United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
Updated: Wikipedia source
The United Kingdom has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 67 times. Its first participation was at the second contest, in 1957, and it has entered every year since 1959. The British participating 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 (a four-way tie), 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 is one of the "Big Five" countries, alongside France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, which have an automatic place in the final of the contest each year, due to their participating broadcasters being the largest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The BBC has allowed the public to choose the British entry in the contest through a national selection process on many occasions. The BBC has hosted the contest a record nine times. London was the host city in 1960, 1963, 1968, and 1977, Edinburgh in 1972, Brighton in 1974, Harrogate in 1982, Birmingham in 1998, and Liverpool in 2023. The United Kingdom had a strong record in the contest before 2000, finishing within the top ten every year except 1978, 1987, and 1999. The country's record has been considerably poorer since 2000, as it has only reached the top ten three times and finished in last place five times (in 2003, 2008, 2010, 2019, and 2021). Its top ten positions in this period are third in 2002 with "Come Back" by Jessica Garlick, fifth in 2009 with "It's My Time" by Jade Ewen, and second in 2022 with "Space Man" by Sam Ryder.