Britain's long-running Eurovision disappointment is about to get a parliamentary hearing. A cross-party group of UK MPs has announced it will investigate why the country, once a dominant force in the contest, now routinely languishes near the bottom of the scoreboard.
The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee will scrutinise the selection process for the UK's entry, according to the BBC. The inquiry aims to determine whether the poor results stem from weak song choices, subpar performances, or deeper structural issues within the UK's approach to the competition.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, the Conservative MP who chairs the committee, said: “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 UK has won Eurovision five times and, as one of the “Big Five” nations, is guaranteed a place in the final. Yet since 2016, the country has finished in the top 20 only three times. It has placed 24th or lower on six occasions, including three last-place finishes. In 2021, James Newman’s “Embers” achieved the infamous “nul points” — a full house of zeroes from both juries and the public.
This year’s entry, “Eins, Zwei, Drei” by Look Mum No Computer, fared only marginally better, scoring a single point and again finishing last. The pattern has become a source of national embarrassment, and now MPs want answers.
One bright spot in a sea of red
Amid the gloom, there has been one notable exception: Sam Ryder, whose 2022 anthem “Space Man” earned 466 points and a second-place finish, just behind Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra. Ryder remains the only UK act in the past 15 years to finish higher than 15th.
The inquiry comes as the UK looks ahead to the 2027 contest in Bulgaria — 30 years after its last victory, when Katrina and the Waves won with “Love Shine a Light”. The committee is expected to hear from the BBC, which broadcasts Eurovision in the UK, as well as music industry experts, over the coming months.
The broader Eurovision landscape has also been shaken by political tensions. Last year, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain withdrew over Israel’s participation amid the war in Gaza. The UK’s own struggles, however, are more self-inflicted, and the parliamentary probe signals a desire to reverse the slide.
Whether the inquiry will yield a winning formula remains to be seen, but for British Eurovision fans, the prospect of a more strategic approach offers a glimmer of hope. As Dame Caroline put it, the committee is determined to get to the bottom of the UK’s “dismal record” — and perhaps, one day, to see the country back on the podium.
