Eurovision 2021: countries James Newman can rely on for votes in final as data reveals UK allies - and enemies

This Saturday (22 May), the 65th Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final will take place in Rotterdam.

But how likely is it that the UK will take home the trophy?

NationalWorld has crunched the numbers to reveal everything you need to know about the UK’s relationship with the participating nations.

And most importantly revealing who we can, and can’t, rely on for support this weekend.

The fan club

This year’s entrant for the UK is Brit Award-winning singer/songwriter James Newman who will be performing the song ‘Embers’ – but who is James most likely to impress?

According to figures published on open data site, Data.World, Ireland is our biggest supporter. Our Irish neighbours have been generous over the years and awarded the UK the greatest number of points since 1975, with a total of 219. That is followed by Austria with 168 points and Portugal with 156.

Competition super fans will be aware that not every country features at each contest – some are new to the game (we’re looking at you, Australia) and some have changed names or territories over the years. This analysis has looked at results from every final from 1975 to 2019.

When looking at separate data from Eurovision Song Contest Database on overall wins since the competition's inception in 1956, Ireland comes out top as the ultimate Eurovision champion. It has won the competition an almighty seven times, even beating Eurovision heavyweight, Sweden, who have won six times.

‘Nil points’

Not all our Eurovision rivals are as supportive as Ireland though.

Despite winning five times since its launch in 1956 – and technically holding joint-third place in the Eurovision hall of fame with France, Luxembourg and The Netherlands – the UK isn’t exactly known as a megastar at the singing contest.

The last time the UK won was way back in 1997 when Katrina and the Waves' anthem ‘Love Shine a Light’ took home the esteemed title.

But is it political or is it purely down to the catchiest song of the night?

Whatever the reason for the UK’s less than favourable history, we’re no stranger to ‘nil points’.

Greece has awarded us ‘nil points’ 28 times, more than any other country since 1975, followed by Iceland and Sweden on 27.

Let’s see if we can win them over on Saturday night.

The 65th Eurovision Song Contest grand final is on BBC One on Saturday 22 May at 8pm in a special programme hosted by Graham Norton. Here’s everything you need to know about the Eurovision final.

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