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 22nd out of the 24 participating countries with 18 points.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, the BBC organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster announced that it would participate in the 2005 contest on 28 July 2004.[2] The BBC has traditionally organised a national final featuring a competition among several artists and songs to choose its entry for Eurovision. For its 2005 entry, the broadcaster announced that a national final involving a public vote would be held to select the entry.[3]
Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up 2005 was the national final developed by the BBC in order to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2005. Five acts competed in a televised show on 5 March 2005 held at the BBC Television Centre in London and hosted by Terry Wogan and Natasha Kaplinsky.[4] The winner was selected entirely through a public vote. The show was broadcast on BBC One.[5] The national final was watched by 7.5 million viewers in the United Kingdom.[6]
Competing entries
The BBC collaborated with record label Sony Music to select five finalists to compete in the national final. Entries were provided to Sony Music and the BBC by music industry experts including writers and producers, while an additional five songs were provided by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) which ran a songwriting competition amongst its members.[7] The five competing songs were announced on 1 March 2005. Among the competing artists was Gina G, who represented the United Kingdom in 1996 .[8]
A panel of experts provided feedback regarding the songs during the show. The panel consisted of Bruno Tonioli (choreographer, dancer and television personality), Jonathan Ross (television and radio presenter, actor, comedian and producer), Natalie Cassidy (actress) and Paddy O'Connell (television and radio presenter). A public vote consisting of televoting and online voting, which registered over 1 million votes, selected the winner.[10] A public vote consisting of televoting via phone and SMS as well as online voting selected the winner. Televotes cast via landline phones were divided into seven regions in the United Kingdom with each region alongside the results of the online vote awarding points as follows: 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 points. Televotes cast via mobile phones and SMS were also converted to points and awarded based on the percentage each song achieved. For example, if a song gained 10% of the mobile and SMS votes, then that entry would be awarded 10 points. The spokespersons for the online and mobile/SMS votes were Ruslana and Sandie Shaw, respectively.[11] After all points were combined, "Touch My Fire" performed by Javine was the winner.[12]
Midlands, Northern England, Northern Ireland, South West England, South East England, Wales
1
Not Just Anybody
Scotland
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the 2004 contest are required to qualify from the semi-final in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big Four", the United Kingdom automatically qualified to compete in the final on 21 May 2005. In addition to their participation in the final, the United Kingdom is also required to broadcast and vote in the semi-final on 19 May 2005. During the running order draw for the semi-final and final, the United Kingdom was placed to perform in position 2 in the final, following the entry from Hungary and before the entry from Malta. The United Kingdom placed twenty-second in the final, scoring 18 points.[13]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the United Kingdom and awarded by the United Kingdom in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Ireland in the semi-final and to Greece in the final of the contest.
