The Eurovision final, since 2009, has been decided completely in a 50/50 split – half the result decided by a jury, and half the result decided by the televote, AKA the viewers at home.
Whilst countries have had varying degrees of success over the years with both, the United Kingdom is one of the few that consistently struggles to get the audience in Europe to connect with their entries.
In this article we’ll be taking a look at the UK’s relationship with the televote, how they may fare in Eurovision 2025 and what they can do in future to improve their televote relationship.
That’s not all! We asked you to give us your opinions, which have been vital to the creation and development of this article. Thank you so much to anyone who took part – your insights are appreciated.
With that being said – let’s dive in!
2009 – 2024: Televote vs Jury
As mentioned, Eurovision made the system a 50/50 split between televote and jury in 2009. Despite changes to how the votes are presented in the last 15 years, the system has remained the same – so, to begin this article, here’s a breakdown of how the UK has placed in both (note: in 2013, the official points were not revealed, and instead an average ranking was provided in split results).
| Year / Entrant | Televote Placing / Points | Jury Placing / Points |
| 2009: Jade Ewen – ‘It’s My Time’ | 10th (105 points) | 3rd (223 points) |
| 2010: Josh Dubovie – ‘That Sounds Good To Me’ | 25th (7 points) | 25th (18 points) |
| 2011: Blue – ‘I Can’ | 5th (166 points) | 22nd (57 points) |
| 2012: Engelbert Humperdinck – ‘Love Can Set You Free’ | 21st (36 points) | 25th (11 points) |
| 2013: Bonnie Tyler ‘Believe In Me’ | 22nd (17.03) | 15th (12.46) |
| 2014: Molly – ‘Children Of The Universe’ | 21st (29 points) | 16th (52 points) |
| 2015: Electro Velvet – ‘Still In Love With You’ | 24th (7 points) | 25th (12 points) |
| 2016: Joe & Jake – ‘You’re Not Alone’ | 25th (8 points) | 17th (54 points) |
| 2017: Lucie Jones – ‘Never Give Up On You’ | 20th (12 points) | 10th (99 points) |
| 2018: SuRie – ‘Storm’ | 20th (25 points) | 23rd (23 points) |
| 2019: Michael Rice – ‘Bigger Than Us’ | 25th (3 points) | 24th (8 points) |
| 2021: James Newman – ‘Embers’ | =26th (0 points) | 26th (0 points) |
| 2022: Sam Ryder – ‘Space Man’ | 5th (183 points) | 1st (283 points) |
| 2023: Mae Muller – ‘I Wrote A Song’ | 25th (9 points) | 22nd (15 points) |
| 2024: Olly Alexander – ‘Dizzy’ | 25th (0 points) | 13th (46 points) |
Based on these results, we can see that the UK has done better with the jury on 10 occasions, and the televote on the other 4 occasions – with both agreeing in 2010 and 2021. The UK has not done better in the televote since 2018, only reaching the top 5 twice in 2011 and 2022 and coming below 20th in 12 different contests. Whilst some years (2010, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023) have relatively similar or the same result in both the jury and televote, there are also years where the jury ranks the UK relatively higher – most notably in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2024. Before 2022, the UK hadn’t ranked higher in the televote than 20th in 10 years, and haven’t ranked higher than 25th in the two contest post Sam Ryder’s soaring success in Turin. The UK has only done majorly better once in the televote – and that came in 2011.
What Happened In 2011?
