United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002

The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "Come Back" written by Martyn Baylay. The song was performed by Jessica Garlick. The British entry for the 2002 contest in Tallinn, Estonia, was selected via the national final A Song for Europe 2002, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Eight acts competed in the national final which consisted of a semi-final and a final, during which the winner was selected entirely through a public televote.

As a member of the "Big Four", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 2, the United Kingdom placed third out of the 24 participating countries with 111 points.

Background
Prior to the 2002 contest, the United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-four times. Thus far, the United Kingdom has won the contest five times: in 1967 with the song "Puppet on a String" performed by Sandie Shaw, in 1969 with the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang" performed by Lulu, in 1976 with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" performed by Brotherhood of Man, in 1981 with the song "Making Your Mind Up" performed by Bucks Fizz and in 1997 with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. To this point, the nation is noted for having finished as the runner-up in a record fifteen contests. Up to and including 1998, the UK had only twice finished outside the top 10, in 1978 and 1987. Since 1999, the year in which the rule was abandoned that songs must be performed in one of the official languages of the country participating, the UK has had less success, having yet to finish within the top ten. For the 2001 contest, the United Kingdom finished in fifteenth place out of twenty-three competing entries with the song "No Dream Impossible" performed by Lindsay Dracass.

The British national broadcaster, BBC, broadcasts the event within the United Kingdom and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. BBC announced that the United Kingdom would participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 on 13 August 2001. BBC has traditionally organised a national final featuring a competition among several artists and songs to choose the British entry for Eurovision. For their 2002 entry, the broadcaster announced that a national final involving a public vote would be held to select United Kingdom's entry.

A Song for Europe 2002


A Song for Europe 2002 was the national final developed by the BBC in order to select the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2002. Eight acts competed in the competition which consisted of a radio semi-final on 1 February 2002 and a televised final on 3 March 2002. The semi-final was broadcast on BBC Radio 2, while the final was broadcast on BBC One.

Competing entries
On 31 July 2001, BBC together with the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) announced an open submission for interested songwriters to submit their songs. All composers and lyricists were required to be British citizens or residents in the United Kingdom for three years prior to the Eurovision Song Contest 2002. A fee was also imposed on songs being submitted to the national final: £47 for BASCA members, £70.5 for non-BASCA members and £11.75 for songwriters under the age of 17 by 1 May 2002. The submission period lasted until 19 October 2001. More than 550 received submissions were reviewed by various panels of music publishers, songwriters and record label professionals, following which a 20-song shortlist was compiled by BASCA and presented to the BBC which ultimately selected eight semi-finalists to compete in the national final in December 2001. The eight competing songs were premiered during The Ken Bruce Show and Wake Up to Wogan on BBC Radio 2 between 28 and 31 January 2002.

Semi-final
Eight acts competed in the radio semi-final which was hosted by Terry Wogan and Ken Bruce during Wake Up to Wogan on 1 February 2002. A public vote consisting of televoting and online voting, which registered over 20,000 votes, selected the top four songs that proceeded to the final. Before the semi-final, the public was able to cast their votes online starting from 28 January 2002.

On 6 February 2002, the BBC announced that one of the finalists, "Never in a Million Years" performed by Zee, had been disqualified as the song was published on a compilation album in Hungary in June 2001. "Every Step of the Way" performed by Level Best, which came fifth in the semi-final, was selected as the replacement finalist. Another semi-finalist, "Lovestruck" performed by Honey Trap, was also set to be discussed by the BBC regarding a potential disqualification as it was claimed to be almost identical to a song with the same title, performed by Swedish singer Kinnda. The song was eventually not disqualified as it was ultimately eliminated from the semi-final.

Final
Four acts competed in the televised final on 3 March 2002 which was held at the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire and hosted by Claire Sweeney and Christopher Price. A public televote selected the winner, "Come Back" performed by Jessica Garlick. The televote in the final registered 107,298 votes.

At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 took place at Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, Estonia, on 25 May 2002. The participants list included the previous year's winning country, the "Big Four" countries (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom), the sixteen highest-scoring participating countries in the previous year's contest and any non-participating countries in the previous year's contest, up to 24 participants in total. As a member of the "Big Four", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the contest. On 9 November 2001, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and the United Kingdom was set to perform in position 2, following the entry from Cyprus and before the entry from Austria. The United Kingdom finished in third place scoring 111 points.

In the United Kingdom, the contest was televised on BBC One with commentary by Terry Wogan, on BBC Choice with commentary by Jenny Eclair, and on BBC Radio 2 with commentary by Ken Bruce. Christopher Price was initially announced as the commentator on BBC Choice (as part of the programme Liquid Eurovision Party), however he was replaced by Eclair following his death a month before the contest. The British spokesperson, who announced the results of the British televote during the final, was Colin Berry.

Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the United Kingdom and awarded by the United Kingdom in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Malta in the contest.