The good, the bad and the epic sax guy: Eurovision's most memorable acts over the years

The Eurovision final is typically a night of pure ecstasy and enjoyment with artists taking to the stage in an attempt to bring the competition back home.

Twenty-six countries will compete in Malmö, Sweden on Saturday evening (May 11) for the final.

This year’s UK hopeful is Olly Alexander, 33, who is performing disco song Dizzy.

But as well as launching the careers of Celine Dion, Abba and to a lesser extent Bucks Fizz, Eurovision has often been the home to acts who haven’t been so successful.

However, just because you’re never going to have a number one record, that doesn’t mean you’re not valued by the Eurovision community.

There is a noble honour of being Eurovision’s novelty act and taken into the hearts of both superfans and casual observers alike. It’s these stars, for their camp spirit, unique sound or downright strangeness we remember when we think of Eurovision.

Here are just some of the performances throughout the years we’ve loved to hate, and hated to love …

It takes a lot for Eurovision to be appalled – but we managed to do that and then some with our 2003 entry. Forever to be remembered as the worst Eurovision entry ever, everything went all a bit wrong for the Liverpudlian duo. Horrendously off-key due to an alleged mic problem, and with lacklustre staging, Jemini has been relegated to Eurovision’s Hall of Shame for their well-deserved nul points.

From some of the worst of Eurovision … to the best. The Finnish hard-rock band didn’t really fit into the usual Eurovision mould of cheesy pop but their heavy metal sounds, paired with their terrifying make-up, brought them a win.

Their success has led to many other rock acts trying their luck in the competition, with AWS and more recently Hatari bringing their heavier sounds to the stage. ​

It was a bold move of Lithuania to evoke memories of Queen’s We Are the Champions, particularly as instead of Freddie Mercury’s panache and style, they served up a number of poorly suited men screaming. LT United’s “boastful” song was booed in the stadium but, with the benefit of hindsight, we can see what this terrible song really is: just a big overarching p***-take.

The UK has sometimes sent quite earnest, genuine singers (see Jade Ewan, Andy Abrahams, Engelbert Humperdinck) to Eurovision, with 2007 entry Scooch a bit of an anomaly. But it seems Brits often can't do camp very well with this irritating effort, which was almost unwatchable.

Scooch’s blue costumes bore an unfortunate resemblance to Britney Spears’ Toxic video, but the song is nowhere near as strong – it’s like comparing Emirates to RyanAir.

Well, what can we say? Nothing's more Eurovision than Verka Seduchka. The Ukrainian drag act, donned in what could be tinfoil, sang the partly German, partly English song – and, while Verka has entered the Eurovision Hall of Fame, she was harshly denied the win, arguably one of Eurovision's biggest scandals.

A bit like the UK in more recent years, France hasn’t really had much luck in the Eurovision Song Contest – but nothing summed up the nation's general don’t care attitude better than 2008 entry Divine.

Stepping away from its usual glitzy staging and with the star act arriving on a golf buggy, the most glamorous thing about Sebastian Tellier was his sparkly blazer. Things took an even more bizarre turn when he sucked the helium out of a globe-based ball. While objectively not good, the novelty of France’s strange act was appreciated by the nations watching, and he earned 47 points.

Some of you struggling to remember who this famous Eurovision act is, but they’ve since acquired worldwide fame thanks to the internet. The masterful (if not eye-watering) work of saxophonist Sergey Stepanov quickly became the subject of popular meme Epic Sax Guy, which was similar to rickrolling.

Eurovision rules on musical instruments being played on stage meant Stepanov was not actually playing the saxophone at all but rather synchronising movements with a pre-recorded track – it's one of the greatest lies of our generation.

Known more colloquially as “The Russian Grannies”, the sweet group were the unexpected hit of Eurovision 2012, thanks to their endearing, inclusive song in the Udmurt language. They may have lost out to Sweden on the night itself but they won the hearts of everyone at home.

Appearing to be the Icelandic equivalent of the Kaiser Chiefs, Pollapönk are actually a “punk-inflected” children’s music band. Each wearing a brightly coloured suit (a bit like the Teletubbies), the band sung a fairly cheerful and catchy song about not being prejudiced. So far, so Eurovision. However, the best bit is the very end of the song. We won’t spoil it if you can’t remember what happens but we will say keep an eye on the guy in the yellow suit …

While Eurovision has always been known as being loads of fun, it isn’t always the sexiest of contests. This is something Poland sought to change in the 2014 competition, which will always be remembered for its unique erotic take on butter churning.

The slightly edgier offering from Estonia in 2015 was actually fairly good, only to be let down (or, some would argue, improved) by some slightly dodgy lyrics. “As I got outside, I smiled to the dog” is a personal highlight.

The techno-punk band were the antithesis of the typical Eurovision spirit with their angry BDSM-inspired performance but will be most famous for being kicked out the competition after holding up the Palestinian flag as their scores were announced in protest of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

So technically not an act itself – but nothing encompasses the spirit of Eurovision than this half-time interval show, when the hosts managed to upstage even Justin Timberlake during the 2016 contest.

The performance was the ultimate dream for Eurovision super-fans, chock-full of references to the most bizarre and brilliant entrants for the last few years – look out for grannies, butter churners and sax players.

The runners up in 2023, Cha Cha Cha is a hardcore techno tune that just missed out on the top spot. The song reached number 1 on Spotify’s Viral 50 chart and number 7 on the streaming site’s Top 50 chart.

This was the first year back after 2020, which was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. And, unfortunately, Embers was underwhelming. It was only the second time in history the UK has failed to get a single point at the event.

When asked how this happened, Newman said: “Maybe people just didn't like my music.”