Blue, a successful 2000s boyband in the UK, were selected for Eurovision 2011 with the song ‘I Can’, acting as a comeback for the group who previously had hits like ’All Rise’, ‘One Love’, and a duet with Elton John, ‘Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word’. The group were placed high in the odds going into the final, and after a poor result for the UK in 2010 all hopes rested on Lee, Duncan, Anthony and Simon to pull through. The televote responded by placing ‘I Can’ 5th, but the jury dashed chances of a top 10 result – placing the UK 22nd, a huge 17-place difference. So why did we see the jury take such an opposite stance to the public? Well, the most plausible rumour is that Blue didn’t even know the jury show was happening, and the night the jury voted the group treated it as a normal rehearsal. There are videos online of their performance, and whilst it doesn’t sound as “bad” as you may expect considering their alleged unawareness that they were competing for 50% of the vote – Blue’s plummet to nearly the bottom of their rankings does support this theory. Despite this, Blue ended 11th overall – the fourth best placing in the last 25 years for the UK, but apparently it wasn’t enough – the BBC even put them in their “Hall Of Shame” in 2013’s ‘How To Win Eurovision’ programme alongside the likes of Daz Sampson, Javine, Jemini and Engelbert Humperdinck. In the show, the reasoning for putting them in the ‘Hall Of Shame’ was finishing 121 points behind winners Azerbaijan, finishing behind Jedward and “failing to breathe hope into the UK’s quest to reclaim our Eurovision crown” – an ironic quote in retrospect, considering it took another 11 years for the UK to actually challenge for the win, in 2022.
Eurovision 2025, and Reflecting on Eurovision 2024
Olly Alexander recieved 0 points from the public at Eurovision 2025 with ‘Dizzy‘ – the second time for the UK this decade, after James Newman’s double 0-point result in 2021. Expectations were high for Olly – formerly part of Years & Years, a successful group in the UK who had hits such as ‘King’, ‘Eyes Shut’ and ‘If You’re Over Me’. Olly went solo with the project in the 2020’s, with Eurovision helping to launch him simply by his name – but unfortunately, things didn’t go as hoped, with the UK finishing in 18th and Olly later going onto the Graham Norton Show in early 2025 saying his advice to future contestants would be to ‘get a really good therapist’. You can read our review of the UK’s 2024 Eurovision performance here.
After weeks of rumours, Remember Monday were announced as the UK’s 2025 Eurovision act with the musical-theatre esque song ‘What The Hell Just Happened?’. On release, the song got mixed reviews – some loved it, some didn’t, and others didn’t, something that actually can be seen as a positive when it comes to Eurovision, as at least the song did stir a little emotion in people. The group, made up of Charlotte, Holly-Anne and Lauren, have been across Europe for pre-parties and some promotional interviews. You can read more about Remember Monday by clicking here.
Asking The Audience
For this article, I wanted to know your opinions when it comes to the United Kingdom’s less-than impressive televote fortunes, and also wanted to see where people were at with Eurovision 2025 as a whole. These results are a collection of opinions and results from 222 responses. 74.3% of responses came from the UK, and 25.7% from outside of the UK – with answers coming from countries including Ireland, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, Malaysia, Colombia, Australia, Ukraine and many more. Thank you to everyone who took the time to give their thoughts – now, lets take a look at the results…
Why do you think the UK don’t do well in the televote?
The first question that I wanted answers to was why the UK don’t do well in the televote. There were 4 options for people to choose from – with 55.4% saying they believe the song was the issue, 14.9% believed it was the vocals, 6.3% thought staging was an issue and 23.4% answered ‘other‘.
I asked those who answered ‘other’ why they selected this option. Of the 59 responses to this question, the majority said that it was a combination of the songs, staging and vocals – but there were some interesting reasons given as to why the UK is underperforming. The most common came down to high expectations for the UK due to legacy of the British music industry, with multiple responses noting how this can be a detriment, instead of a position of power. One person mentioned how this means expectations on the UK are much higher in the contest, and another said that the wide-recognition of the industry across Europe makes it harder for the country to bring something that isn’t ‘new’ or ‘fresh’.
