United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986


The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 with its entry "Runner in the Night" performed by the group Ryder. The song was chosen through the A Song for Europe national final which consisted of eight songs in 1986. At the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 held in Bergen, Norway, Ryder and the song placed seventh with 72 points.

Before Eurovision

A Song for Europe

The British national final to select their entry, A Song for Europe 1986, was held on 2 April 1986 at the BBC Television Centre, London in Studio 1, and was hosted by Terry Wogan. The BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of Ronnie Hazlehurst as conductor accompanied all but the winning song, but despite performing live, the orchestra were off-screen, behind the set. The rule introduced for 1984 prohibiting groups or 'made for Eurovision' acts from participating was rescinded.
The show was opened by 1985's Eurovision winners, Bobbysocks, who sang "Let it Swing," the English-language version of their winning song "La det swinge". They were joined onstage by a large number of backing dancers, choreographed by Anthony van Laast. The duo were also going to sing their brand new single "Waiting for the Morning", but the producers finally decided to cancel that part of the plan and instead, the two members of the group were interviewed by Terry Wogan during the interval.
The result was determined by 11 regional juries located in Leeds, Newcastle, Plymouth, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Belfast, Edinburgh, London, Norwich and Bristol. Each jury region awards 12 to 1 points to their top 12 songs. The scoreboard, due to a technical issue, was incorrectly adjusted during the broadcast and the final tallies shown on screen did not correspond with the scores announced on air.
The winning entry was "Runner in the Night", performed by the sextet Ryder, composed by Brian Wade, with lyrics written by Maureen Darbyshire.

At Eurovision

Ryder performed fifth on the night of the Contest, following Norway and preceding Iceland. At the close of the voting the song had received 72 points, placing 7th in a field of 20 competing countries.
Terry Wogan once again provided the television commentary on BBC 1. BBC Radio 2 also returned broadcasting the contest, with commentary provided by Ray Moore. Colin Berry served as spokesperson for the UK Jury.

Points awarded to the United Kingdom

Points awarded by the United Kingdom