United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest

United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participating broadcaster	British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Participation summary
Appearances	66
First appearance	1957
Highest placement	1st: 1967, 1969, 1976, 1981, 1997
Host	1960, 1963, 1968, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1998, 2023
Participation history 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Related articles
UK national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest
External links
BBC page
United Kingdom's page at Eurovision.tv
For the most recent participation see United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024

The United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 66 times. Its first participation was at the second contest, in 1957, and it has entered every year since 1959. The country has won the contest five times: in 1967, with Sandie Shaw and the song "Puppet on a String"; in 1969 (a four-way tie), with Lulu and the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang"; in 1976, with Brotherhood of Man and the song "Save Your Kisses for Me"; in 1981, with Bucks Fizz and the song "Making Your Mind Up"; and in 1997, with Katrina and the Waves and the song "Love Shine a Light". The UK has also achieved a record sixteen second-place finishes, the first in 1959 and the most recent in 2022.

The United Kingdom is one of the "Big Five" countries, alongside France, Germany, Italy and Spain, which have an automatic place in the final of the contest each year as they are the biggest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The British participating broadcaster, the BBC, broadcasts the event and selects the UK entry; it has previously allowed the public to choose the entry through a national selection process. The UK has hosted the contest a record nine times. London was the host city in 1960, 1963, 1968 and 1977, Edinburgh in 1972, Brighton in 1974, Harrogate in 1982, Birmingham in 1998, and Liverpool in 2023.

The United Kingdom had a strong record in the contest before 2000, finishing within the top ten every year except 1978, 1987 and 1999. The country's record has been considerably poorer since 2000, as it has only reached the top ten three times and finished in last place in 2003, 2008, 2010, 2019, and 2021. Its top ten positions in this period are third in 2002 with Jessica Garlick, fifth in 2009 with Jade Ewen, and second in 2022 with Sam Ryder.