Another popular resonse came down to lack of diaspora. The UK’s only land border is with Ireland – who’s history with the United Kingdom is unlikely to sway them to want to vote for a British entry – with every other country surrounding the UK (France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway & Iceland) having much stronger relations with their own neighbours and within their own regions in Europe. There’s also a huge lack of diaspora in Europe – in a 2019 study, British diaspora was highest in Australia, the USA and Canada, with Spain & Ireland having the highest number of Brits residing in their countries within Europe – with just over 300,000 in Spain and just under this number in Ireland. Even though Eurovision do have a rest of the world vote, are Brits abroad really waking up early in Australia to watch the show, or popping it on in the afternoon in the States? Even if they are, do they care enough about their own song to vote for it? Let’s take Spain, a country of 48 million people – 4.9 million watched Eurovision 2024’s Grand Final live. With just 300,000 people from the UK living over there – how few of those are part of that overall figure? Add this to the Spanish viewers, who also need to feel swayed enough by the UK song to vote for it – and you’re already finding it difficult to get the diaspora vote to make a single difference.
What Should the UK Do If They Want To Start Getting a Better Televote Score?
The overwhelming response to this question was simple – send better songs. But where do we begin with this? Well you had your opinions on how we can do this – and a big suggestion was to change up the genre. A lot of responses noted their desire for the UK to move away from “BBC Radio 2” sounding songs and wanted something more reflective of the wider UK music scene, with indie, grime, rock and rap being heavily featured in the responses. There were also people who want the UK to explore more reginal languages – in our near 70 year Eurovision history, every single UK song has been in English, and whilst this is the native langauge, there’s also the opportunity to send something in Cornish, Welsh or Scots Gaelic – the last Welsh artist to represnt the UK was Lucie Jones in 2017, and the last Scottish artist was Scott Fitzgerald all the way back in 1988 – an artist from Northern Ireland represented the UK last in 1971 (although they have represented Ireland). Even if it’s not variety in langauge, why shine a light on just English artists, when the BBC is supposed to be representing the entirety of the United Kingdom?
Sam Ryder’s name was mentioned a lot in these reponses – mostly to exclude him from the negative opinions – but it’s worth looking a little at why. Sam’s song felt authentically British – a modern iteration on the deep-rooted history of British pop-rock, often drawing comparisons to Queen both musically and vocally. He also went on a European promotional tour, and whilst Remember Monday have been around Nordic nations and Ireland in 2025, the support in the UK is lacking compared to 2022. As one response from The Netherlands puts it: “You should hear the song on Radio 1 and people need to go “our [name of artist]” the way people talked about “our Sam” in ‘22. If they’re not on board you’re going to have trouble getting the rest of Europe excited, because if Britain doesn’t believe in their entry, why should we? Not to say the recent entries (except Sam) had bad songs or artists but they missed urgency. We want to vote for a song we want to put on our playlist or a performance we want to watch over and over because we can’t believe what we just saw and heard.”
Another fan from Ireland agreed, stating “Get the selectors to look to push boundaries even just for one year to encourage a broader demographic to feel like they have a chance and submit songs. The songs for the last years have very much been radio rather than stage songs”
The UK’s 2022 televote breakdown sees the UK be place in the top 10 of 34 countries. A year later. the UK only reached the top 10 of 2 countries – Ukraine, of whom the contest that year was hosted on behalf of in Liverpool and Malta – one of the few countries that have had a regular voting relationship with the United Kingdom.
Sam’s 2nd place result showed that Europe WILL respond when the UK does something different, takes Eurovision seriously and believes in the entry, but the following years didn’t build on that success – returning to radio friendly pop with minimal promotion.
2022 was the full package – a great song promoted across Europe and the UK with fantastic staging, incredible vocals and Sam’s charisma that made you feel like you were in his world during the performance. One response summed this up perfecty – ‘”Space Man” is a great example of how one can turn a mere radio friendly song into a potential winning act in a matter of months”.
