Does the UK stand a chance in Eurovision with Olly Alexander’s Dizzy?

Olly Alexander has debuted his Eurovision Song Contest entry, Dizzy, which he is hoping will see the UK out of the nil points zone in 2024.

But is it any good? Have your say with our poll on whether the track could go one better than Sam Ryder's 2022 effort, or leave us blushing again as Europe calls in its votes.

Former Years & Years singer Alexander is a big coup for the UK Eurovision team, who are hoping that the rest of the contest will start to see us as a serious contender again after too many years in the voting wilderness.

The star unveiled his Eurovision track Dizzy on Friday, 1 March ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest grand final on 11 May in Malmo, Sweden.

What has the reaction been to Dizzy?

Olly Alexander is hoping his track Dizzy will see us to the top of the scoreboard in Malmo and released the song's video on 1 March.

One fan commented on X: "The UK is taking it Olly Alexander Dizzy is so good!" and someone else added: "Proper decent Eurovision entry this year from Olly Alexander!"

Someone else added: "LOVE THIS SONG!!! It's so catchy and makes you want to dance well done Olly and best of luck with Eurovision, can't wait to see it on the night. Here's hoping this will be our year to win."

Another fan added: "Really can’t love this enough, we will have it on repeat until Malmö and beyond!"

But the song didn't please everybody as one person commented: "The verses and bridge needs a revamp. Right now it feels very much like you both sat down and finished the chorus, then forgot to finish the rest. Also it's too repetitive in a bad way, same tubular bell sequence on repeat, the transitions don't flow to where it feels organic."

Who is Olly Alexander?

Pop star Alexander taking on Eurovision marks a big change for the UK from recent years when less well known artists have typically been chosen for the contest.

Alexander shot to fame as the lead singer of Years & Years, racking up hits with King, Desire and If You're Over Me.

He went on to land a starring role in the Russell T Davies TV drama It's a Sin, about a group of gay men in the height of the UK AIDS crisis during the 80s.

Alexander's other acting roles have included The Riot Club and Penny Dreadful, and in 2021 he took a new step in his music career by becoming a solo artist.

How has the UK done at Eurovision in previous years?

Although the UK has had five wins to date - Sandie Shaw in 1967, Lulu in 1969, Brotherhood of Man in 1976, Bucks Fizz in 1981 and Katrina and the Waves in 1997 - things went very quiet for decades afterwards.

In fact, the UK has placed in the bottom five six times in the last 10 years and scored nil points in 2021 for James Newman's song Embers. Mae Muller did not do a whole lot better in 2023, placing second last with 24 points for I Wrote A Song.

One bright spot in recent years has been Sam Ryder in 2022 who scored 466 points for Space Man, coming second to Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra.

Read more: Eurovision Song Contest

• Discover the UK's most successful Eurovision Song Contest entries (Northern Echo, 2 min read)

• Olly Alexander unveils UK's 2024 Eurovision song (Digital Spy, 2 min read)

• Olly Alexander drops 'magical' UK Eurovision song Dizzy (BANG Showbiz, 2 min read)