United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002
| Eurovision Song Contest 2002 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  United Kingdom | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | A Song for Europe 2002 | |||
| Selection date(s) | Semi-final 1 February 2002 Final 3 March 2002 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Jessica Garlick | |||
| Selected song | "Come Back" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 3rd, 111 points | |||
| United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
The United Kingdom competed at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002, represented by Jessica Garlick with the song "Come Back".
A Song for Europe 2002
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) continued to use a national final, A Song for Europe, to select their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, continuing with the format of a radio semi-final with eight songs, with the top four songs, selected by televoting, progressing to the televised final.
Semi-final
The semi-final of A Song for Europe 2002 was held on 1 February 2002 on BBC Radio 2, hosted by Terry Wogan and Ken Bruce. Although Zee initially qualified for the final with the song "Never In A Million Years", she was subsequently disqualified because it was revealed that the song was previously released in Hungary in 2001. Therefore, Surf 'n' Turf, who came 5th in the semi-final with their song "I Give In", replaced her in the final.
| Artist | Song | Composer(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jessica Garlick | "Come Back" | Martyn Baylay | Finalist |
| Honey Trap | "Lovestruck" | Ben Copland, Yvonne John Lewis, Nicky Cooke, Phil Dane | Eliminated |
| Level Best | "Every Step of the Way" | Graham Kearns, Howard New | Finalist |
| Paula O'Neil | "When You're Around" | Ben Copland, Martin Bushell | Eliminated |
| Pulse | "Fade Away" | Stuart Hanna, Alistair Griffin | Eliminated |
| Surf 'n' Turf | "I Give In" | Jonathan Maitland, Jackie Collins, Peter Maitland | Finalist |
| Tricia Penrose | "DJ Romeo" | Bea Eden, Simon Stirling, James Gordon | Finalist |
| Zee | "Never In A Million Years" | Mark Jiggens, Zee Asha | Disqualified |
Final
The final was held on 3 March 2002 at the BBC TV Centre in London, hosted by Claire Sweeney and Christopher Price. The winner was Jessica Garlick with her song "Come Back", gaining a total of 67,798 votes, almost 40,000 more than second-place Tricia Penrose. The televotes of only the top three songs were announced.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Composer(s) | Televotes | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Level Best | "Every Step of the Way" | Graham Kearns, Howard New | 8,927 | 3rd |
| 2 | Tricia Penrose | "DJ Romeo" | Bea Eden, Simon Stirling, James Gordon | 28,681 | 2nd |
| 3 | Surf 'n' Turf | "I Give In" | Jonathan Maitland, Jackie Collins, Peter Maitland | ? | 4th |
| 4 | Jessica Garlick | "Come Back" | Martyn Baylay | 67,798 | 1st |
At Eurovision
Garlick performed "Come Back" for the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia. She performed second in the running order on the night of the contest, following Cyprus and preceding Austria. She received 111 points at the close of the voting, coming joint 3rd place with host country Estonia. This was the best result for the UK since 1998 and the best result for the UK in the 2000s.
Points Awarded by United Kingdom
Final
| 12 points |  Malta
|
| 10 points |  France
|
| 8 points |  Latvia
|
| 7 points |  Estonia
|
| 6 points |  Slovenia
|
| 5 points |  Israel
|
| 4 points |  Belgium
|
| 3 points |  Cyprus
|
| 2 points |  Spain
|
| 1 point |  Sweden
|
Points Awarded to United Kingdom
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
