Featured Image Credit: Martin Sylvest Andersen via Getty Images
Topics: Eurovision, Music, Entertainment
Michael Slavin
Topics: Eurovision, Music, Entertainment
For fans of Eurovision, the United Kingdom doing badly every year is almost a core part of the experience of watching the musical competition.
With the exception of Sam Ryder’s 'Space Man', the United Kingdom has not done better than 15th since 2009 and has not won since 1997.
As a country we’ve gotten 0 points twice since the last win, leaving the UK as one of the undeniable worst countries at Eurovision.
While many may think this is to do with Brexit, the lingering hatred of the British Empire, or simply British arrogance, new research has pointed towards another possible reason.
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The AFP (Agent French-Presse) published research via France 24 looking at voting patterns in Eurovision.
While some, such as Ukraine’s massive upswell in votes received following the Russian invasion in 2022, were more obvious, they included a diagram which may explain a reason that the UK is no longer a powerhouse of Eurovision.
The diagram shows which countries most popularly vote for each other, including voting buddies such as Cyrpus and Greece, as well as Romania and Moldova.
One arrow however explains quite a lot, as it shows that one of the biggest former voters for the United Kingdom was Yugoslavia.
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The former Balkan state existed from 1918 until its breakup in 1992.
The former major world player was succeeded by the current states of North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Serbia.
Now, however, the individual countries do not share the same love for the United Kingdom as their former united entity did (funny that), and may have contributed to the UK’s culture of losing Eurovision.
This year’s entry looking to join Sam Ryder in bucking the trend is Remember Monday, a British pop group that originated from The Voice UK.
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While they have received criticism, the group appear to be taking it in stride, responding in an interview with the RadioTimes saying: “We can't be for everyone.
"Think you do just kind of have to accept, as an artist, that what you do isn't going to be loved by everyone.
"There are people out there that don't like Taylor Swift - I think they're a bit crazy, but they do exist.
“So, you know, we can't be for everyone, and that's fine."
While firing shots at Swifties is a brave choice, it is not one that looks likely to pay off for Remember Monday.
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The girls’ song What the Hell Just Happened? may be remarkably catchy, but it would take a huge shock for them to come out on top.
Betting odds have them 11th most likely to win, with Sweden the current favourites.