Country United Kingdom Selection date(s) 2 April 1986 Selected song "Runner in the Night" | Selection process A Song for Europe Selected entrant Ryder | |
Selected songwriter(s) Brian Wade
Maureen Darbyshire | ||
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.
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.
Terry Wogan once again provided the television commentary on BBC 1. BBC Radio 2 also returned broadcasting the contest, with commentary provided by Ray Moore. Colin Berry served as spokesperson for the UK Jury.