Since then, the BBC has relied on less-established talent. Both Look Mum No Computer and 2025 contestants Remember Monday are independent artists, without the backing of a major record label.
When I explain the situation to other Eurovision contestants in Vienna, they’re shocked.
“In the UK there’s a bad perception of representing your country at Eurovision?” asks a perplexed Satoshi. “Well, that’s not good.
“I can understand that the UK has delivered so many powerful acts to the world that you don’t have to rely on Eurovision to get awareness, but I think it’s a wonderful contest to emphasise your musical potential.”
Dara, who won the contest with her song Bangaranga, agrees.
Aa a pop star with 10 years of hits under her belt, she says big artists need to shed their prejudices about Eurovision.
“I don’t know what’s stopping them from experiencing this amazing place,” she says.
“You might be from bigger country than Bulgaria, but whatever. Don’t be afraid to jump into a new reality, into risk, and to try new things. That’s what makes life fun, and you will feel alive.”
The UK’s scorn for Eurovision is something Finland also used to struggle with.
After Lordi’s victory in 2006, the country experienced a devastating 15-year slump.
In that time, Finland never made the top 10 again. On seven occasions, they even failed to qualify from the semi-finals.
“We were pessimists for many years,” says Katariina Kähkönen, a reporter at Finland’s MTV Uutiset. “People were always like, ‘No, it doesn’t matter – the Eurovision thing. Finland will never win.'”
But since the pandemic, they’ve turned things around, entering classics like Käärijä’s Cha Cha Cha (second place, 2023) and coming sixth this year with Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen’s Liekenheiten.