United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996

The United Kingdom selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 in Oslo, Norway with a new show, The Great British Song Contest. The winning entry was Gina G with "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit".

Eurovision Song Contest 1996
Country United Kingdom
National selection
Selection processThe Great British Song Contest 1996
Selection date(s)Semi-final
1 March 1996
Final
8 March 1996
Selected entrantGina G
Selected song"Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final result8th, 77 points
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1995 • 1996 • 1997►

Before Eurovision

Semi-final

The qualifying round for the contest, a special edition of Top of the Pops, was broadcast on BBC1 on 1 March 1996 and was hosted by Nicky Campbell. It was announced that the four songs with the highest number of telephone votes would qualify for the final. The top four songs were announced on 2 March and went forward to the final on 8 March.

Semi-final – 1 March 1996
Draw Artist Song Composer(s) Result
1 Layla "Find Love" Marcus Vere, Simon Wilkinson Advanced
2 Code Red "I Gave You Everything" Deni Lew, Nicky Graham, Wayne Hector Advanced
3 Essenes "I Never Knew" S. Elliot, R. Driscoll, Mike Connaris Eliminated
4 Dan Anderson "Sometimes It Rains" Louisa Scott, Ronnie James Scott Eliminated
5 Lois "I Just Want To Make Love 2 U" Ben Keen, Paul Thompson, Mike Connaris Eliminated
6 Twin Hazey "Louise" Keith Summers, David Whitehouse, Michael Flaherty Eliminated
7 Zeitia Massiah "A Little Love" Pam Sheyne, Eliot Kennedy Advanced
8 Gina G "Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit" Steve Rodway, Simon Tauber Advanced

Final

The Great British Song Contest final was held on 8 March 1996 at BBC Television Centre. Hosted by Terry Wogan, it was broadcast on BBC1 at 20:00. For the first time since 1985, there was no simultaneous broadcast with BBC Radio 2. The winning entry was announced at the end of the show following a further public phone vote.

Final – 8 March 1996
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Layla "Find Love" — 4
2 Code Red "I Gave You Everything" 41,791 2
3 Zeitia Massiah "A Little Love" 41,105 3
4 Gina G "Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit" 113,576 1

At Eurovision

With the exception of host nation Norway, who were exempted, all 29 countries wishing to participate in the 1996 contest had to go through an audio-only pre-qualifying round held on 20 March. The lowest-placed seven songs would be eliminated and would not appear in Oslo. Gina G was placed third with 153 points, thus qualifying for the final.[1]

On the night of the final Gina G performed 2nd in the running order, following Turkey and preceding Spain. At the end of the voting it had received 77 points (including maximum 12 points from Belgium and Portugal) placing 8th out of 23 contestants. The United Kingdom jury awarded its 12 points to Cyprus.

When Belén Fernández de Henestrosa, the Spanish spokesperson, announced the votes of the Spanish jury, she awarded six points to "Holland" (the Netherlands), which host Ingvild Byrn misheard as "Poland." The official results table corrected this error, and the Netherlands' seventh-place result was restored at the expense of the United Kingdom, who ultimately finished eighth.[2] Despite this result, 'Just a Little Bit' is one of the most successful of the UK's entries at Eurovision, not only topping the UK singles chart but also finding success in America, where the song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 1998.

Points awarded to the United Kingdom (Pre-qualifying round)
Points awarded to the United Kingdom (Pre-qualifying round)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded to the United Kingdom (Final)
Points awarded to the United Kingdom (Final)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Pre-qualifying round
12 points Ireland
10 points Germany
8 points Sweden
7 points Belgium
6 points Portugal
5 points Russia
4 points Turkey
3 points Slovenia
2 points Cyprus
1 point Poland

Final
12 points Cyprus
10 points Estonia
8 points Norway
7 points Greece
6 points Turkey
5 points Belgium
4 points Croatia
3 points  Switzerland
2 points Portugal
1 point France

See also

References
  1. https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/national_finals_90s_00s/Presel1996.html&date=2009-10-26+02:40:22
  2. "Eurovision Song Contest 1996". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 18 May 1996. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
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