Sending an artist with great vocals, and this being a prioritiy for the delegation was mentioned throughout, with Lucie Jones being someone fans look at when we talk about the UK and great vocals. Despite this, she did poorly in the televote but managed a jury top 10 that was enough to place her 15th overall. The issue with this entry often comes down to the song not being strong enough to encourage viewers to pick up the phone. The full package is so important – Mae Mullers ‘I Wrote A Song’ was enjoyed by the fandom, but the staging and vocals weren’t there on the night, even with a Liverpudllian home crowd spurring her on. Olly Alexander elevated ‘Dizzy’ with the staging, but again – the vocals weren’t there, and the staging may have been a little too risque for viewers, even if it reflected him authentically as an artist. We don’t know as of yet how Remember Monday will stage their entry, but we know their vocals aren’t an issue – unfortunately, fans of Eurovision aren’t raving about ‘What The Hell Just Happened?’ as a song though. Getting all the components together is key to a great, impactful Eurovision performance – the BBC have done this right before, and they can again.
The topic of a national final also came up, with respondants hoping for a Melodifestivalen-style show with multiple heats, allowing the public to ultimately have a say in the chosen entry. The last UK national final, You Decide, didn’t produce much hope in terms of results, and the BBC may be hesitant to put money into something so grand straight away, but inspiration doesn’t have to just come from Sweden. Finland’s UMK has become a staple in the Eurovision calendar – with seven entries, across multiple genres, producing acts that, despite varying results, do have fanbases and most importantly, make you feel strongly towards them. ‘Dark Side’, ‘Jezebel’ Cha Cha Cha’ and ‘No Rules’ are all distincive entries, as is this years ‘Ich Komme’, which make you instantly recognise – whether through language or genre – that this IS Finland in Eurovision. They’ve carved out an identity for themselves in the contest, something the UK has failed to do – at least positively, anyway.
If the UK isn’t to go the national final route, the internal selection and delegation could be reformed according to some fans: “Get new people involved that reflects both fans of Eurovision as well as a younger representation within the selection process. Also outsource choreographers/stage producers with a strong record in eurovision to modernise our performances. Overall, more wider European influence and knowledgable/opinionated (compliment) people throughout the entire process.”
“Holding auditions, where selected artists perform their song live, to a closed audience of experts, members of the public, and fans. Songs should be scored the same way as the juries do in Eurovision, but maintain the focus on the quality, and performers ability.”
One opinion I wanted to highlight to round up this section is this, which I feel encapsulates the feelings of all 222 respondees: “If the UK wants to improve its televote score, it must focus on delivering an entry that is both sonically and visually compelling, ensuring it stands out in a competitive field. One approach is to take a calculated risk, as Ireland has done in the past, by choosing a unique, attention-grabbing song that feels fresh and contemporary. A strong vocalist with undeniable stage presence, similar to Sam Ryder, is crucial, as viewers are more likely to vote for an artist who commands the stage with charisma and vocal power. Additionally, the song itself needs to be engaging and accessible, with a memorable hook that resonates with casual viewers who may only hear it once. Staging also plays a significant role in capturing televote support, as a striking visual presentation can make a performance instantly iconic. Another strategy could be to lean into televote-friendly genres, such as high-energy dance, rock, or emotional ballads, which tend to generate strong audience reactions. Ultimately, the UK must move beyond safe, formulaic entries and embrace bold, innovative choices that create a moment audiences across Europe will remember and want to vote for.”
Where Do You Think Remember Monday Will Place In The Televote and Jury?
After looking at people’s opinions as a whole, I wanted to focus on Eurovisiom 2025. I wanted to know fans’ objective thoughts on how Remember Monday will do in the contest – and the results were a lot less divisive than I expected. I first wanted to know where people think ‘What The Hell Just Happened?’ will end up in the televote, with the results being:
1st – 5th place: 0.5%
6th – 12th place: 2.7%
13th – 19th place: 45.5%
20th – 26th place: 51.4%
I then wanted to know where fans expect Remember Monday to finish in the jury:
1st – 5th place: 3.2%
6th – 12th place: 55%
13th – 19th place: 35.1%
20th – 26th place: 6.8%
So what does this tell us? Well, without seeing the live performance, the results lineup pretty identically with Lucie Jones’ 2017 result, or Olly Alexander’s result in 2024 – an expected low placement with televote, but a left-hand side score with the jury. ‘What The Hell Just Happened?’ coming between 13th-19th isn’t a bad result at all for the United Kingdom – depsite Olly’s ‘nul points’, ‘Dizzy’ is still the 5th best performing UK entry in overall results since 2010 (18th).
