The BBC have confirmed that the United Kingdom will be participating in Eurovision 2024.
Earlier today, British broadcaster the BBC confirmed that the United Kingdom will be present at Eurovision 2024 in Malmö, and that all three shows will once again be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
In addition to this confirmation, the BBC also reveal that the search for the United Kingdom’s Eurovision 2024 representative has already taken place over the summer, and has been led by Lee Smithurst, Executive Producer at BBC Studios and Will Wilkin, Commissioning Executive at BBC Music.
The BBC’s official press release goes on to say:
Last year, the largest audience on record watched the Eurovision Song Contest on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK:
- Overall coverage of Eurovision across TV, Radio and Online increased in 2023 to a pan-BBC reach of 55% and 29.8M audiences (3 Min+ Reach).
- The Eurovision 2023 Grand Final averaged 10.7M, the biggest 28-day audience seen on current records (since 2002). The Grand Final evidently captivated audiences, whose desire to be a part of this momentous night drew a significant increase in viewing (BARB 28-Day 4-Screen).
- The Grand Final saw 2.0M young 16-34 audiences tuning in, making it one of the top programmes for young audiences on the BBC so far this year, and the highest young audience seen for Eurovision since 2011 (BARB 28-Day 4-Screen).
- There were also audience highs for the Semi-Finals which aired on BBC One for the first time, seeing the highest audiences seen on current records (2002) for both Semi Final 1 (2.6M) and Semi Final 2 (2.5M) (BARB 28-Day 4-Screen).
The United Kingdom hosted Eurovision this year, for the first time since 1998, after 2022 winners Ukraine were unable to host the contest safely in their country. The contest came to the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, making it the first time the city has hosted Eurovision.
The United Kingdom and TaP Music agreed to collaborate once more to find the country’s Eurovision 2023 representative, which resulted in Mae Muller and her song “I Wrote A Song” being chosen to represent the United Kingdom on home soil.
Whilst no specific details about the United Kingdom’s selection process for Eurovision 2024 have been revealed, it is looking likely that the country will once again opt for an internal selection to find their song and singer for next years contest in Malmö.
Eurovision 2024 will be coming back to Malmö for a third year (following on from 1992 and 2013), after Loreen brought Sweden their seventh Eurovision win with “Tattoo”. The two semi finals will take place on May 7th and 9th, with the final on May 11th.
Are you excited to see the United Kingdom participating in Eurovision 2024? Which artist would you like to see representing the Island nation at next years contest in Malmö? Let us know in the comments below!
Photo credit: Corrinne Cummings / EBU
