The UK’s song and artist choices for Eurovision are set to be reviewed by MPs, with Ireland announcing that they’ll be boycotting the event for a second year running in 2027.
This year’s edition of the competition saw Look Mum No Computer come last, finishing at the bottom of the table in 25th place. The artist (real name Sam Battle) picked up just one point from the jury scores, and received the dreaded zero votes from the public.
He was the third UK act in a row to be awarded nul points in the public vote, after Remember Monday fared the same in 2025, as did Olly Alexander in 2024.
Mae Muller finished second from the bottom in 2023, while James Newman came last two years prior.
The BBC selects the act that represents the UK, sometimes alongside a record label or music management company.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee (DCMS), has now said that the UK “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” (via BBC News).
According to the report, figures from the BBC and music industry experts are expected to be called to give evidence to the committee of cross-party MPs. A hearing is due to be held “over the coming months”, with the committee also likely to receive relevant written submissions.
The hearing will form part of the committee’s State of Play inquiry. Here, members of the public or others can request an evidence session to be held looking into a particular topic that is of interest or concern.
“This application interested us because of the UK’s reputation for scoring ‘nul points’, coming bottom, or close to bottom in recent years at Eurovision, despite having world-class song writers and musicians,” explained Dinenage.
The Eurovision final has consistently been one of the UK’s most popular music events, with millions staying up late to watch the final result.
No time frame for the select committee hearing has been set yet, but once all the evidence has been examined, it’s expected that the committee may produce a short report containing recommendations to the BBC.
The UK has only come higher than 15th place at Eurovision on one occasion, when Sam Ryder was the runner-up with ‘Space Man’ in 2022. It marked the UK’s best result since 1998.
Next year’s contest, which is being held in Burgas, Bulgaria, will mark 30 years since the UK last won Eurovision with Katrina And The Waves’ ‘Love Shine A Light’.
Numerous countries select their entry via a publicly televised selection process. The last time the UK did this was in 2019 with the show Eurovision: You Decide, through which Michael Rice was put forward. However, the singer went on to come last at the event in Tel Aviv, Israel, that year.
The team responsible for selecting Sam Ryder’s hit Eurovision entry was TaP Music (the music publishing and management company behind the likes of Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey and Ellie Goulding).
Speaking to NME in 2022, the company’s Ben Mawson – who previously managed Lipa – said: “I remember thinking, ‘Why do we do so badly every year? We’re one of the homes of some of the best pop music of all time. Is it political, or is there more to it than that?’”
He continued: “There’s this historic cynicism in the UK, and maybe we’ve been too casual about it. We weren’t convinced that you could blame it on politics. We thought that more effort show go into thinking about the song. It’s a particularly unique formula. We got to thinking about what that was.”
Meanwhile, Irish broadcaster RTÉ has confirmed that it will not broadcast or participate in the Eurovision Song Contest next year. Ireland boycotted the 2026 edition, as did Iceland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain, due to Israel’s inclusion in the event.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the broadcaster has said (via BBC News): “RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation cannot be justified given the appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.”
They added that RTÉ is still “deeply concerned by the continued denial of independent access to international journalists to the territory”.
Ireland has won Eurovision seven times between 1970 and 1996. This year, RTÉ aired an episode of Father Ted in place of the Eurovision Song Contest final.
Last month, Dutch public broadcaster Avrotros pulled out of Eurovision 2027: “The severe humanitarian suffering in Gaza and the ongoing restrictions on press freedom have contributed to increasing divisions surrounding the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years.”
The announcement of next year’s host city this summer came after Eurovision shared some rule changes for countries at war during the competition.Despite the backlash surrounding the 2026 contest, Israel came in second place behind Bulgaria. The country was the runner-up in the 2025 competition, too.
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Canada will enter the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 2027.
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