EUROVISION 2021 | INTERVIEW | NEWS | UNITED KINGDOM

Lee Smithurst reveals more about the UK announcement and participation!

By Paolo Nery

December 31, 2020

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With the 2021 season well and truly underway, fans are very eager to find out what the plans are for the UK this year as the plans for the future. Speaking to Eurovision podcast, The Euro Trip, Series Producer Lee Smithurst discussed many things, including the reasons why they decided for an internal selection this year and their long term plans for the selection process.

A big talking point in particular was when the announcement of the UK entry might be. He stated:

I think It'll be early next year... Because internally, everything's still being fine tuned, you don't want to say anything before everyone's happy and everyone's on the same page. So, just need to make sure everything's like that first before we say.

A man with a beard smiling in front of a sunset.

Lee Smithurst

Series Producer

Another talking point was how they ended up working with record label BMG. He said:

We met a few different labels and production companies that were interested in taking over an internal selection... BMG were the most enthusiastic about it. They understood it . they didn't see it as this poison chalice like quite a lot of people do... It's a challenge for them as well to see if they could change people's way of thinking... Ultimately it's a song competition... they had access to the best songwriters.

Lee Smithurst

Series Producer

He also talked about the scrapped staging plans for 2020 representative James Newman. He stated:

It a huge LED cube which had a girl inside it and the plan was that James to be on this cube. The LED cube will be filled with water and it would have someone inside it so you could see all around it. On the chorus James was gonna strike the box and the water would empty out all over the floor of the stage.

Lee Smithurst

Series Producer

During the interview, there was also mentions about the long term goals of the UK’s approach to Eurovision.

We just wanted the UK to be credible again. Its a long term goal of what do we need to do to attract bigger artists... You need to lay the foundation I think for a couple of years.

Lee Smithurst

Series Producer

If you solely concentrate on what is a Eurovision winner, you could have a Eurovision win one year and still come last the next year. It's got to be better than that, that we can be doing well for 5 to 10 years in a row.

Lee Smithurst

Series Producer

There was also talk about the impact of the disappointing 2019 result, in which the UK’s Michael Rice placed last.

After Michael didn't do so well in Tel Aviv, it was more about how can we attract the best British songwriters and the best talent to take part.

Lee Smithurst

Series Producer

It is a really fantastic interview with many enlightening points which we highly encourage you to listen to. You can check out The Euro Trip podcast in the link here or in the Spotify link below.

United Kingdom in Eurovision

The UK made their Eurovision debut in 1957 and have taken part in every contest since. They have won the contest 5 times in 1967, 1969, 1976, 1981 and 1997. On top of that they were the runners up 15 times, more than any other country. Some of the most memorable entries include: Congratulations (1968), Making Your Mind Up (1981), Love Shine A Light (1997) and It’s My Time (2009). They were set to participate in 2020 contest with James Newman and his song My Last Breath prior to cancellation. The UK are set to participate in the 2021 contest in Rotterdam in May.