Eurovision 2024: How has the UK fared historically and how many 'nil points' have they received?

We are one weekend away from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, taking place in Malmö, Sweden and already many bookmakers have made their picks of who they think will be crowned this year’s winner. 

Spoiler alert - you might need to start saving up for a trip to Switzerland if our last look was anything to go by.

But while Mae Muller may not have reached the same dizzying heights last year that Sam Ryder accomplished the year before, it could have been a lot worse; she could have earned the wooden spoon at the contest - “nul points.”

But with all the talk about how disappointing the United Kingdom has been at the Eurovision Song Contest since their debut in 1957, where Patricia Bredin’s song "All" came sixth with six points, has the United Kingdom been a bust at the competition despite being one of the “big five?”

With Olly Alexander giving a performance of “Dizzy” at the first semi-final next week (which you can watch live, might we add), NationalWorld takes a look at the history of the United Kingdom at Eurovision to find out - are we really that bad at the competition that the naysayers think we are?

How many times has the UK won the Eurovision Song Contest?

As of writing, the United Kingdom has won the Eurovision Song Contest a total of five times; the first UK win took place in 1967 when Sandie Shaw won with the song "Puppet on a String," while the UK’s last Eurovision victory took place in 1997 when Katrina and The Waves won that year’s contest with “Love Shine A Light.”

• 1967: Sandie Shaw - "Puppet on a String."
• 1969: Lulu - "Boom Bang-a-Bang" (shared victory with Spain, the Netherlands, and France).
• 1976: Brotherhood of Man - "Save Your Kisses for Me."
• 1981: Bucks Fizz - "Making Your Mind Up."
• 1997: Katrina and the Waves - "Love Shine a Light."

How many times has the UK received “nul points” at the Eurovision Song Contest?

Contrary to the Eurovision moaners who constantly think that the United Kingdom never get any points, there have only been two occasions when the United Kingdom ended with “nul points,” the proverbial wooden spoon of Eurovision. 

The first time was the cringe-worthy spectacle of Jemini with “Cry Baby” in 2003, dogged with what they considered technical difficulties throughout their live performance. 

The second time though was the much more unfair “nul points” that 2021 entry “Embers” by James Newman received, though many Eurovision historians still believe there was an element of political voting in 2021 - it was the second Eurovision Song Contest to take place since the United Kingdom left the European Union.

What’s the most amount of points the United Kingdom has received at a Eurovision Song Contest?

That would be the United Kingdom’s last great success in the form of Sam Ryder. Ryder’s performance of “Space Man” at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest earned a staggering 446 points, but it wasn’t enough to keep Ukraine from winning the competition that year. 

That number Ryder earned was nearly double the amount Katrina and The Waves received in 1997 when they won Eurovision for the UK that year; “Love Shine A Light” earned 227 points, at the time their biggest points haul at the contest. 

United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest at a glance

• 1957: 6th out of 10 (6 points) - Patricia Bredin, "All"
• 1959: 6th out of 11 (16 points) - Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson, "Sing, Little Birdie"
• 1960: 2nd out of 13 (25 points) - Bryan Johnson, "Looking High, High, High"
• 1961: 2nd out of 16 (24 points) - The Allisons, "Are You Sure?"
• 1962: 4th out of 16 (10 points) - Ronnie Carroll, "Ring-a-Ding Girl"
• 1963: 13th out of 16 (0 points) - Ronnie Carroll, "Say Wonderful Things"
• 1964: 2nd out of 16 (26 points) - Matt Monro, "I Love the Little Things"
• 1965: 2nd out of 18 (26 points) - Kathy Kirby, "I Belong"
• 1966: 4th out of 18 (16 points) - Kenneth McKellar, "A Man Without Love"
• 1967: 1st out of 17 (47 points) - Sandie Shaw, "Puppet on a String"
• 1968: 2nd out of 17 (26 points) - Cliff Richard, "Congratulations"
• 1969: 1st out of 16 (18 points) - Lulu, "Boom Bang-a-Bang" (tie)
• 1970: 2nd out of 12 (27 points) - Mary Hopkin, "Knock, Knock Who's There?"
• 1971: 4th out of 18 (98 points) - Clodagh Rodgers, "Jack in the Box"
• 1972: 2nd out of 18 (114 points) - The New Seekers, "Beg, Steal or Borrow"
• 1973: 6th out of 17 (123 points) - Cliff Richard, "Power to All Our Friends"
• 1974: 4th out of 17 (14 points) - Olivia Newton-John, "Long Live Love"
• 1975: 2nd out of 19 (107 points) - The Shadows, "Let Me Be the One"
• 1976: 1st out of 18 (164 points) - Brotherhood of Man, "Save Your Kisses for Me"
• 1977: 2nd out of 18 (121 points) - Lynsey de Paul & Mike Moran, "Rock Bottom"
• 1978: 11th out of 20 (61 points) - Co-Co, "The Bad Old Days"
• 1979: 7th out of 19 (73 points) - Black Lace, "Mary Ann"
• 1980: 3rd out of 19 (106 points) - Prima Donna, "Love Enough for Two"
• 1981: 1st out of 20 (136 points) - Bucks Fizz, "Making Your Mind Up"
• 1982: 7th out of 18 (76 points) - Bardo, "One Step Further"
• 1983: 6th out of 20 (79 points) - Sweet Dreams, "I'm Never Giving Up"
• 1984: 7th out of 19 (26 points) - Belle & The Devotions, "Love Games"
• 1985: 4th out of 19 (100 points) - Vikki, "Love Is..."
• 1986: 13th out of 20 (28 points) - Ryder, "Runner in the Night"
• 1987: 11th out of 22 (47 points) - Rikki, "Only the Light"
• 1988: 2nd out of 21 (136 points) - Scott Fitzgerald, "Go"
• 1989: 16th out of 22 (29 points) - Live Report, "Why Do I Always Get It Wrong?"
• 1990: 6th out of 22 (87 points) - Emma, "Give a Little Love Back to the World"
• 1991: 10th out of 22 (47 points) - Samantha Janus, "A Message to Your Heart"
• 1992: 2nd out of 23 (139 points) - Michael Ball, "One Step Out of Time"
• 1993: 2nd out of 25 (164 points) - Sonia, "Better the Devil You Know"
• 1994: 10th out of 25 (63 points) - Frances Ruffelle, "We Will Be Free"
• 1995: 8th out of 23 (76 points) - Love City Groove, "Love City Groove"

