When was the last time the Eurovision Song Contest was held in the UK?
With the 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest fast approaching, you may be thinking to yourself, when was the last time the United Kingdom hosted the famous singing competition?
Sam Ryder came in second place in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2022.
(Image: AP Photo/Luca Bruno )
There's just a week to go until the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 and the 69th edition will be held in Basel, Switzerland following last year's win in Malmö, Sweden. Nemo won the competition in 2024 with their song The Code, and much to the disappointment of the United Kingdom, our entry Olly Alexander from the band Years and Years placed 18th with their song Dizzy.
Over the years the placing of the UK's acts on the leader board has varied, with our last win taking place in 1997 and in 2021 we received nil point.
However with this year's contest fast approaching, you may be thinking to yourself when was the last time the United Kingdom hosted the famous singing competition? For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter .
In 2023, the UK had the honour of hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool on behalf of the Ukraine. In 2022 the country won the competition with their act Kalush Orchestra, but due to ongoing conflict with Russia they were unable to host and instead the UK who came second the competition stepped up to help.
The UK act that year, Sam Ryder, came second with hit song Space Man and was awarded a massive 466 points becoming the highest scoring UK entrant ever. However, it wasn't enough to beat the Ukraine's 631 points.
Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra won the 2022 contest
(Image: PA Media )
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The three live shows were presented by Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina and much loved commentator Graham Norton joined the trio for the grand final.
Before this, the last time the UK hosted Eurovision was in 1998, following Katrina and the Waves' win with Love Shine A Light the previous year. That event was held in Birmingham and won by Israeli singer Dana International, with the UK's Imaani coming second.
In total, the UK has hosted the contest nine times. There has never been a Eurovision hosted within a Welsh city, despite talks of 2023's contest being hosted in Cardiff before Liverpool was selected.
Several UK cities have hosted Eurovision, including London in 1960, 1963, 1968, and 1977, Edinburgh in 1972, Brighton in 1974 and 1998, Harrogate in 1982 and Liverpool in 2023.
Katrina and The Waves won the competition in 1997, and then the UK hosted the following year in Brighton
(Image: Rebecca Naden/PA Wire )
In fact, ABBA famously won the competition on behalf of Sweden in 1974 in Brighton, with everyone's favourite karaoke song 'Waterloo'.
The UK first entered the contest in 1957, and since then has boasted a remarkable Eurovision record, having finished second an unprecedented 16 times, plus holding the longest streak of top five finishes and the most consecutive appearances in the Grand Final.
Representing the UK this year is the band Remember Monday, a trio of female singers who met whilst studying at The Sixth Form College Farnborough. The trio consists of best friends Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steel, who have appeared on ITV's The Voice. Read more here.
On Saturday, May 17 they will performing their song 'What The Hell Just Happened?' on behalf of the United Kingdom at the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest. You can watch the competition live on BBC and BBC iPlayer from 8pm.
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