
United Kingdom confirms plans for Basel 2025
16 October 2024 at 13:10 CESTWe've had just about enough time to gather ourselves following the delightful dizziness of Olly Alexander's punchy performance at Malmö 2024... Now British broadcaster the BBC is looking ahead to Basel 2025.
On Wednesday 16 October, the BBC and BBC Studios announced that the search for the United Kingdom's artist and song is already well underway. Leading the search is British music industry figure David May, together with Andrew Cartmell, Executive Producer at BBC Studios North.
David is no stranger to the United Kingdom's Eurovision Song Contest journey, with him having previously worked closely with the BBC team in 2022, as manager of Sam Ryder when the United Kingdom achieved a memorable runner-up position in Turin.

A music manager and company founder with over 17 years in the UK music industry, David May was nominated for Music Week's Manager of the Year in 2023. David started his career as a singer-songwriter and has since achieved over 200 million streams as a writer/producer. As Sam Ryder's manager, success included a Number 1 UK album, 2 Number 2 singles, and BRIT and Emmy Award nominations.
On his new quest to find the United Kingdom's entry for Basel 2025, David May says:
“I'm excited to be working with BBC Studios and the BBC on this journey. We're seeking talent and a song that embodies the essence of UK music. We want to collaborate with an authentic act who has a genuine, heartfelt story to tell, and an unmatched vocal tonality and range. Ultimately we're looking for a powerful three-minute performance that resonates with and moves audiences across Europe and beyond.”
Andrew Cartmell, Head of Delegation at Eurovision for the United Kingdom says:
“David played a major part in Sam Ryder's success in 2022, and I'm thrilled that we are working together again. David has huge industry expertise, a real understanding of how Eurovision works and a determination, along with the BBC and BBC Studios to achieve a high placing in May next year.”
The search for Basel 2025's act and song has been underway for several months with UK record labels, publishers, songwriters, BBC Music and BBC Introducing all playing their part to find the United Kingdom's entry for the 69th Eurovision Song Contest.
In Britain, the broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final on BBC One and BBC iPlayer continues to be one of the most popular Entertainment programmes on the BBC, with the most recent broadcast reaching one of the biggest audiences so far this year with an average audience of 7.9m and a peak of 8.5m, making it the most watched live entertainment programme of 2024 to date across all broadcasters and streamers.
The BBC has confirmed that in 2025, the Grand Final and the Semi-Finals will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer plus via BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds.
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