The United Kingdom has participated 65 times since it debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest 1957 in Frankfurt am Main with Patricia Bredin as their debut entrant. They missed out the following year but have participated every year since 1959.
They became a member of the "Big Four", along with France, Germany and Spain, in 2004, a year after their worst result in the Contest when they infamously scored "Nul Points" with the entry "Cry Baby" by the duo Jemini - the first English-language entry to suffer this fate. With the return of Italy seven years later, they were renamed the "Big Five".
It has finished last on four other occasions: three times securing points in 2008, 2010 and in 2019, respectively, but repeated their 2003 result at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam.
They have won the Contest a total of five times and is one of two nations with victories in four different decades, the other being Sweden. They have also had the most runner-up placements, with 16 in total as of 2023 as well as holding the record for being the host nation nine times - four as winners and five by deferral of the winning nation from the previous year.
The nation debuted at the inaugural Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen, finishing in 3rd place. They competed a further two times, achieving their best result the following year when they finished as runner-up to Spain. Following the 2005 Contest, the nation withdrew. However, buoyed by the success of Sam Ryder in Turin and the nation hosting the Contest in 2023, it announced its return for the 2022 Contest, scoring a third Top 5 result.