The UK’s Eurovision entry, Look Mum No Computer, has shared a statement after coming in last place.
The 70th edition of the show went down in Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle last night (May 16), and saw Bulgaria’s Dara win with ‘Bangaranga’, marking Bulgaria’s first ever victory, with the rap and bhangra-adjacent track coming out on top of both the jury and audience voting.
Look Mum No Computer’s ‘Eins, Zwei, Drei’, however, finished at the bottom of the table in 25th place, picking up only one point from the jury scores and getting the dreaded zero votes from the public.
The YouTuber and electronic musician, real name Sam Battle, has since celebrated Bulgaria’s historic win on social media, telling his followers they were the “deserved winner” and that he’d met “a lot of amazing folk” during the competition.
“The most important thing is [that] we all tried our hardest,” he wrote. “Regardless of what is against us. Whatever it may be. Gotta keep trying your hardest regardless of the foooookennnn outcome!!!”
The singer, who is known for building and playing instruments made from unconventional materials, shared the statement alongside him and a crowd chanting “UK” and “ein Punkt”, which means one point in German.
He is now the third UK act in a row to be awarded nul points in the public vote, after Remember Monday fared the same in 2025, as did Olly Alexander in 2024.
The lead up to last night’s contest was marred by controversy, with Israel’s participation once again proving to be divisive. Their entrant Noah Bettan nearly took the trophy after finishing in second place, and there were audible boos in the hall when their high score was announced.
Several countries – Ireland, Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland and Spain – boycotted the event in protest at Israel’s inclusion, and during the semi-finals earlier in the week, Bettan received a mixed response from the audience, with some cheering while others booed and shouted anti-Israel slogans. One person in particular could be heard for around a minute during the performance, saying “Stop the genocide”.
Ahead of the contest, Amnesty International called for Israel to be suspended, and criticised the EBU for not suspending the country like it did with Russia in 2022 due to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, with their Secretary General, Agnès Callamard saying it was “an act of cowardice and an illustration of blatant double standards when it comes to Israel”.
“Instead of sending a clear message that there is a cost for Israel’s atrocity crimes against the Palestinian people, the EBU has given Israel this international stage even as it continues to commit genocide in Gaza, unlawful occupation, and apartheid,” Callamard said.
“The EBU is betraying the values of the Eurovision Song Contest, which include freedom from intolerance, hate speech, and discrimination.”
Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations of waging genocide, and denies committing any war crimes, maintaining that its operations are lawful acts of self-defence following Hamas’ attack on Israeli citizens at the Nova Music Festival on October 7 2023, which killed over 1,100 people and saw 250 taken as hostages.
Pressure to exclude Israel from the competition also came from No Music For Genocide, who issued an open letter signed by over 1,100 cultural workers and artists, calling for fans to boycott this year’s Eurovision unless Israel is banned from participating.
The open letter was first shared on April 21, and featured signatures from Brian Eno, Massive Attack, Paloma Faith, Paul Weller, Kneecap, Hot Chip, Of Monsters and Men, IDLES, Primal Scream, Sigur Rós, Young Fathers, Mogwai, Black Country New Road, Erika de Casier, Nadine Shah, Dry Cleaning, Ólafur Arnalds, David Holmes, Nemahsis, Macklemore, Roger Waters, Peter Gabriel, Vacations, Smerz, a number of former Eurovision finalists, and more.
Reports have also emerged claiming that Israel’s government orchestrated a “well-organised campaign” to use the Eurovision Song Contest as a “soft power” tool.
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