Former Newcastle student James Newman receives ‘nul points’ to lose the Eurovision Song Contest

Disappointment struck the UK as Eurovision entry and Newcastle University alumnus James Newman failed to receive any points in last night’s final.

The contest was won by favourites Italy, with heavy metal rock band Maneskin winning with a total of 524 points. France and Switzerland were runners up and scored highly.

Sadly, the same can’t be said for the UK, who equalled their worst performance in history. Newman’s performance failed to impress, not gaining a single point from any of the contest’s expert panel or public televotes.

It’s only the second time that the UK has received nul points, after duo Gemini also flatlined in the 2003 contest. What’s worse, this is also the UK’s second consecutive loss making them back-to-back losers, joining the likes of Malta and Germany in a small group of countries to fail two years running. No country has ever lost for 3 consecutive years but we’re not exactly holding our breath for a resounding victory next year either.

This year’s entry, James Newman, was a former Newcastle University student, having studied Popular Music aged 18. Despite his performance in the competition, he’s a successful songwriter penning hits for Ed Sheeran, Little Mix and Rudimental.

He’s a much-loved character and received a conciliatory standing ovation from the audience when his fate was revealed. Commentator Graham Norton commended him for “owning it” and said he should “hold his head high” after the disappointing results.

This year’s contest was held in Rotterdam, having been postponed from last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. A full studio audience was present as an experimental event by The Netherland’s government, much like the UK’s Brit Awards or Master’s Snooker Final. Previous winner Duncan Laurence was unable to perform at the event (as is tradition) having tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in the week.

[Feature Image: BBC Media Centre: https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/eurovision-2021#jamesnewman]