Olly Alexander responds to his odds of winning Eurovision

Paul McCartney honoured Bruce Springsteen by presenting him with the Ivor Novello Awards’ biggest prize yesterday (May 23).The Boss became the first international songwriter to receive the Fellow of the Ivors Academy at Grosvenor House in London, following in the footsteps of Elton John, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and McCartney himself who previously received the same award 20 years ago.Presenting the prize, McCartney who brought Springsteen onstage along with Dave Grohl during his headline slot at Glastonbury in 2022, jokingly said: “Like Bruce’s concerts, I’m going to keep this brief,” referencing the Boss’ three hour plus concerts, before adding that he “couldn’t think of a more fitting” recipient “except maybe Bob Dylan, or Paul Simon, or Billy Joel, or Beyoncé, or Taylor Swift. The list goes on.”He continued: “He’s known as the American working man but he admits he’s never worked a day in his life.”Accepting the award, Springsteen hugged the former Beatle and referenced his “long and wonderful history” in the UK, thanking the “extraordinary” fans who have been with him since his first show in Hammersmith some 50 years ago.He also spoke about his show the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, the night before (May 22).Springsteen said: “We came out last night, and I was like, ‘What is this weather? Driving rain, wind roaring But standing in front of me, in the rain, I realised: These are my people.“Some of them are young, some of them are children, and some of them… wore lines on their faces, of lives hard-weathered and well-lived.

Olly Alexander has expressed his gratitude after competing in Eurovision 2024, saying that receiving zero public points was “iconic”.The Years & Years frontman represented the UK with his song ‘Dizzy’ at this year’s competition, which took place in Malmö, Sweden. He finished 18th out of 25 countries – earning 46 points from the jury, but none from the voting public.Nemo clinched victory for Switzerland at Eurovision 2024 with their track ‘The Code’.

Olly Alexander‘s dad has said he was “surprised” that his son’s song ‘Dizzy’ received the dreaded ‘nul points’ from the public at last night’s Eurovision.Despite high hopes for this year’s UK entry, Alexander finished in 18th place out of 25 countries with 46 points, a position he only achieved thanks to his jury score.Now, his dad David Thornton has shared his thoughts, saying that Eurovision still offered a “fantastic learning experience” for Alexander [via BBC].“I enjoyed every minute of it,” said Thornton. “To me it’s a real surprise the public didn’t sort of connect with that song, though the juries gave it a really good score.”He added: “He’s had a wonderful time out there.

K.J. Yossman Switzerland has won the Eurovision Song Contest. Swiss entry Nemo stormed the contest with the song “The Code,” walking away with 591 points — a combination of a jury vote and public vote.

Eurovision enthusiasts were left scratching their heads after Olly Alexander's performance at the competition, as something seemed amiss. During the live broadcast of Eurovision 2024 on Saturday night, viewers watched Olly Alexander take to the stage, hoping to clinch the title.

Fans were delighted to see Dame Joanne Lumley appear on screen as she revealed the UK's jury vote during the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest. But the country she named appeared to be a surprise to those tuning into the 68th edition of the contest on Saturday night (May 11).

The highly-anticipated Eurovision final is here at last. Some 25 countries will battle it out to become champion of the world's biggest music competition.

The 68th Eurovision Song Contest is finally here, with another set of musical hopefuls eager to represent their countries and impress both the judges and the public.

The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 has finally arrived after a busy week of semi-finals and events for those lucky enough to be in Sweden in the build up to what is always one of the biggest nights of the year.

The wait is almost over for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest and performers from across the globe are getting ready to battle it out to be crowned winners of one of the world’s most famous singing competitions. With the UK last winning the competition back in 1997, though Sam Ryder came close in 2022, all hopes of taking home the crown are on this year’s entry Olly Alexander, who recently divided fans when he made his Eurovision debut earlier this week with a performance of his song Dizzy.

Fans of Eurovision will already know that Olly Alexander is set to represent the United Kingdom at the 68th song contest in Malmö this month. Olly revealed the news during the Grand Final of BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday, December 16, 2023.

It's nearly that time again for the Eurovision grand finale to appear on our small screens.

This year's Eurovision Song Contest has got off to a frenzied start and the final hasn't even begun.

