Eurovision 2025: Has Brexit ruined UK's chances of winning forever?

The 2025 extravaganza is ramping up excitement ahead of the weekend's heart-stopping finale. But forget the dazzling acts for a moment, as the real suspense hinges on the final act: when the jury votes are tallied before the public votes swoop in to potentially flip the scoreboard on its head. A total of 37 hopefuls are vying for glory in the 65th Eurovision Song Contest held in Switzerland, with 26 finalists battling it out for the win in the Grand Final. These contenders include the UK, part of the Big Five who provide substantial financial support to the contest. The UK's Eurovision entry for 2025 will be the female country-pop trio Remember Monday, with a song called What The Hell Just Happened?

While fans believe it has the potential to fare well, the odds are stacked against it, with current bookies' odds placing the UK entry at a long shot of 66/1. Last year, singer Olly Alexander represented the UK at Eurovision 2024, and received a total of 46 points. However, he received zero points from the public vote. This resulted in a total of 46 points, placing him 18th out of 25 countries. The results has since sparked concern that might undermine the UK's Eurovision chances, effectively branding them eternal underdogs.

Statistician Charlie Mullan scrutinised the UK's Eurovision participation since its inception in Switzerland back in 1956. Mullan revealed: "When the UK voted to withdraw from the European Union, many pundits wondered whether this would have an impact on Eurovision voting. The answer is: not really.

"The UK's slump in Eurovision began well before the referendum on June 23, 2016. In the six years post-Brexit, the UK has garnered a total of 428 votes (excluding televotes), which is 194 more than in the six contests prior to the referendum. Four nations - Albania, Israel and fellow Big Five countries France and Germany have each awarded the UK 18 points in the six years following the historic vote - the highest from any country," reports .

"Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Turkey haven't given the UK a single point since Brexit, but they haven't had the opportunity as they haven't participated. Belarus and Russia have each had three chances to award points to the UK, but they chose not to.

He further commented: "As the UK has learnt over time, it often doesn't matter how good their songs might be, they simply don't receive the necessary votes for success.

"Political voting plays a significant role in the Eurovision Song Contest and for some reason, the UK struggles to win friends and votes across Europe. Ireland's jury has been the most generous towards the UK, giving a total of 205 points over the years, followed by Austria. On the other hand, the jury from Belarus has only given the UK six points, one less than Montenegro, before the televoting comes into play."

Remember Monday are set to represent the UK tonight but how they will fare in the competition remains to be seen.