Eurovision Song Contest 2013 | ||||
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Country | United Kingdom | |||
National selection | ||||
Selection process | Internal Selection | |||
Selection date(s) | 7 March 2013 | |||
Selected entrant | Bonnie Tyler | |||
Selected song | "Believe in Me" | |||
Selected songwriter(s) | ||||
Finals performance | ||||
Final result | 19th, 23 points | |||
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The British entry was selected through an internal selection, organised by the British broadcaster BBC. Bonnie Tyler represented United Kingdom with the song "Believe in Me" composed by Desmond Child, Lauren Christy and Christopher Braide. Tyler finished in 19th place with a score of 23 points in the final.
The first official statement on UK participation in Eurovision 2013 was made on 17 January 2013, with the BBC's Eurovision semi-finals commentator Scott Mills stating that he would be hearing the UK's song "next week" – indicating that the BBC had made an internal selection decision on a UK entrant for Eurovision 2013, rather than heeding demands subsequent to Eurovision 2012 for a return for a national round to select the UK representative for Eurovision - see Eurovision: Your Country Needs You.
In December 2012, the Metro published an unconfirmed report that Girls Aloud would be representing the UK at Eurovision 2013. On 19 January 2013, Aftonbladet, a leading newspaper in the 2013 Eurovision host nation Sweden, reported that Girls Aloud member Kimberly Walsh would be the contest's UK representative with an entry written by Fredrik Kempe, a Swedish composer who'd placed three compositions at previous Eurovision editions. Walsh had indeed cut tracks for her solo debut album with Kempe in Sweden, giving credence to the rumour of her Eurovision involvement.
On 25 February, UK blogger The Kickdrum leaked Bonnie Tyler's identity as the UK representative at Eurovision 2013 as a blind item: "...as rumoured it is a female solo artist. But it’s not who you think it is. In fact, we’d wager that (although you will know the artist) you’d never guess in a million years. But once you get over the shock, you’ll be pleasantly surprised." Social media speculation on The Kickdrum blind item largely hypothesized that the reference was to Bonnie Tyler, who besides having a new album set for release, had just set up a new website, Facebook page and Twitter account, indicating an anticipation of social media interest.