Of The Big 5 (plus Switzerland) Which Country Do You Think Will Do The BEST With The Televote & Jury?
I then to see where fans place Remember Monday overall when it comes to the 6 entries already in the final this year (Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, the UK). Of the responses, not a single response expects the UK to do best in the televote – overwhelmingly seeing ‘Maman’ by Louane taking the lead. According to you, the televote raning for the Big 5 will be as follows:
- France – 60.4%
- Germany 18.5%
- Italy – 15%
- Spain – 3.1%
- Switzerland – 3.1%
- United Kingdom – 0%
The UK did significantly better when it came to jury expectations – despite a small percentage, accoridng to you Remember Monday are expected to be the 3rd highest-ranked Big 5 country in Basel:
- France – 74.9%
- Switzerland – 16.5%
- United Kingdom – 4.3%
- Italy – 3.1%
- Spain – 0.8%
- Germany 0.4%
Of All 37 Countries, Which Country Do You Think Will Do The BEST With The Televote & Jury?
I then wanted to look at Eurovision 2025 as a whole to see Eurovision fans’ opinions on the televote and jury positions for specific countries in the contest. When it came to the televote, just 12 countries were mentioned as potential televote winners:
- Sweden – 74.3%
- Finland – 8.9%
- Israel – 5.5%
- Estonia – 3%
- Austria – 2.1%
- Malta – 1.7%
- Australia – 1.3%
- San Marino – 0.8%
- France – 0.8%
- Germany – 0.8%
- Poland – 0.4%
- The Netherlands – 0.4%
The results for the jury were more varied, and the UK was mentioned in the responses:
- Austria – 55.1%
- France – 30.8%
- The Netherlands – 4.3%
- Switzerland – 3.4%
- Sweden – 1.3%
- Czechia – 0.9%
- Greece – 0.9%
- Italy – 0.9%
- Albania – 0.4%
- Finland – 0.4%
- Israel – 0.4%
- Luxembourg – 0.4%
- Ukraine – 0.4%
- United Kingdom – 0.4%
Overall, which country do you think will win Eurovision 2025?
To round off this article, I was interested to know which country people think will be the winner of Eurovision 2025. The UK weren’t mentioned, as expected based on the results we already have, but it seems like we’re look at a 3 horse race between the operatic ‘Wasted Love’ from Austria, the emotional ballad ‘Maman’ from France and the fun bookies-favourite ‘Bara Bada Bastu’ from Sweden. Here’s who you think will win Eurovision 2025.
- Sweden – 35.2%
- Austria – 28.7%
- France – 19.6%
- Finland – 4.8%
- Albania – 3.5%
- The Netherlands – 3%
- Norway – 0.9%
- Germany – 0.9%
- United Kingdom – 0.9%
- Israel – 0.9%
- Australia – 0.4%
- Czechia – 0.4%
- Estonia- 0.4%
- Italy – 0.4%
Conclusion
Whilst Remember Monday may not be expected by fans to be the answer to the UK’s televote woes, they do have a much more positive outlook for their jury result – and result overall. ‘What The Hell Just Happened?’ could still become one of the better-placing UK results of the decade – we know the girls can sing, and the staging could easily elevate the song to a better-than expected televote result. Whilst Euorvision isn’t likely to be heading to the UK in 2026, we hope that Remember Monday can put the country back on a path to success – and bring a result for the delegation to build on in future contests. We wish the UK and all countries the best of luck in Basel this year!
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