The final of the Eurovision Song Contest airs this evening, with a myriad of countries hoping to be crowned the 2026 winner. As it stands, Finland is the bookmakers’ favourite to win the contest, while Greece and Denmark are also high in the rankings. Sadly, the UK is currently at the bottom of the betting with 125/1 to win.
Our entry this year is Look Mum No Computer with the son Eins, Zwei, Drei. It’s being performed by Ramsgate’s Sam Battle, who has become known for his electronic and synth sounds. He might be able to gather votes during tonight’s final, but the UK has not won the Eurovision since 1997, when Katrina and the Waves performed Love Shine a Light.
The closest the nation has come to victory since then was with Sam Ryder’s Spaceman in 2022, when he was the runner-up to Ukraine’s Stefania, performed by Kalush Orchestra.
Eurovision fans have been taking to Reddit with their theories on why the UK struggles to win the competition.
One user said on the social media platform: “We last won in 1997 (though I suspect Sam Ryder could have won the other year) – following several dim-witted decisions by the U.K. government in the 00’s.
“British folk just assume that everyone hates us and wouldn’t vote for us even if we had a really good song and sent our best singers. (It’s a British thing just to assume that when things don’t go your way, it’s because people hate you).”
