United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993
Sonia represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993, singing "Better the Devil You Know". The song, chosen from a selection broadcast on A Song for Europe, was placed second in the contest.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1993 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Artist: Internal selection Song: A Song For Europe | |||
| Selection date(s) | 9 April 1993 | |||
| Selected entrant | Sonia | |||
| Selected song | "Better the Devil You Know" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 2nd, 164 points | |||
| United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
For A Song for Europe 1993, the BBC asked the heads of each of the Eurovision Network member broadcasters for their opinion regarding who should represent the United Kingdom from a shortlist the BBC had prepared. A plurality chose 22-year-old recording artist Sonia, who already had a #1 hit to her credit.
A Song for Europe 1993
A Song for Europe was broadcast on 9 April 1993 although the show had been recorded the previous evening. Only the voting sequence and winning reprise was presented live. Terry Wogan hosted the event and Sonia performed all eight finalists, which were presented during four ten-minute preview programmes broadcast weekly on BBC1 between 14 March and 4 April. Several were in the uptempo style popularised by the Liverpudlian singer but the shortlist also included several ballads.
A separate results show was broadcast on BBC1 the same evening. BBC Radio 2 simulcast the final, with commentary by Ken Bruce, but did not broadcast the results show.
Competing entries
The contest opened with "A Little Love" written by Ian Curnow, Phil Harding and Shaun Imrei. This was perhaps the most 'Eurovision' sounding entry. Imrei was also responsible for "I'm Gonna Put a Spell on You", also uptempo but considerably weaker than the opening song. The song was co-written by Graham Stack.
The first ballad of the evening was "Life After Love", a plaintive song from David Harwood Smith and Roger Graham Taylor. It contrasted nicely with "It's Just a Matter of Time", composed by Alan Glass and Gary Benson. Benson had made previous contest appearances as both a performer and a songwriter.
"Better the Devil You Know" was the repetitive uptempo song with a fifties feel, penned by Dean Collinson and Red. It was followed by what was, allegedly, Sonia's own favourite, the big ballad "Our World", composed by Johnny Warman and Nick Graham.
The seventh of the evening was the only anthemic entry, "So Much of Your Love" by Patrick McGlynn and Jane Andrews. It was followed by Trust, an uptempo song which Sonia had to have a couple of attempts at in order to get it right. Naturally only the edited version was broadcast on the night. The song was composed by Simon Stirling, Geoffery Williams and Phil Manikiza.
Results
As ever, televoting decided the winner. The votes were as follows:
| Draw | Song | Composer(s) | Televote | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Little Love" | Ian Curnow, Phil Harding, Shaun Imrei | 55,053 | 4 |
| 2 | "I'm Gonna Put a Spell on You" | Shaun Imrei, Graham Stack | 27,795 | 6 |
| 3 | "Life After Love" | David Harwood-Smith, Roger Graham Taylor | 38,308 | 5 |
| 4 | "It's Just a Matter of Time" | Alan Glass, Gary Benson | 18,251 | 8 |
| 5 | "Better the Devil You Know" | Dean Collinson, Brian Teasdale | 156,955 | 1 |
| 6 | "Our World" | Johnny Warman, Nick Graham | 77,695 | 2 |
| 7 | "So Much of Your Love" | Patrick McGlynn, Jane Andrews | 70,454 | 3 |
| 8 | "Trust" | Simon Stirling, Geoffrey Williams, Phil Manikiza | 26,745 | 7 |
At Eurovision
Twenty five countries participated in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Green Glens Arena in Millstreet, Ireland on 15 May. "Better the Devil You Know" was placed second with 164 points. It received points from every country apart from Greece and Malta.
Points awarded by the United Kingdom
| 12 points |  |
| 10 points |  |
| 8 points |  |
| 7 points |  |
| 6 points |  |
| 5 points | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 4 points |  |
| 3 points |  |
| 2 points |  |
| 1 point |  |
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
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