Flying the Flag: From Bredin to Brexit.

In this unit, we explore the United Kingdom’s complex relationship with Eurovision and, by extension, with Europe as a whole. We ask why the country that gave the world The Beatles, Adele, The Kinks, Queen, Dusty Springfield, The Who, Ed Sheeran, The Rolling Stones, Shirley Bassey, Blur, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, The Spice Girls, Amy Winehouse, Coldplay, George Michael, Dua Lipa, Radiohead, Eric Clapton, Oasis… - sent Jemini to Eurovision. (When you listen to the song, ask yourself, did the UK lose that year because they had just invaded Iraq and people were mad, or did they lose because the song was an utter train-wreck?)

We finish the unit by asking the million-dollar question: now that the U.K. has Brexited (great choice, by the way, well done) can they ever win again?