Sam Ryder says he hopes the UK will celebrate the diversity of the nation at Eurovision next year - when the contest will be hosted in Liverpool.
The 33-year-old chart topping star almost won for the UK at last years’ contest - which was held in Italy and won by Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra.
With the countdown to Eurovision 2023 under way, Sam has discussed his thoughts on who should fly the UK’s flag at the contest.
He hopes that whoever does end up representing the UK will be able to keep a positive outlook on the contest and that it could bring them the same success he has enjoyed.
Sam explained to The Sun: “The UK has such a diverse plethora of talent and all I can hope is that what happened this year has encouraged more people from those diverse genres and back-grounds of music to think, ‘Eurovision isn’t a career killer’.
“I would love it to be a fan of Euro-vision, who loves its history.”
Sam’s own album, There’s Nothing But Space, Man! hit the top of the charts when it was released after he appeared on Eurovision.
Sam scored 466 points at the 2022 event - landing in second place and scoring the UK’s best result since 1998 when Imaani performed the song Where Are You? - bagging 166 points.
While the last time the UK won the contest was in 1997 when Katrina and the Waves were triumphant with the song Love Shine A Light.
Recent entrants for the UK include James Newman, who scored nil points in 2021 with the song Embers, Michael Rice who landed in last place with Bigger than Us in 2019, and SuRie - who survived a stage invasion in 2018 while singing her song, Storm.
Former X Factor star Lucie Jones snag Never Give Up on You in 2017, Joe and Jake sang You're Not Alone in 2016, and singing duo Electro Velvet performed Still in Love with You in 2015.
Solo singer Molly performed Children of the Universe in 2014, music legend Bonnie Tyler sang Believe in Me in 2013, and elderly rocker Engelbert Humperdinck performed Love Will Set You Free in 2012.
Boy band legends Blue sang I Can in 2011, and Josh Dubovie tried his luck with the song That Sounds Good to Me in 2010.
This month, the EBU announced there will be changes to the voting system in 2023 - revealing that viewer votes alone will decide which countries qualify for the Grand Final from the Semi-Finals. The jury will no longer be involved in this process.
Previously, it was a combination of jury and viewer votes that determined which semi-finalists would reach the final. That system had been in place in the contest since 2009.
Another change to voting relates to non-participating countries. For the first time in the show's history, viewers in countries not taking part in the contest will be able to vote.
Their votes will be "added together and converted to points that will have the same weight as one participating country". This will apply to the Semi-Finals and the Grand Final.
The 2023 contest is being held in the UK but hosted by reigning champions Ukraine - but the contest will not be held there due to the ongoing Russian invasion.
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