Eurovision fans blast ‘shameful’ British delegation and BBC for ‘disrespecting their own act’ as UK entrant Look Mum No Computer is abandoned to sit alone during jury show

Eurovision fans have hit out at the British delegation and the BBC for abandoning this year’s UK entrant, Look Mum No Computer, to sit alone through the jury show on Saturday.

The electronics performer, real name Sam Battle, had a difficult night in Vienna, as his zany entry Eins, Zwei, Drei ended up in last place – a whopping 515 points behind winner, Dara, from Bulgaria.

The musician secured a singular point in the jury vote – from Ukraine – before going on to receive zero in the public televote.

Sam’s electric performance saw him dancing around in a mock workshop while playing a synthesiser and surrounded by fur-clad robots, while singing about his desire to quit his job and move to Germany.

But his quirky act failed to impress both abroad and back home, with British viewers blasting the song as ‘the worst I’ve ever heard’.

However, he later won much sympathy on social media, after a video emerged showing the YouTuber sat all alone in the Green Room as the jury awarded their points.

The acts gather in the section just off the main stage to nervously await the results of the votes and be interviewed by the hosts, with each country having their own seating area for both the act and their delegation – made up of songwriters, choreographers, managers, coaches etc.

However, footage showed Sam waving to crowd as he sat on an entirely empty couch, having seemingly been left alone by his delegates.

The video showed the delegation from Denmark taking pity on the singer, and going over to invite him to come sit with them after the flag parade.

Sharing the clip to X, a fan voiced his outrage that Sam had been abandoned by the UK delegation, writing: ‘Sorry but if I was Head of Delegation for the UK I wouldn’t have my act sitting on his own at the top of the Jury show (when points matter) and them having to be adopted by lovely Denmark after the flag parade. 

‘Thank you to the Danes. Sam we support you…’

While other fans agreed, calling the footage ‘so sad’ and ‘shameful’, as they blasted the BBC and UK delegation for ‘disrespecting their own act’.

Taking to X, they fumed: ‘Unless the British delegation had a VERY important reason to do that, this is seriously absurd, and should be in talks of changing the WHOLE delegation for next year.

‘I feel really sorry for him. He should never have been treated this way.’; ‘sam we got you even if the delegation forgot you existed’;

‘This is just sad, thank you Denmark delegation ❤️. @bbceurovision absolutely no excuse to be treating your artist, who has put so much effort into his performance, this way ❌ shameful’;

‘Omg this is so sad!! I really hope he’s not feeling lonely or excluded in any sense. I’m glad the Danish delegation adopted him!!’; ‘this is so sad, kudos to the danish delegation for not letting him sit alone’;

‘Brits say “Europeans hate us”. The ESC voters do not hate UK entries. It’s the BBC and the British delegation that disrespect their own acts.’

Fortunately, when it came time for the public votes to be awarded, Sam could be seen back in his seating area and joined by his backing dancers. 

Many have insisted that the UK has long failed to take the contest seriously, despite its long musical history and having produced some of the world’s biggest artists.

But it has been pointed out that well-established acts rarely agree to take part in the competition as it is seen to be ‘career suicide’. 

Will Young previously ruled himself out from ever competing in Eurovision, branding the opportunity ‘a poisoned chalice’.

When asked if he would ever consider participating, he told BBC Breakfast: ‘No, I don’t think so because it’s going to be a bit of a poisoned chalice.’

The pop star stressed: ‘I don’t want to do it. Please don’t make me do it.’

While Olly Murs has also declined to take part, despite his name often being suggested by commentators and fans, saying it was ‘not for me’.

He told Digital Spy in 2015: ‘No, I wouldn’t do Eurovision. I think it’s always something I’ve found… new artists normally do it. Not for me, unfortunately.’

And there is some precedent to the argument that appearing in Eurovision as a well-established artist can do more harm than good.

Most notably, Years And Years’ Olly Alexander represented the UK in 2024, with two No1 albums and six BRIT nominations under his belt, but his raunchy track Dizzy failed to impress.

Before the competition, the singer said he believed Eurovision did a lot to promote artists around the world and that his motivation for taking part was to introduce himself to a wider audience.

‘I did Eurovision because it was a great opportunity to promote my music. I’m releasing new music for the first time in a few years. I hope that Eurovision will be a brilliant platform for “Dizzy”.

‘People love the songs they see at Eurovision. They do really well. They’ve been embraced by a younger audience.’

