British MPs will scrutinise the UK’s “dismal” record at Eurovision in a bid to try and prevent the country from receiving the dreaded “nul points” (or close to it) again.
Once a leading figure at Eurovision, winning the competition five times and becoming one of the “Big Four/Five” acts who qualify automatically, the UK has plummeted down the ranking in recent years.
With a few exceptions – Sam Ryder being one of them – the UK has come to consistently sit near the bottom of the leaderboard. The most recent example came this year with Look Mum No Computer’s “Eins, Zwei, Drei”, which came last after being branded the country’s “worst entry ever”.
In hopes of stopping our continuing embarrassment on the Eurovision stage, a committee of cross-party MPs will be called on to look over the system of selecting songs and acts, BBC News reports.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, a Conservative MP who serves as the chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, told the broadcaster: “We want to get to the bottom of who chooses our entrant, on what basis and whether our dismal record of achievement in recent years is the result of bad song choice, weak performance... or something else.”
The hearing will be held “over the coming months”, with the committee expected to receive figures from the BBC, who broadcast Eurovision in the UK, and music industry experts.
This comes as the UK looks ahead to the 2027 competition, to be hosted in Bulgaria, which will mark 30 years since the UK last won the competition in 1997 with Katrina and the Waves’ “Love Shine a Light”.
In the three decades, the UK has come last more times than it has ever won. Even with the separation of the jury and public televote from 2016 onwards, the UK still received “nul points” in 2021, with James Newman’s “Embers”.
Last year, YouTuber Look Mum No Computer, AKA Sam James Bartle, was enlisted, but he picked up just one point in total, and not a single point in the public vote.
Even acts who were sold as ringers – like 2024 entry, Years and Years singer and It’s A Sin actor Olly Alexander – came near the bottom of the leaderboard.
Only one act in the last 15 years has come higher than 15th place: Sam Ryder with 2022’s “Space Man”, which received 466 points and came second to Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra.
The 2026 competition saw five countries (Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and former “Big Five” member Spain) withdraw in protest at the decision to allow Israel to remain in the competition amid the war in Gaza.
Last month, it was announced that any country who wins the competition will be “automatically ineligible to host” if it is involved in an “armed conflict” or a “sensitive geopolitical situation”. Israel finished second in this year’s Eurovision.
On Thursday (17 September), Ireland announced that it would not be competing in the 2027 contest, which is due to be held in the Bulgarian city of Burgas.
