United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023

Prior to the 2023 contest, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing the United Kingdom sixty-four times.^[8] Thus far, it has won the contest five times: in 1967 with the song "Puppet on a String" performed by Sandie Shaw, in 1969 with the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang" performed by Lulu, in 1976 with "Save Your Kisses for Me" performed by Brotherhood of Man, in 1981 with the song "Making Your Mind Up" performed by Bucks Fizz and in 1997 with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. To this point, the nation is noted for having finished as the runner-up in a record sixteen contests. Up to and including 1998, it had only twice finished outside the top 10, in 1978 and 1987. Since 1999, the year in which the rule was abandoned that songs must be performed in one of the official languages of the country participating, the UK has had less success, only finishing within the top ten three times, in 2002 with the song "Come Back" performed by Jessica Garlick, in 2009 with the song "It's My Time" performed by Jade Ewen, and in 2021, when "Space Man" performed by Sam Ryder finished in second place.

As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, the BBC organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster confirmed its participation in the 2023 contest on 25 July 2022.^[9] Previously, the BBC has used a plethora of methods to select its entry: From 1957 to 2010, it organised a national final which featured a competition among several artists and songs to choose the entry for the contest. Then between 2011 and 2015, the BBC opted to internally select its entry. For its 2016 entry, the broadcaster announced that a national final would be organised again. The same process was used in 2017 and 2018, and changes were brought in for 2019. In 2020 and 2021, the BBC opted to return to an internal selection, in collaboration with record label BMG. For the 2022 contest, the BBC began collaboration with TaP Music to internally select its entry, a process that was continued for 2023.^[10] On 25 July 2022, it was confirmed by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) that the BBC would host the 2023 contest on behalf of the winning broadcaster of the previous contest, the Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC), and Liverpool was later announced as the host city on 7 October.^[11][12]

The British entry for the 2023 contest was internally selected by the BBC in collaboration with TaP Music.^[13] The selection process was confirmed on 8 September 2022, following the successful result for the United Kingdom at the 2022 contest.^[10] Rachel Ashdown, Commissioning Editor for the BBC, stated:

"We are thrilled that Ben Mawson and Ed Millett plus the team at TaP will once again bring their unrivalled expertise to work with the BBC and BBC Studios to find an act and song to represent the UK at Eurovision. I hope we can find another artist who will not only be a brilliant ambassador for Eurovision but like Sam will sing their head off with a stand out song."

On 31 January 2023, it was reported that four acts were left in the running to represent the United Kingdom at the 2023 contest.^[14] Among the rumoured candidates were Mimi Webb,^[15] Birdy, Jessie Ware and Ellie Goulding,^[16] as well as Rina Sawayama, with Radio Times stating that she had been selected; this was later denied by Sawayama's management,^[17][18][19] however, in an interview in June 2023 the singer clarified that she had been contacted by the BBC and TaP management and had shown interest in representing the country, but never received response.^[20][21] On 9 March 2023, during The Radio 2 Breakfast Show with Zoe Ball, Mae Muller was announced as the chosen entrant with her song "I Wrote a Song".^[22] Later that evening, Muller appeared in a special programme on BBC One, titled Eurovision 2023: Meet the UK Act, where she was interviewed by Scott Mills, followed by the first full televised broadcast of the song's music video.^[23] It was reported that the show was watched by an audience of over 2.76 million, becoming the second most watched TV show in the UK that day.^[24] She was interviewed the following day on that evening's edition of The One Show, where a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of the music video in Lithuania was broadcast.

"I'm so excited to participate in Eurovision this year and represent the UK! I've loved watching Eurovision all my life, so to compete in such a massive music competition is simply brilliant. I'm a huge fan of so many of the artists that have found success at Eurovision, from ABBA to Måneskin!"

In order to promote "I Wrote a Song" as the British entry for the 2023 contest, Muller is embarking on a promotional tour throughout Europe.^[26] Kicking off her international promotional activities on 25 March 2023, performing at the Barcelona Eurovision pre-party, Muller then travelled to Warsaw, Poland on 1 April 2023 and Madrid on 8 April 2023, the latter of which she performed at the PrePartyES in Madrid's Sala La Riviera.^{[27][28][29][30]} Muller also made appearances at the Eurovision in Concert 2023 at Amsterdam's AFAS Live on 15 April 2023, and the London Eurovision Party at London's Here at Outernet venue on 16 April.^[31][32][30] She also made several interviews with broadcasters across Europe, including ORF to explore her Austrian ancestry and San Marino RTV, where she discussed her plans for her performance in Liverpool.^[30][33]

Muller is also making several appearances on British television and radio in order to promote her entry to the domestic audience. She appeared on BBC Radio 2 on 21 March 2023 and BBC Radio Somerset on 25 March 2023.^[34][35] On 31 March 2023, Muller appeared on the ITV chat show This Morning to discuss her plans for the contest.^[36] On 7 April 2023, Muller launched her YouTube series Road to Eurovision, documenting her journey to the contest in Liverpool.^[37] On 14 April, Muller released an acoustic version of "I Wrote a Song".^[38] On 26 April 2023, Muller met with King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Liverpool for the reveal of the Eurovision stage. The monarch wished Muller the best of luck at the contest and stated that he would be "egging her on" as the British entry.^[39]