UK-Vision
How many times has the UK received ‘nil points’ at Eurovision and been bottom of the leaderboard?
THE EUROVISION Song Contest was first brought to screens back in 1956 in Switzerland.
Here's a look at all the time we were listed last on the leaderboard.
1
What is the UK’s history in Eurovision?
In 1957, the UK first made its debut in the singing competition.
Since then, the nation has won the competition on just five occasions.
The UK does holds the record for having finished second for a record of 15 times!
It also holds the record for the longest-running string of top 5 placings.
The UK has proudly hosted the Eurovision Song Contest eight times in total.
The last time that the UK had the opportunity to host the event, however, was in 1998 in Birmingham following the victory of Katrina and the Waves who won the competition in 1997 with Shine A Light.
In 2021, the UK picked up the lowest score possible to get in to the competition for the first time since 2003.
Who won Eurovision for the UK?
Here's when the UK won:
- Sandie Shaw - Puppet on a String (1967)
- Lulu - Boom Bang-a-Bang (1969 tied)
- Brotherhood of Man - Save Your Kisses For Me (1976)
- Bucks Fizz - Making Your Mind Up (1981)
- Katrina and the Waves - Love Shine A Light (1997)
Many people believe Cliff Richard won the contest with Congratulations in 1968, but in fact he finished second.
Despite this, the song went on to be a huge hit.
He followed that up with a third placing with Power To All Our Friends in 1973.
How many times has the UK received nil points?
The UK has received “nul points” or "nil points" twice.
The unlucky recipients were Liverpool duo Jemini back in 2003.
The shock result came after they performed their song Cry Baby.
Fans believed that politics played a drastic role in the "nul points" marking following the UK’s involvement in the invasion of Iraq.
Jemini went their separate ways shortly after the contest.
Chris Cromby went on to become a Global Retail Operations Manager for Ted Baker whilst his singing partner Gemma Abbey received a suspended sentence for falsely claiming £67,000 in tax credits after her partner moved in with her.
The UK were the only country to receive no points that year.
In May 2021, the UK received another dreadful result for UK entry James Newman - who gained zero points from the public and the juries.
As it was announced we were the only country to not pick up a single point, the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam rang out with a mixture of boos and cheers as James received the news.
He rose from his seat at the news and sprayed beer around in mock celebration before returning to his area.
When the UK entered the contest with Electro Velvet in 2015 with their performance of Still In Love, we received only five points.
Despite this they did not finish last in the competition, beating France on four points and both Austria and Germany who failed to pick up any votes.
Other UK acts that have received less than 10 points at the competition, but didn't come last include Patricia Bredin (All, 1957) and Kenneth McKellar (A Man Without Love, 1966.)
MORE ON EUROVISION
How many times has the UK been bottom of the leaderboard?
The UK has not taken home the winner’s prize at Eurovision for over 20 years.
And we have been placed bottom four times.
One of these times was the zero points for Jemini in 2003 - the first time the UK had finished in last place.
We next achieved this in 2008 as Andy Abraham garnered just 14 points for Even If.
Josh Dubovie took bottom spot in 2010 with That Sounds Good To Me.
James Newman's bottom place position in the 2021 competition marks the fourth occasion that the UK has come last.
The singer won a High Court case against ex-Voice contestant Kelly-Marie Smith, who claimed he'd copied one of her songs.
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