But, while the jury awarded him 46 points, he received zero votes from the public, finishing in 18th place overall.

Olly went into debt with his label to pay for the staging of the show and while he later said it was ‘kind of iconic to bomb’, when asked what advice he would give to future UK entries, he quipped: ‘Get yourself a really good therapist.’

The It’s A Sin actor found himself facing huge backlash before he even took to the stage in Malmö, after rejecting calls to boycott the event in support of Palestine – facing a tirade of abuse and threats and was given upgraded security.

This is in stark contrast to how countries view taking part in the contest, frequently sending their biggest and most talented stars to compete.

This year saw singer Delta Goodrem, who has had a total of nine number ones and 17 top-ten hits on the ARIA charts Down Under, compete on behalf of Australia – coming in a respectable fourth place.

While this year’s winner Dara has already had a successful career as a pop star in Bulgaria for a decade, ahead of her victory on Saturday night.

She urged established artists in the UK to let go of their prejudices about Eurovision, insisting they shouldn’t look down on the contest.

‘I don’t know what’s stopping them from experiencing this amazing place,’ she told BBC News: ‘You might be from bigger country than Bulgaria, but whatever. 

‘Don’t be afraid to jump into a new reality, into risk, and to try new things. That’s what makes life fun, and you will feel alive.’

While Moldova’s entry, Satoshi, also expressed shock that UK artists were reluctant to take part, saying: ‘In the UK there’s a bad perception of representing your country at Eurovision? Well, that’s not good.’

He added: ‘I can understand that the UK has delivered so many powerful acts to the world that you don’t have to rely on Eurovision to get awareness, but I think it’s a wonderful contest to emphasise your musical potential.’

Elsewhere, fans were left furious after Czechia was denied a chance to redo their performance after it was thwarted by a filming error during the competition.

Daniel Žižka choreographed a very complex stage routine to perform his song Crossroads in Vienna as he performed in a chamber of mirrors on Saturday night.

But as he belted out the song, the cameraman was clearly visible in the mirrors and the screens at home buffered from a technical malfunction. 

The recording was seen losing focus, glitching with lines across the screen and dropping to peculiar angles. 

The mistakes were so noticeable that UK commentator Graham Norton joked in his announcement and asked the public to count how many times they saw a cameraman.

He also went on to explain that these issues did not happen during rehearsal and that a cameraman fell over while filming.

While Daniel continued the show and finished his performance, fans watching at home were quick to ask if he would be given the chance to perform again. 

‘Technical hitch in Czechia! Picture kaput for seconds. According to the rules of [Eurovision], Czechia can decide whether Daniel Žižka wants to sing again,’ one wrote.

‘I wonder if Czechia will argue that they should sing again, that was about 30 seconds of technical issues’.

Eurovision rules state that performers are allowed to request the option to sing again if a malfunction disrupts their routine.

Czechia’s delegation submitted a claim to the EBU requesting permission to perform again.

However, the EBU has reportedly denied their request, according to Super TV.

‘There was a small camera issue during the performance of Czechia’s song at the Grand Final,’ the EBU’s statement read.

‘The performance and audio were not affected, so the song will not be performed again’

Fans were outraged on Czechia’s behalf and made their feelings known on social media.

@esc_gabe wrote: ‘Outrageous decision. Completely ridiculous and unfair.’

‘IT WAS NOT A MINOR ISSUE,’ claimed @frorglvr. Meanwhile @ESCViking wrote: ‘What a terrible take. And what an easy win to get broadcasters to like the EBU again.’

Graham, 63, was praised by Eurovision viewers as they said his brutal sarcasm made the competition ‘worth watching.’

As the UK entry, Look Mum No Computer, finished in last place, viewers at home hailed the broadcaster a ‘shining light’ amongst an otherwise disappointing show.

Graham, who has narrated BBC coverage since 2009, didn’t hold back as he made digs at everything from the host’s lack of chemistry to the contestants’ outfits.

His cutting remarks included telling viewers to ‘put the dog in the kitchen’ when one singer took to the stage, while another joke saw him exclaim, ‘What the hell?!’ when Latvia came on screen.

Sharing their thoughts on social media, fans wrote on X: ‘The day Graham Norton retires will be a sad day. A shining light of British TV coverage on Eurovision.’

‘Graham Norton is about a million times more sarcastic this year and loving it.’

Others added: ‘Graham Norton is the actual highlight of Eurovision.’

‘Graham Norton is making this viewable.’