UK: BBC announces new internal selection process for 2020

16 September 2019 at 18:02 CEST

United Kingdom 2019 second rehearsal Andres Putting

The BBC has confirmed the United Kingdom's participation at the 65th Eurovision Song Contest which will be held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands in May 2020. BBC Studios will once again produce the BBC's coverage of the biggest and most-watched song competition in the world. Who will be Michael Rice's successor? We will soon find out.

Also announced is a brand new collaboration between BBC Studios and music company BMG in order to find a song and artist(s) to represent the United Kingdom in next year’s contest.

Following a process in which BBC Studios approached a number of record labels to pitch ideas for 2020, it was clear that BMG shared the BBC and BBC Studios' vision of selecting a song with broad international appeal and securing an artist who embodies the spirit and values of the Eurovision Song Contest.

BBC Studios will be working alongside BMG’s UK music publishing and frontline recordings team based in London to select the United Kingdom's Eurovision 2020 entry which will then be released and published by BMG.

BMG has a proven track record in worldwide hits, publishing songs such as Someone You Love (Lewis Capaldi), Don’t Call Me Up (Mabel), Shotgun (George Ezra) and I’ll Be There (Jess Glynne), and also masterminding Kylie Minogue's recent Number 1 album Golden.

No strangers to Eurovision, BMG published the 2015 winning entry for Sweden, 'Heroes', performed by Måns Zelmerlöw; and signed Eurovision winner Netta following her win in 2018.

Kate Phillips, Controller of Entertainment Commissioning for the BBC said: "Our commitment to finding the right song has never been higher, and this collaboration with BMG, who have access to world class songwriters, is a genuinely exciting prospect. I am certain that together we can find the best song and artist possible for 2020."

The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest

The United Kingdom made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957. To date the UK has won the Eurovision Song Contest five times. The UK has also finished second a record 15 times and also has the record for the longest running string of Top 5 placings.

The UK has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest eight times in total, stepping in to stage the event when others were unable to do so. The UK last hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998 in Birmingham following Katrina and the Waves' victory with Love Shine A Light in 1997.