Ex-Eurovision Icon Spills the Game-Changing Trick No One Knew About—Could This Be the Real Reason Behind Their Win?

Does anyone else get déjà vu when Eurovision rolls around—specifically, that familiar twinge of disbelief at the UK’s chances? I mean, if you made a drinking game out of “nil points,” you’d be out cold by song three . And yet, believe it or not, someone from this rain-soaked island did once snatch Eurovision glory! Absurd as it seems—given our recent, shall we say, “unique” performances—Bucks Fizz actually grabbed the crown back in 1981, with the last UK win happening before some of us even existed . Fast forward to tonight, with Remember Monday giving it a go in Basel, longing to end our long, awkward winless streak with “What The Hell Just Happened” (which, let’s face it, could be the audience’s exact reaction) .

But what’s the secret sauce? A sparkly outfit reveal? A disco ball explosion? Maybe, just maybe, there’s a method to this Eurovision madness . Ahead of the grand final, a former UK champ has stepped up to spill the tea—offering insight into what it truly takes to stand out when the odds (and possibly a few neighboring countries) aren’t exactly in your favor . So, can the UK finally break the curse, or are we destined for another “left side of the board” finish while Sweden polishes its inevitable trophy? Let’s peel back the glitter and see what it takes to make Europe go “wow” on a Saturday night . LEARN MORE

A former UK winner has revealed the secret to winning the Eurovision Song Contest ahead of tonight’s final.

It seems crazy to think that someone from the UK has ever won the prestigious show, given our performances in recent years, but Bucks Fizz did manage to claim first place all the way back in 1981.

Our last winning entry came before a lot of us were born, in May 1997, and Remember Monday will be hoping to bring an end to that rotten run in Basel tonight with their hit ‘What The Hell Just Happened’. Unfortunately, that may well be the crowd’s exact reaction after the performance.

Switzerland are the hosts after winning last year’s contest, and this year’s show promises plenty of drama, with Malta already being forced to change the lyrics of their song or risk being kicked out.

Bucks Fizz (David Levenson/Getty Images)

Sweden, meanwhile, look to be the current favourites, which seems unfair given they already boast the most successful entry in history after Abba won with ‘Waterloo’ back in 1974.

The UK probably knows it’s not going to win, given how much the rest of the world dislikes us.

So, if Remember Monday have any chance of making us remember Saturday as the UK’s first win in nearly 30 years, then they will have to do something surprising, according to Cheryl Baker, who sang the winning entry for Bucks Fizz over 40 years ago.

Remember Monday will perform tonight (FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)

She said: “Bucks Fizz wouldn’t have won without the skirt rip so thank goodness for that. You’ve got to have the skirt rip moment. Something that makes it different from the others.

“You can have the best singer and have the best song but you’ve to have that something that makes everyone think wow, I want to see that again.

“It might be special effects, it might be lighting, but it’s the something that makes it special.”

Baker, 71, also shared her thoughts on this year’s UK entry, which includes Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele.

She said: “I think the girls are great, their singing is perfect and I think we’ll be on the left hand side of the board, however, I have never yet chosen a winning song.

“I always choose a song I think is the best so I like to think they are going to be a dark horse and come up maybe in the top five but I just don’t know.

“The odds at the moment is that Sweden is going to walk it and that’s a good song. We’re up against quite a few good songs this year but I do think the girls will do well.”

What time does Eurovision 2025 start and who is most likely to win?

Eurovision 2025 kicks off at 8pm BST, and you can watch it on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

According to Paddy Power, at the time of writing the five countries most likely to win are:

Sweden – 10/11

Austria – 16/5

France – 9/2

Finland – 14/1

Netherlands – 25/1

The UK has considerably longer odds at 90/1, considered 11th most likely to win. Here’s hoping Remember Monday can surprise us all.