The UK is ringing the changes at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest: it is the first time in nearly a decade that the country has not been represented by a solo act, plus the first time since 1999 that it has sent an all-female group.

Solo artists have carried the UK’s hopes each year since 2017, with mostly dismal results.

The country came last in 2019 and 2021, second-to-last in 2023 and third from bottom in 2018.

Of all the UK’s recent efforts, only Sam Ryder in 2022 finished in a strong place on the scoreboard, coming second behind Ukraine.

Last year’s contender, Olly Alexander, finished 18th out of 25.

This year, the UK is pinning its hopes on the all-female trio Remember Monday and their song What The Hell Just Happened?.

They are the first non-solo act to represent the country since the duo Joe & Jake finished an embarrassing third from last in 2016.

The trio will be understandably anxious to avoid a similar outcome this time and instead match, or even surpass, the result the last time an all-female group represented the UK.

This was in 1999, when five-piece Precious managed to finish 12th out of 23.

While there have been plenty of solo female winners of the Eurovision Song Contest since it began in 1956, most recently Loreen for Sweden in 2023, the event has only once been won by a female duo (Norway in 1985) and has never been won by an all-female group.

The UK has won the contest on five occasions, three times with groups – Brotherhood of Man (1976), Bucks Fizz (1981) and Katrina & the Waves (1997) – and twice with solo acts: Sandie Shaw (1967) and Lulu (joint winner in 1969).

Remember Monday are only the sixth non-solo act to represent the UK so far this century, along with Jemini (2003 – finished last), Scooch (2007 – finished second from last), Blue (2011 – finished 11th out of 25), Electro Velvet (2015 – finished fourth from last) and Joe & Jake (2016 – finished third from last).

Duos and groups were more common during the 1970s and 1980s, accounting for 13 of the UK’s entries across these two decades.

All but one of these acts had mixed or male-only line-ups, however.

The exception was Belle and the Devotions in 1984, the first all-female group to represent the UK at Eurovision.

It was not until 1999 that the UK sent its second all-female multi-person act, Precious, to compete in the contest.

And it has taken until 2025 for the UK to send its third all-female line-up, in the shape of Remember Monday.

This year’s Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Basel in Switzerland from May 13-17.