United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986
Eurovision Song Contest 1986 | ||||
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Country | United Kingdom | |||
National selection | ||||
Selection process | A Song for Europe | |||
Selection date(s) | 2 April 1986 | |||
Selected entrant | Ryder | |||
Selected song | "Runner in the Night" | |||
Selected songwriter(s) |
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Finals performance | ||||
Final result | 7th, 72 points | |||
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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The United Kingdom participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, held in Bergen, Norway.
The British national final to select their entry, A Song for Europe 1986, was held on 2 April at the BBC Television Centre in London, and was hosted by Terry Wogan. The show was opened by 1985's Eurovision winners, Bobbysocks, who sang "Let it Swing," the English-language version of their winning song "La det swinge." The duo was going to sing their brand new single "Waiting for the Morning" too, but the producers finally decided to cancel that part of the plan.
The winning song was decided by the votes of eleven regional juries across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The scoreboard was incorrectly adjusted during the broadcast and the final tallies shown on screen did not correspond with the scores announced on air.
The winning entry was "Runner in the Night," performed by the sextet Ryder, composed by Brian Wade, with lyrics written by Maureen Darbyshire.
National final
Results of national final
Draw | Artist | Song | Points | Place |
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01 | Vanity Fare | Dreamer | 99 | 3rd |
02 | Palace | Dancing with You Again | 91 | 5th |
03 | Colin Heywood | No Easy Way to Love | 80 | 6th |
04 | Chad Brown | I'm Sorry | 78 | 7th |
05 | Kenny Charles | Tongue-Tied | 93 | 4th |
06 | Ryder | Runner in the Night | 145 | 1st |
07 | Jump | Don't Hang Up On Love | 137 | 2nd |
08 | Future | War of the Roses | 76 | 8th |
At Eurovision
Ryder performed fifth on the night of the Contest, following Norway and preceding Iceland. At the close of the voting the song had received 72 points, placing 7th in a field of 20 competing countries.