13  Australia 6 5
14  Portugal 9 2
15  Luxembourg 8 3
Detailed voting results from the United Kingdom (Final)[50]
Draw Country Jury Televote
Juror A Juror B Juror C Juror D Juror E Rank Points Rank Points
01  Sweden 9 5 3 11 6 5 6 18
02  Ukraine 14 11 6 10 21 13 5 6
03  Germany 11 20 10 3 12 9 2 17
04  Luxembourg 6 15 5 5 8 7 4 19
05  Netherlands ‡[a] 18 2 24 25 20 12 N/A
06  Israel 17 23 9 6 24 15 1 12
07  Lithuania 8 17 11 19 5 11 3 8
08  Spain 24 19 20 22 22 24 11
09  Estonia 25 18 21 24 16 23 16
10  Ireland 12 1 15 8 4 4 7 2 10
11  Latvia 4 6 7 7 23 8 3 7 4
12  Greece 21 22 18 21 11 21 10 1
13  United Kingdom
14  Norway 23 24 22 20 25 25 20
15  Italy 7 7 4 4 18 6 5 12
16  Serbia 10 16 17 14 17 18 23
17  Finland 19 14 23 23 13 22 8 3
18  Portugal 2 3 1 2 3 1 12 21
19  Armenia 20 9 14 12 15 17 14
20  Cyprus 13 13 8 9 7 10 1 13
21   Switzerland 1 10 2 1 2 2 10 6 5
22  Slovenia 5 12 16 16 14 14 24
23  Croatia 3 4 13 13 1 3 8 4 7
24  Georgia 15 21 12 15 19 19 22
25  France 16 25 25 17 10 20 9 2
26  Austria 22 8 19 18 9 16 15

Notes

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  1. ^ The Netherlands was disqualified prior to the final.[53][54]

References

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  1. ^ a b "United Kingdom". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "United Kingdom in Eurovision Voting & Points". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Public to help choose UK Eurovision entry". BBC News Online. BBC. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  6. ^ "BBC drops Eurovision selection public vote". BBC News Online. BBC. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  7. ^ Stephenson, James (1 August 2023). "United Kingdom: TaP Music Ends Eurovision Partnership with BBC". Eurovoix. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Kalpna Patel-Knight appointed in new Head of Entertainment commissioning role". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  9. ^ SuperTV [@superTV247] (24 August 2023). "The head of BBC entertainment also commented on selecting a #Eurovision artist for 2024, following the departure of TaP […]" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 August 2023 – via Twitter. I think we will continue going to specialists in the industry to help us pick our act going forward.
  10. ^ Adams, William Lee (18 October 2023). "United Kingdom: BBC confirms Eurovision 2024 participation...and says artist search took place 'over the summer'". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
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  12. ^ Savage, Mark (17 December 2023). "Olly Alexander says it will be 'a wild ride' and confirms song is 'not a ballad'". BBC News Online. BBC. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
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  14. ^ "Graham Meets Olly". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  15. ^ Shalikashvili, Mariam (16 February 2024). ევროვიზიის ბრიტანელი მონაწილე კლიპს საქართველოში გადაიღებს [The British Eurovision participant will shoot the clip in Georgia]. 1TV (in Georgian). GPB. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
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  21. ^ Granger, Anthony (11 March 2024). "United Kingdom: Olly Alexander Announces Four Date Pre-Party Tour". Eurovoix. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  22. ^ Penna, Dominic (20 December 2023). "BBC urged to sack Eurovision entrant who called Israel an 'apartheid state'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  23. ^ Kanter, Jake (21 December 2023). "BBC Urged To Fire UK Eurovision Entrant Olly Alexander After He Signed Letter Accusing 'Apartheid' State Israel Of Genocide". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  24. ^ Goodman, Naria (23 December 2023). "בריטניה: שגרירות ישראל יוצאת נגד השתתפות הנציג הבריטי - אירוויזיון 2024" [Great Britain: The Israeli embassy opposes the participation of the British representative]. EuroMix (in Hebrew). Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  25. ^ Penna, Dominic (22 December 2023). "BBC will not stop Eurovision contestant expressing his political views". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  26. ^ Mancheño, José Miguel (29 March 2024). "Varios artistas de Eurovisión 2024 firman un comunicado conjunto pidiendo un alto al fuego en Gaza" [Various Eurovision 2024 artists sign a joint statement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza]. ESCplus España (in European Spanish). Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  27. ^ Mouriquand, David (29 March 2024). "Queer artists urge UK's Eurovision entry Olly Alexander to boycott competition over Israel". Euronews. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  28. ^ Stephenson, James (9 April 2024). "EBU Releases Statement Regarding Treatment of Eurovision 2024 Artists". Eurovoix. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  29. ^ Dean, Jonathan (2 May 2024). "Olly Alexander on Eurovision: 'I was trying not to have a breakdown'". The Times. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  30. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (3 May 2024). "Olly Alexander cries as he addresses Eurovision controversy over Israel". The Independent. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  31. ^ Van Dijk, Sem Anne (13 December 2023). "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Allocation Draw on January 30". Eurovoix. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  32. ^ "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Draw results". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  33. ^ Granger, Anthony (21 January 2023). "United Kingdom: The Draw to be Available on BBC iPlayer". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  34. ^ "Major changes for Malmö: Big Five & Sweden perform LIVE in Semi-Finals and you can vote for longer". Eurovision.tv. EBU. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  35. ^ a b "Malmö Grand Finalists draw their halves in the running order". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  36. ^ "Eurovision 2024 across the BBC". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  37. ^ "Signed: Semi-Final 1". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  38. ^ "Signed: Semi-Final 2". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  39. ^ "Signed: Grand Final". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  40. ^ "BBC One and iPlayer commission feature documentary ABBA: Against The Odds to celebrate 50 years since ABBA's Eurovision win" (Press release). BBC Media Centre: BBC. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  41. ^ "Record number of EBU Members unite for new ABBA documentary". ebu.ch. EBU. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  42. ^ Granger, Anthony (27 March 2024). "United Kingdom: BBC Four to Mark 50 Years Since Eurovision 1974". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  43. ^ "Eurovision 2024: Rehearsal Schedule". Eurovisionworld. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  44. ^ Conte, Davide (2 May 2024). "United Kingdom: All the Details About Olly Alexander's First Rehearsal". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  45. ^ "Eurovision 2024: The Grand Final running order". Eurovoix. 9 May 2024.
  46. ^ "Voting Procedures 2024". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  47. ^ a b "Grand Final of Malmö 2024 – Jurors". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  48. ^ a b Granger, Anthony (11 May 2024). "United Kingdom: Jury for Eurovision 2024 Announced". Eurovoix. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  49. ^ a b c "Results of the First Semi-Final of Malmö 2024 – United Kingdom". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  50. ^ a b c d "Results of the Final of Malmö 2024 – United Kingdom". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  51. ^ "Darlings! It's official. Joanna Lumley confirmed as the UK Jury Spokesperson for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024" (Press release). BBC Media Centre: BBC. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  52. ^ "How the Eurovision Song Contest works". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  53. ^ "Statement on Dutch participation in the Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  54. ^ "How do I vote for my favourite Eurovision song?". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
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