Never Give Up On EU... But Lucie’s ‘Brexit lament’ only comes 15th
First ever Eurovision triumph for Portugal
BRITAIN’S Lucie Jones suffered a Brexit backlash, coming a lowly 15th in last night’s Eurovision Song Contest – despite her song Never Give Up On You being described by fans as a thinly veiled love letter to our continental neighbours.
Portugal’s Salvador Sobral romped to victory in the annual contest while Jones, sitting in a respectable 10th place after the judges’ vote, slumped to 15th after viewers across Europe awarded her a measly 12 out of a possible 492 points.
This was despite the rapturous response she received from the studio audience both before and after her appearance.
Hopes had been riding high for 26-year-old Jones in the days lead- ing up to last night’s final, even though the Welsh-born former X Factor contestant was always going to have a political mountain to climb in the light of Brexit.
But some fans thought they had spotted a pro-EU message in the song. They claimed the lyrics – which include ‘I will never give up on you, I don’t care what I’ve got to lose, just give me your hand and hold on, together we’ll dance through this storm’ – is a plea for reconciliation with Brussels.
Some have even joked that the title should have been Never Give Up On EU. The song was co-written by Danish singer-songwriter Emmelie de Forest, who won Eurovision in 2013 and was later named European of the Year by the pro-EU Danish European Movement.
British TV host Graham Norton described Jones’s performance as ‘flawless’ and ‘overwhelming’ and viewers commenting on social media loved the song. Former Spandau Ballet star Martin Kemp tweeted: ‘Wow!!! Best song by miles!!!
Another fan said Jones had ‘smashed it’ and one viewer said she had been left with ‘goosebumps’ after Jones sang her ‘socks off.’
The popularity of the competition itself, which is in its 62nd year, shows no sign of waning. More than 200million viewers were expected to have tuned in to last night’s three-and-a-half hour extravaganza, staged in Kiev, Ukraine.
Portugal ended more than half a century of national humiliation by winning the Contest. Sobral, 27, topped both the jury and the public vote with his ballad Amar Pelos or To Love For The Both Of Us.
It is the country’s first win since it began taking part in the competition 53 years ago. This year’s competition saw some of the most bizarre acts in its history. Italy’s Francesco Gabbani was joined on stage by a dancing gorilla and Azerbaijan’s Dihaj was accompanied by a man on a step ladder wearing a horse’s head.
During the closing number by last year’s Ukrainian winner Jamala, an Australian climbed on to the stage, dropped his trousers and exposed his bare bottom to the audience.