Why does the UK automatically qualify for Eurovision?

The Eurovision Song Contest grand final is on BBC Two at 8pm tonight – but where was the UK in the semi-finals?

2021’s contestant, James Newman, didn’t need to compete in the semi-final – because as the UK entrant, he’s automatically in the final.

Every year, the UK makes it to the final without going up against the likes of Iceland, Ireland, Malta, Croatia, and several more countries.

Here’s why they get a pass to go straight to the top.

Why does the UK automatically qualify for the Eurovision final?

The UK is one of the original members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

All five members – including France, Spain, Germany and Italy – automatically make it to the grand finale of the Eurovision Song Contest.

This tradition began in 1999, acknowledging the countries that contribute the most financially to the EBU.

Italy joined in 2011 – until then, it was known as the ‘big four’.

Also automatically qualifying is the host country, which is the country that won the previous competition.

For 2021, that’s the Netherlands – the country won the 2019 contest with Duncan Laurence’s ‘Arcade’. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Unfortunately for us, automatic qualification doesn’t guarantee victory. The UK is well-known for its low-scoring Eurovision performances.

Has the UK ever won Eurovision before?

Though we haven’t won since 1997, the UK has had five past Eurovision winners.

Katrina and The Waves were the most recent, with their 1997 song Love, Shine A Light.

Before that, Bucks Fizz won in 1981 for Making Your Mind Up, as did Brotherhood of Man with Save Your Kisses For Me in 1976.

Lulu’s 1969 win for the song Boom Bang-a-Bang was tied with three other countries: France, Spain and the Netherlands. All received the same number of votes.

Our first ever winner, though, was Sandie Shaw two years earlier in 1967, with the song Puppet On A String.

Meanwhile, our neighbours in Ireland have won an impressive seven times.

Famously, in 2003, the UK scored ‘nul points’ and came dead last in the contest – for pop band Jemini’s song Cry Baby.

The ‘off-key’ performance was later explained by a technical fault, resulting in the group’s two singers being unable to hear their backing track.

Who is competing with the UK in the 2021 final?

Along with the UK, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain and Germany, 20 other countries will perform in the four-hour spectacle this Saturday.

Israel, Russia, Malta, Cyprus, Belgium, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway and Ukraine qualified in the first semi-final.

And in the second: Greece, Moldova, Serbia, Albania, Portugal, Bulgaria, Finland, Switzerland and Iceland got through.

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