What Eurovision fans are saying about the UK’s act Remember Monday

Could this be the UK's Eurovision comeback year? Remember Monday, the first girl group to represent the country since Precious in 1999, has generated a buzz of excitement amongst fans.

The trio, comprised of school friends Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull, and Charlotte Steele, impressed audiences in Basel, Switzerland, with their debut performance of “What the Hell Just Happened?”.

Their smooth harmonies have sparked hope that the UK could finally break its Eurovision losing streak.

Follow live updates from the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest here.

The group will face stiff competition in Saturday's grand final, including Eurovision win record contender KAJ from Sweden and Israeli singer Yuval Raphael.

Remember Monday will bring Regency-era staging to their performance, adding a touch of historical flair to the competition.

Meanwhile, Ireland's hopes were dashed on Thursday as Norwegian singer Emmy Kristiansen failed to secure enough votes to advance to the final.

This marks a stark contrast to last year's success, when Irish entrant Bambie Thug became the first to reach the final since Ryan O’Shaughnessy in 2018. While Ireland shares the record for most Eurovision wins with Sweden (seven each), the country hasn't tasted victory in decades.

Outside the Eurovision village in Basel on Friday, 31-year-old Ukrainian Olga told the PA news agency that they are mainly "fans of Ukraine", but "I think this year, actually, we have so many nice countries, and we want to support a lot of them".

The Mariupol native, who lives in Kyiv amid the war, added that she believes the UK does not make “much effort” at Eurovision, but this year the “girls are performing really good, and I really like that, they’ve been real on the stage”.

Agreeing was Angel Garcia from Barcelona, Spain, who said he was “going to vote for Spain, as I’m here, but if I had to vote again, I would normally vote for the UK, because I think it’s a great song, and I like great artists”.

“People say it’s (the voting is) about politics,” the 50-year-old also said. “People say it’s about many things, but what I see is that if you have a good song, you have many chances of winning.”

The UK are “one of the big five”, along with France’s Louane, German duo Abor & Tynna, Italian singer Lucio Corsi and Spain’s Melody, who did not have to compete in the earlier bouts along with reigning champion Switzerland with Basel-born Zoe Me.

Crossing their fingers for the UK and Germany were Rafael Rechel and Tanja Kania, who first met at Turin 2022, before becoming Eurovision friends.

Mr Rechel, 49, was cautious in hoping Germany was “somewhere in the middle”, and not last place, with his favourite being the Netherlands’ Claude Kiambe with the emotional C’est La Vie, while Ms Kania, 56, wants Sweden “because of the happiness”.

“I’m always looking for the UK entry, because the UK is (more than) any other country famous for the music,” Mr Rechel, from Frankfurt, said.

“And then the songs are not that good, to be honest, but the three women are very nice, very kind, and their voices are perfect.”

Others in the final are Finland’s black leather-wearing Erika Vikman, Malta’s high-energy diva Miriana Conte and Ukraine’s Ziferblat.

On Friday, Eurovision director Martin Green, from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), said that the organisers “tightened up security”, at the St Jakobshalle arena after Raphael’s rehearsal on Thursday was disrupted by protesters, appearing to hold up large Palestinian flags.

Mr Green added “most of the people when asked to leave, because they were disrupting the production” did so, and he is “pleased” to say that the live broadcast show was full of “respectful” audiences, while speaking at a press briefing.

“We are on the verge of proving to the world that this is an event where people can come together, (and) agree to disagree,” he also said.

The Saturday event will also see 2024 Swiss winner Nemo return to the Eurovision stage, amid speculation that Canadian singer Celine Dion, who triumphed in 1988 with Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi, will perform.

Switzerland, who hosted the first contest in 1956 in Lugano, had not won for more than three decades until Nemo.

It was announced, on Thursday night, that the UK’s Eurovision spokesperson, Doctor Who actor Ncuti Gatwa, would be replaced by singer and BBC Radio 2 presenter Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

The BBC said Gatwa was unable to reveal the points, given by the UK national jury to other contestants during the competition’s grand final, due to “unforeseen circumstances”.