Eurovision is set to take place tonight (May 11) – check out the full running order and list of contestants below.Altogether, 37 countries entered the contest and were split in half to compete for a place in the finals across two semi finals on Tuesday (May 7) and Thursday (May 9). Tonight, 26 of them will perform in the final, with Big Five nations France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the UK and the host nation Sweden all going straight through.Representing the UK this year is Olly Alexander, who will be performing his song ‘Dizzy’ which has been compared to the likes of the Pet Shop Boys’ ‘It’s A Sin’.According to Eurovision World, the favourites to win the competition is Croatia, whose entry Baby Lasagna currently has a 42 per cent chance at snagging the crown this year with their song ‘Rim Tim Tagi Dim’.The full running order for Eurovision 2024 is:1. Sweden | Marcus & Martinus – ‘Unforgettable’2. Ukraine | alyona alyona & Jerry Heil – ‘Teresa & Maria’3. Germany | ISAAK – ‘Always On The Run’4. Luxembourg | TALI – ‘Fighter’5. Netherlands | Joost Klein – ‘Europapa’6. Israel | Eden Golan – ‘Hurricane’7. Lithuania | Silvester Belt – ‘Luktelk’8. Spain | Nebulossa – ‘ZORRA’9. Estonia | 5MIINUST x Puuluup – ‘(nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi’10. Ireland | Bambie Thug – ‘Doomsday Blue’11. Latvia | Dons – ‘Hollow’12. Greece | Marina Satti – ‘ZARI’13. United Kingdom | Olly Alexander – ‘Dizzy’14. Norway | Gåte – ‘Ulveham’15. Italy | Angelina Mango – ‘La Noia’16. Serbia | TEYA DORA – ‘RAMONDA’17. Finland | Windows95man – ‘No Rules!’18. Portugal | iolanda – ‘Grito’19. Armenia | LADANIVA – ‘Jako’20. Cyprus | Silia Kapsis – ‘Liar’21. Switzerland | Nemo – ‘The Code’22. Slovenia | Raiven – ‘Veronika’23. Croatia | Baby

Graham Norton has said viewers will see "the Eurovision they know and love" when they tune into the grand final on Saturday night. Irish presenter Norton, 61, will host coverage of the event live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, while Scott Mills and Rylan Clark will lead commentary on BBC Radio 2.

Eurovision entry Bambie Thug has shared an eerie cover of The Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’ and spoken out in support of Palestine ahead of this weekend’s finale.The non-binary singer will be representing Ireland at the final of the song contest in Malmö, Sweden, and has become Ireland’s first finalist since 2018. They won their place in Saturday’s final (May 11) with a performance of ‘Doomsday Blue’ at Tuesday’s (May 7) semi-finals.They have been listed as in the top 10 favourites to win the competition this year, and told NME that they are hoping to “give the best performance I can and try to connect in those three minutes to those millions of viewers”.That being said, there has been pressure on contestants, including Thug and UK representative Olly Alexander, to boycott the event in solidarity with Palestine.

ITV's This Morning had a bit of a bumpy start on Wednesday when presenter Ben Shephard teased Cat Deeley live on air, accusing her of dressing like a dancer from Eurovision. Prior to the exchange, Lorraine Kelly had conducted an interview with Eurovision Song Contest UK entry Olly Alexander.

Eurovision organisers have defended their decision not to boycott Israel over the war in Gaza.It comes ahead of the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden this Saturday (May 11).There have been several calls to boycott the competition from various countries. Over 1,000 Swedish artists called for Israel to be banned this year, such as Robyn, Fever Ray, and First Aid Kit, whilst over 1,400 Finnish music industry professionals recently signed a petition to ban the country from taking part in the contest as well.In the buildup to the 2024 edition, individual artists such as Olly Alexander also faced calls to boycott the event.

Olly Alexander has admitted that he is “ambivalent” about the Union Jack flag.The Years and Years star, who is set to perform for the UK with his song ‘Dizzy’ at the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden this Saturday (May 11), said he also found it “divisive” and “nationalist” but he wants to reclaim the flag in a “positive way”.Speaking to the media [via Metro] ahead of the contest, Alexander said: “I’ve grown up in the UK, there’s a lot that I love about the UK, maybe the people and I’m lucky to have grown up in the UK.“I too have an ambivalent relationship with the Union Jack and what that represents to people because it can feel divisive, it can feel nationalist, but it can also feel like a representation of what’s good about the UK and what makes it good – it’s the inclusivity, the diversity. I am choosing to kind of focus on those aspects of what I believe being in the UK has given me in my upbringing as well.”He continued: “I hope to reclaim the Union Jack in a positive way and when I’m going to be out there waving my flag, waving the Union Jack at the flag parade, it’s for all the good things that have come from growing up in the UK and being British and yeah, I think definitely focusing on that side of things.”It comes after Alexander recently reportedly broke down in tears during an interview when addressing the current controversies relating to Israel’s participation in this year’s competition.Alexander went on to say he supported “a ceasefire, returning the hostages, the safety and security of all people in Gaza.

Ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Sweden this weekend, a huge two-time winner from the country has announced they’ll be touring Europe and the UK next year.