Eurovision

Eurovision 2024: What does the UK have to do to win?..Mark Savage, BBC music correspondent in Malmö, Sweden.

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The plan was called Project Cauliflower.

It began last October, when Olly Alexander accepted the invitation to become the UK’s Eurovision contestant.

He’d been in the running once before, in 2022, but the timing didn’t seem right.

Instead, the BBC sent a little-known TikTok singer called Sam Ryder, with a power ballad called Spaceman.

It went on to achieve second place - the UK’s best result in more than 20 years.

The following summer, Alexander started recording his first album as a solo artist. Maybe one of these songs, he thought, would work at Eurovision?

Calls were made. Deals were made. Project Cauliflower was born and, for the next two months, preparations began under the strictest secrecy.

“We had to have meetings at Olly’s manager’s house so no-one could overhear what was happening,” creative director Theo Adams told The Euro Trip podcast, external.

“It was actually a very exciting period. I’d never done anything before that had such secrecy surrounding it. I felt like I was a spy.”

Alexander went public in December during the grand finale of Strictly Come Dancing. For Eurovision fans, it seemed too good to be true.

A likeable, chart-topping pop star, known around the world, with a track record of putting on elaborate performances and a lifelong love for Eurovision?

He couldn’t have been a better fit.

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"Having a bona fide pop star representing the UK this year is a great start,” agreed Graham Norton in an interview earlier this week.

“Olly has already done all the things that it’s impossible to prepare someone for - he has played to huge crowds, he can relate to the cameras, and he is used to high pressure situations.”

“He’s a great performer, and a great singer,” agreed Neil Tennant, who duetted with Alexander on the 2020 Pet Shop Boys’ song Dreamland.

“I think it’s great he’s got the courage to do it because it’s so high stakes, isn’t it?”

The stakes got him in the end.

In Malmö on Saturday, Alexander’s song, Dizzy, stumbled into 18th place, out of 25.

All of his 46 points came from the jury. His score in the public televote was zero.

Even so, it wasn’t the worst result. The UK has had more embarrassing defeats. And Alexander has a career to go back to - unlike previous performers, whose musical ambitions have come to a screeching halt after Eurovision.

But the expectations were so high that this year's result feels particularly rough.

It's now 27 years since the UK last won the contest.

So what went wrong… and how can the country improve its chances?


The Winner was: Switzerland's NEMO....

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Results

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The whole show is just virtue signaling and political. Here are the examples:-
The Israel act received very little votes from the 'Juries' yet received the highest vote from the public. There is a disconnect there.
Ukraine received very little from the 'Juries' yet got a huge amount from the public. Another disconnect.
The winner received the runaway highest votes from the 'Juries' yet only received the fifth highest vote from the public.

You would expect the public vote to some way reflect the votes from the 'Juries', but this doesn't happen.

Hate to say it, but the French song was far and away the best there.

When it comes to this 'contest' common sense goes out the window,

I cannot believe that anyone takes this nonsense seriously enough to pass comment

It's still a pile of contrived
Horsesh*t

Good news the not so "silent majority" were heard and supported Israel.

Not good news the contest is political,but Euro has been for years.Rep Ireland use to give the UK nill points ( or very low ) regularly.



I'm no fan of TESC,but it did launch ABBA eg onto the world stage.No arguement with that.

It is a reasonable gauge as to who the majority of people support.

Israel.Not Hamas ,Palestine and Islam.

United Kingdom and the "Big Five"

In 1999, a rule change allowed the United Kingdom, along with France, Germany and Spain, to automatically qualify for the final (irrespective of their recent scores and without entering a semi-final), due to being the biggest financial contributors to the EBU.
Due to their untouchable status in the contest, these countries became known as the "Big Four" (which became the "Big Five" in 2011 following the return of Italy to the contest).

In 2008, it was reported that the "Big Four" could lose their status and be forced to compete in the semi-finals; however, this never materialised, and the rule remained in place.
In the same year, the BBC defended using money from TV licence fee payers for the contest when Liberal Democrat MP Richard Younger-Ross had tabled a Commons motion which called on the corporation to withdraw its £173,000 funding for the annual contest.
Former Eurovision commentator Sir Terry Wogan, that same year, also claimed that the show is "no longer a music contest" after the final of that year's edition ended.

Since the introduction of the Big Four/Five, the United Kingdom has finished last in the contest 5 times, with Germany finishing last 4 times. The United Kingdom also has the fewest top ten results of the Big Five in the 21st century, but has achieved more top five results than Spain, having reached the top five in 2002, 2009 and 2022.

Last year (2023) investments from Liverpool City Council, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, and the UK government, as well as the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the BBC come to a total of around €11.3 million (£9.8 million).

Which country has spent the most on hosting Eurovision?

That honour currently belongs to Azerbaijan, who hosted Eurovision in 2012 and had to build a completely new arena for the event.
In total, Azerbaijan spent a staggering €60 million (£52 million) at the time, which MoneyTransfers estimates would now cost them an even more astronomical €89 million (£77.4 million) if adjusted for current inflation.

Second place for the most expensive Eurovision Song Contest goes to Denmark's efforts in 2014, where they spent a total of €44.8 million (£38.9 million).
While the third priciest host nation was Ukraine in 2017, as they parted with €37 million (£32 million).