• 1996: 8th out of 23 (77 points) - Gina G, "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit"
• 1997: 1st out of 25 (227 points) - Katrina and the Waves, "Love Shine a Light"
• 1998: 2nd out of 25 (166 points) - Imaani, "Where Are You?"
• 1999: 12th out of 23 (38 points) - Precious, "Say It Again"
• 2000: 16th out of 24 (28 points) - Nicki French, "Don't Play That Song Again"
• 2001: 15th out of 23 (28 points) - Lindsay Dracass, "No Dream Impossible"
• 2002: 3rd out of 24 (111 points) - Jessica Garlick, "Come Back"
• 2003: 26th out of 26 (0 points) - Jemini, "Cry Baby"
• 2004: 16th out of 24 (29 points) - James Fox, "Hold On to Our Love"
• 2005: 22nd out of 24 (14 points) - Javine, "Touch My Fire"
• 2006: 19th out of 24 (25 points) - Daz Sampson, "Teenage Life"
• 2007: 22nd out of 24 (14 points) - Scooch, "Flying the Flag (For You)"
• 2008: 25th out of 25 (14 points) - Andy Abraham, "Even If"
• 2009: 5th out of 25 (173 points) - Jade Ewen, "It's My Time"
• 2010: 25th out of 25 (10 points) - Josh Dubovie, "That Sounds Good to Me"
• 2011: 11th out of 25 (57 points) - Blue, "I Can"
• 2012: 25th out of 26 (12 points) - Engelbert Humperdinck, "Love Will Set You Free"
• 2013: 19th out of 26 (23 points) - Bonnie Tyler, "Believe in Me"
• 2014: 17th out of 26 (40 points) - Molly, "Children of the Universe"
• 2015: 24th out of 27 (5 points) - Electro Velvet, "Still in Love with You"
• 2016: 24th out of 26 (62 points) - Joe and Jake, "You're Not Alone"
• 2017: 15th out of 26 (111 points) - Lucie Jones, "Never Give Up on You"
• 2018: 24th out of 26 (48 points) - SuRie, "Storm"
• 2019: 26th out of 26 (16 points) - Michael Rice, "Bigger than Us"
• 2020: Contest canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
• 2021: 26th out of 26 (0 points) - James Newman, "Embers"
• 2022: 2nd out of 25 (466 points) - Sam Ryder, "Space Man"
• 2023: 25th out of 26 (24 points) - Mae Muller, "I Wrote a Song"

When is the Eurovision Song Contest 2024?

The first semi-final for the Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to take place on May 7 2024, with the second semi-final taking place two days later on May 9 2024. Those who have made it through the semi-finals will then compete at the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final, held at the Malmö Arena, Malmö, Sweden on Saturday 11 May.

Coverage of both semi-finals and the grand final will screen on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 8pm for all three events, while the BBC has also announced other Eurovision programming the week of the final.