United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004


The United Kingdom was represented by James Fox in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul, Turkey with the song "Hold Onto Our Love". At the contest in Istanbul, the song received 29 points and finished in 16th place.

Before Eurovision

''Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up''

Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up was the national final developed by the BBC in order to select the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. Six acts competed in a televised show on 28 February 2004 held at the BBC Television Centre in London and hosted by Terry Wogan and Gaby Roslin. The winner was selected entirely through a public vote.

Competing entries

The BBC collaborated with Sony Music UK and a music industry expert in order to select five of the six finalists to compete in the national final. The six finalist was selected from entries provided to the BBC by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors who ran a songwriting competition amongst its members. The six competing songs were announced on 3 February 2004.
Enrap-ture were a 3 girl hip-hop band consisting of Stacey, Mercedes and Kelly from Norway, Denmark and England. Haifa took part in the first series of Pop Idol. Hyrise consisted of Matt, Maxwell, Ben and 21-year-old Anthony, the brother to Lisa Scott-Lee from the pop group Steps.

Final

Five acts compete in the televised final on 28 February 2004. A public vote consisting of regional televoting and SMS voting selected the winner, "Hold Onto Our Love" performed by James Fox. Each region awarded 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 points to their top five songs. Celebrities delivered these results in a deliberate echo of the Eurovision Song Contest itself. The SMS vote was awarded based on the percentage of votes each song achieved. For example, if a song gained 10% of the SMS vote, then that entry would be awarded 10 points.

At Eurovision

The United Kingdom was the twentieth country to perform in the Grand Final just after Poland. Lorraine Kelly was the United Kingdom's spokesperson this year. The United Kingdom finished 16th with 29 points. A total of ten countries voted for the United Kingdom, six of them being from eastern Europe. The United Kingdom gave 12 points to Greece and 10 points to Cyprus in both the Semi-Final and Grand Final.

Points awarded by the United Kingdom

Semi final

Final

Points awarded to the United Kingdom