From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Read more
Eurovision fans have been left confused after the UK’s act for 2025 appeared to be “accidentally revealed” on a live radio broadcast.
With just three months to go until the annual song contest takes place in Switzerland, many have been wondering whose turn it would be to represent the country – and a possible answer manifested in a rather unceremonious manner on BBC Radio 1.
On Friday (7 February), radio presenter Vicky Hawkesworth appeared to casually announce that country group Remember Monday, who appeared on The Voice in 2019, was the UK’s Eurovision 2025 act.
“Now we’ve got to talk a little about Eurovision because we’ve gone a different route this year. So this year, they’re going for a country theme and country is having its moment still, which I’m really glad to see.
“We saw Beyoncé win album of the year at the Grammys for Cowboy Carter and now this girl band, which are called Remember Monday, are going to be representing us at Eurovision this year.
Hawkesworth continued: “So we’ve got Lauren Burne, Holly Anne-Hull, and Charlotte Steel, and they’ve already been on TV – they’ve been on The Voice in 2019 – so they know what they’re doing, they’ve got us this year.”
Co-host Natalie O’Leary added: “Come on girls, I’m feeling strong for Eurovision.”
Many were left surprised by the news, especially considering there is yet to be an official announcement made about who will be representing the UK.
“Such a confusing way to just drop it,” one fan said, adding: “What happened to making hype?”
Others suggested that Hawsworth might have accidentally announced the news prematurely, while more people pointed to the fact that the DJ could have simply been passing off an unconfirmed report about the group’s participation in The Sun earlier this week.
open image in gallery
Remember Monday were mentored by Jennifer Hudson on ‘The Voice’ in 2019 (YouTube)
The BBC declined to comment.
However, Eurovision sleuths think Remember Monday are very likely to be this year’s hopefuls.
As evidence, they noted that Scott Mills, who is heavily involved in the BBC’s Eurovision presenting team, first started playing them on his radio show back in November.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)
On the band’s Instagram page, they described themselves as: “Pop girlies with a lil bit of yeehaw.” During their time on The Voice, they were mentored by Jennifer Hudson.
Eurovision 2025 will be held in Basel, Switzerland after Nemo was crowned the winner of the 2024 contest with their song “The Code”.
A statement from the European Broadcasting Union said that the contest would be held in the German speaking part of Switzerland for the first time, after previously being hosted in Lugano in 1956 and Lausanne in 1989.
open image in gallery
Nemo won Eurovision 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)
Basel was chosen following a competitive city bid process that examines facilities at the venue, local infrastructure and the ability to accommodate thousands of visiting delegations, crew, fans and journalists from around the world, amongst other criteria, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said.
Four cities were in the running to host, including Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich. After tight competition, a selection panel narrowed the choice down to Geneva and Basel, before the latter eventually won out. It will mark the sixth consecutive time that the competition has not been hosted in a capital city.
Eurovsion 2025 will take place on 17 May.