Eurovision’s UK entry Remember Monday have sparked fan concern with a running order update after their semi-final performance.

The country pop band, made up of Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, all 30, hit the stage in the second semi-finals on Thursday ahead of Saturday night’s final.

Fans were mightily impressed with their performance, with theories flying that they could even take home the trophy at the 69th iteration of the annual contest in Basel, Switzerland – which would be the UK’s first win since 1997.

However, avid Eurovision viewers have now raised concerns following a major update about where the girl band will appear in the finale running order.

Since 2013, a random draw has decided whether acts will appear in the first or second half of the final, with producers then determining exactly which order they will perform in within their allocated section.

But last year, a new wildcard option called Producer’s Choice was introduced to the draw, meaning 13 of the 26 acts will now be placed anywhere at all in the final at the discretion of broadcasters.

The British country pop band, made up of Lauren Byrne (left), Holly-Anne Hull (right) and Charlotte Steele (centre), all 30, hit the stage in the second of two semi-finals on Thursday

Fans were mightily impressed with their performance, with theories flying that they could even win the 69th iteration of the annual contest, but the running order has sparked concern  

And Remember Monday were randomly allocated one of these 13 slots in Thursday’s ballot and will perform in eighth place, with fans claiming viewers might forget about their number by the end of the show.

The show’s eighth slot comes in the middle of first half – following Ukraine and just before Austria, with the latter being a particular fan favourite at the semi-finals. 

Taking to X to share their worries, fans wrote: ‘UK just drawn Producer’s Choice. Remember Monday are now at the mercy of the producers’;

‘Producers hate us’; ‘No, no, no, no, we ain’t winning now’; ‘It’s well-known second [half] is better because you’re remembered’; 

‘I honestly don’t think eighth is a good draw for Remember Monday, especially between Ukraine and Austria.’; 

‘Not to mention that JJ [Austria’s act] performs after Remember Monday.’; ‘Interesting place for the UK. Don’t know if it will help or hinder us.’; 

‘UK – eighth. Producers have slotted it anywhere. Not great…. The UK seemed an obvious call [to close the show] if [producers] had any confidence in it.’ 

Albania has the highly coveted final slot – popular as it supposedly allows the performance to stick in viewers minds more. 

Last year, a new wildcard option called Producer’s Choice was introduced to the draw, and Remember Monday has now been picked for one of these 13 slots and will be performing 8th

Eurovision fans took to X to express their concerns about the UK’s spot in the programme 

But some other fans were more optimistic, saying they did not think the eighth spot necessarily spelled doom for the band, particularly noting that ABBA once won in the very same position.

They commented: ‘I wouldn’t be too concerned about the UK going before Austria. 

‘In recent years, most songs that were on before big favourites in the running order still did fairly [well], especially on juries’;

‘The running order in the Eurovision final doesn’t mean much! In the last ten years, five winners came from the first half and four winners from the second half’;

‘It’s all about the performance, not when you appear! [JJ] deserves to win! Loreen [2023 Eurovision winner, from Sweden] was also at number nine in the 2023 final.’;  

‘Think Remember Monday from the UK and JJ from Austria will be well-accustomed to each other after the running orders in the semi-final and final.’

The countries that draw Producer’s Choice are placed anywhere in the order at the discretion of producers from Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR, which is then approved by the European Broadcasting Union. 

It gives producers ‘more of an opportunity to make all songs in the Grand Final stand out and create the most exciting running order possible’ ahead of the public vote. 

 

But some other fans were more optimistic, saying they did not think the eighth spot necessarily spelled doom for the band

Each of the two semi-finals this week, which took place on Tuesday and Thursday, saw ten of 15 contestants qualify through to the Grand Final (pictured: Remember Monday) 

Christer Björkman, the producer of last year’s contest in Malmö, Sweden, said: ‘It’s all about creating the best TV show possible and giving all artists a chance to shine. 

‘In previous years, with just the First Half and Second Half draws you might find many ballads ended up in the same part of the show or many favourites were drawn to perform in the same half. 

‘Adding the flexibility of Producer’s Choice gives me the ability to create an even better flow of different tempos and an even more thrilling Grand Final.’

There are 13 Producer’s Choice spots in the draw – meaning half of the 26 countries in the Grand Final, including the UK, are subject to the new rules.

Six of the remaining countries draw a first half spot while the other six get a place in the second half.

The host country and last year’s winner – which is Switzerland this year – gets to choose first, before any other country, where they appear in the programme, accounting for the 26th spot. 

Austria, Finland, Iceland, Luxembourg, Spain and Ukraine drew a first half spot – while Albania, Armenia, Denmark, France, Germany, Portugal and Switzerland each secured one of the places in the second.

The other Producer’s Choice countries, along with the UK are Estonia, Greece, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, San Marino and Sweden.

Remember Monday, whose name comes from their meet-ups to rehearse on Mondays when they formed the band at school in Farnborough, Hampshire, first gained prominence after appearing on The Voice UK in 2019 

Read More Who is the UK entry for Eurovision 2025? Inside Remember Monday’s private lives away from the show

The band get an automatic place in Saturday’s final, as the UK is one of the five biggest financial contributors to Eurovision, along with France, Spain, Germany and Italy.

Switzerland also get an automatic final spot as last year’s winners and this year’s hosts. 

Remember Monday, whose name comes from their meet-ups to rehearse on Mondays when they formed the band at school in Farnborough, Hampshire, first gained prominence after appearing on The Voice UK in 2019.

They will be the first girl group to represent the UK at Eurovision in more than 25 years.

Each of the two semi-finals this week, which took place on Tuesday and Thursday, saw ten of 15 contestants qualify through to the Grand Final.  

Slovenia, Belgium, Azerbaijan, Croatia and Cyprus all sadly went home after the first semi-final.

And last night’s semi-final unfortunately saw the elimination of Australia, Montenegro, Ireland, Georgia, the Czech Republic and Serbia from the compeтιтion. 

The Eurovision Grand Final will be available to watch on BBC One and to stream on BBC iPlayer at 8pm tomorrow. 

Eurovision’s Grand Final running order in full 

FIRST HALF 

1. Norway – Kyle Alessandro, Lighter 

2. Luxembourg – Laura Thorn, La Poupee Monte Le Son 

3. Estonia – Tommy Cash, Espresso Macchiato 

4. Israel – Yuval Raphael, New Day Will Rise 

5. Lithuania – Katarsis, Tavo Akys 

6. Spain – Melody, ESA DIVA 

7. Ukraine – Ziferblat, Bird of Pray 

8. United Kingdom – Remember Monday, What The Hell Just Happened? 

9. Austria – JJ, Wasted Love 

10. Iceland – VAEB, ROA 

11. Latvia – Tautumeitas, Bur Man Laimi 

12. Netherlands – Claude, C’est La Vie

13. Finland – Erika Vikman, ICH KOMME 

SECOND HALF 

14. Italy – Lucio Corsi, Volevo Essere Un Duro 

15. Poland – Justyna Steczkowska, GAJA 

16. Germany – Abor & Tynna, Baller 

17. Greece – Klavdia, Asteromata 

18. Armenia – PARG, SURVIVOR 

19. Switzerland – Zoe Me, Voyage 

20. Malta – Miriana Conte, SERVING 

21. Portugal – NAPA, Deslocado 

22. Denmark – Sissal, Hallucination 

23. Sweden – KAJ, Bara Bada Bastu 

24. France – Louane, maman 

25. San Marino – Gabry Ponte, Tutta L’Italia 

26. Albania – Shkodra Elektronike, Zjerm