UK's Sam Ryder finishes SECOND at Eurovision Song Contest 2022
The best performance in years!
Last updated 14th May 2022
The 2022 Eurovision Song Contest took place in Turin, Italy on Saturday 14th May, with 26 different nations showing off their featured tracks in an attempt to win the prestigious trophy and bring the contest back home for 2023.
The show, which aired on BBC One tonight, saw Graham Norton give his hilarious commentary as Italian hosts Alessandro Cattelan, Laura Pausini and Mika welcomed the world to join the Eurovision party at the Pala Alpitour in Turin.
The UK's entry Sam Ryder performed his track 'Space Man', before the results came in from around Europe.
Who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022?
1st place: Ukraine
2nd place: United Kingdom
3rd place: Spain
Eurovision results 2022: Full table
Who represented the UK at Eurovision in 2022?
TikTok sensation Sam Ryder was the UK's entry with his amazing single 'Space Man'.
Sam was an unknown artist before lockdown hit in 2020, with the singer instantly becoming an overnight sensation when he uploaded videos of himself performing covers to TikTok. He has since racked up nearly 13 million followers and a huge celeb following.
Sam's entry 'Space Man' was written by Sam alongside GRAMMY winning songwriters Amy Wadge and Max Wolfgang.
When was the last time the UK won the Eurovision Song Contest?
It's safe to say the UK hasn't had the best track record at the Eurovision Song Contest in recent history, but believe it or not, we did used to be very successful, with victories in 1967, 1969, 1976, 1981 and 1997.
You have to go all the way back to 1997 to find the UK's last winning entry though, in the form of Katrina and the Waves with the song 'Love Shine A Light'.
Over the last decade, the UK have only finished in the Top 10 once, with Jade Ewan back in 2009, finishing in fifth place with her track 'It's My Time'.
Unfortunately, the UK's 2021 entry James Newman received the dreaded 'nul points' last year, finishing bottom of the leaderboard.
Eurovision 2022 Jury Votes
Sam Ryder and the UK topped the 2022 Jury Votes. The television votes then changed things when added together with the Jury Votes as Ukraine received 439 votes from the public, however it was still an incredible result for Sam Ryder.
Check out the most watched Eurovision performances of all time:
10) Loreen - 'Tattoo'
Country: Sweden
Year: 2023
Views: 22m
Watch on YouTube here.
9) SunStroke Project & Olia Tira - 'Run Away'
Country: Moldova
Year: 2010
Views: 30m
Watch on YouTube here.
8) Conchita Wurst - 'Rise Like A Phoenix'
Country: Austria
Year: 2014
Views: 43m
Watch on YouTube here.
7) Eleni Foureira - 'Fuego'
Country: Cyprus
Year: 2018
Views: 47m
Watch on YouTube here.
6) Måns Zelmerlöw - 'Heroes'
Country: Sweden
Year: 2015
Views: 52m
Watch on YouTube here.
5) Lordi - 'Hard Rock Hallelujah'
Country: Cyprus
Year: 2006
Views: 53m
Watch on YouTube here.
4) Loreen - 'Euphoria'
Country: Sweden
Year: 2012
Views: 62m
Watch on YouTube here.
3) Alexander Rybak - 'Fairytale'
Country: Norway
Year: 2009
Views: 75m
Watch on YouTube here.
2) Måneskin - 'Zitti e buoni'
Country: Italy
Year: 2021
Views: 103m
Watch on YouTube here.
1) Netta - 'Toy'
Country: Israel
Year: 2018
Views: 173m
Watch on YouTube here.
You can re-watch the Eurovision Song Contest on the BBC iPlayer now.
Now read:
Who is Sam Ryder? Everything you need to know about the UK's Eurovision entry
12 facts you probably didn’t know about the Eurovision Song Contest
The most watched Eurovision performances of all time