Adele at Eurovision: Brits want singer to enter next year’s competition - but how does selection actually work?

Last night’s Eurovision was yet another flop for the UK, with James Newman’s performance failing to receive any votes.

This left the UK dead last in the competition - though Newman took the loss well, standing up and drinking a beer to a cheering crowd.

In the aftermath of the poor showing, people have taken to Twitter to demand Adele enter the competition next year.

A survey of 2,000 Brits, meanwhile, showed Adele as the public’s most popular choice as an ideal Eurovision entry - but would the rules allow her to enter? And how are acts chosen?

How does Eurovision work?

Each participating country must select a musical act of no more than six people to perform a song of no longer than three minutes.

This song must not have been released prior to the competition.

While other countries have to participate in qualifying rounds to get through to the grand final, there are traditionally six countries which pre-qualify due to large financial contributions towards the competition.

These countries are France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom and whatever country is hosting the competition that year.

The remaining countries have to take part in one of two semi-finals, from which, respectively, the best 10 acts will proceed to the grand final.

All acts must sing live, with no live instruments permitted.

At the grand final, all acts perform live, after which one set of points is awarded by the voting public, and the other awarded by a jury of music professionals.

For the purposes of fairness, residents are not able to vote for their own country.

How are musical acts selected?

Every country in the competition is represented by its national broadcaster, meaning in the UK the BBC presides over the competition.

It is their discretion to choose who will represent the country in the competition.

Eurovision says there are three common ways in which acts are selected. These are:

-Through a televised national selection: Through one or more television shows, the public can take part in the selection of the country's representative. The most successful televised national selection format is Melodifestivalen in Sweden, which features four live shows in different cities across the country, a second-chance show and a spectacular final.

-Through a full internal selection: Artist and song are being selected internally by a committee appointed by the broadcaster.

-Through a mixed format: Often, an artist is appointed by the broadcaster, while the public can help choose their song during a live television show;

Previously in the UK, a show named “Eurovision: You Decide” allowed the public to vote for acts and/or songs for entry into the competition.

However, this format was scrapped in 2019, with the BBC deciding which act would be put forward internally.

The singer and song are now selected by record label BMG without public consultation - a move which the BBC hoped would improve the UK’s chances in the competition.

Could the UK send Adele or another world-famous act?

According to Eurovision’s website, each country “is free to decide if they send their number-1 star or the best new talent they could find. They have to do so before mid-March, the official deadline to send in entries.”

This means that, technically, the BBC could select a world-famous act like Adele or Ed Sheeran to play at the competition.

Whether these acts would be willing to play the competition, however, is a different matter.