Eurovision 2024 is getting closer – and now is the time to get excited. (You know – if it’s your kinda thing.)

This year, Eurovision is taking place in Malmö, Sweden on 7 May. The famous event is known for its iconic performances and (sometimes) talented contestants, all representing their home countries.

From emotional ballads to dance pop to thrash metal, Eurovision has seen it all.

This article explores more of Eurovision and the story of the 2024 UK’s contestant, Olly Alexander.

What is Eurovision?

Eurovision is an annual international song competition that’s been running since 1965. Each year, the home country of the previous year’s winner hosts the event.

It’s essentially a music version of the Olympics, where European (and some non-European) countries all enter a song, compete and perform to win.

This is an extremely exciting competition that is highly anticipated, where each country goes all out in an attempt to win top spot. Winners are decided by judges and a public vote.

Eurovision is huge, with millions of people watching from all over the world. Similar to many sporting events, the world goes crazy, showing their support on social media, even with merchandise.

Many betting platforms and companies get involved too. Individuals can even place Eurovision bets, with some countries having higher odds than others. There are even exciting bonuses and promotions, specifically for betting on Eurovision.

Who is Olly Alexander?

This year the UK is represented by a very familiar face, a talented artist who has already made a name for himself in the industry: Olly Alexander, who is best known as the lead singer of the band Years and Years.

With the exciting announcement of his entry, it’s time to take a look at who Olly Alexander really is.

Olly was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire on July 15th, 1990. From a young age, he was passionate about music and knew he was going to pursue a career in the industry.

He ended up moving to London to study acting. During the time he was studying and pursuing an acting career, he spent his time writing and recording music.

Everything changed in 2010. This is when Olly met Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Turkmen and together they formed, Years and Years.

Years and Years

In the years following the band forming, they released three singles before dropping ‘King’ in 2015, which is when things started to change for them.

The band quickly shot to fame after the release of their single and their debut album ‘Communion’. This album included catchy titles such as ‘Desire’, ‘Shine’ and of course ‘King’.

The release of their first album is where things really began moving. In 2016, they were nominated for four Brits and were support acts for Ellie Goulding on her US leg of the tour.

This helped to bring them a larger fan base. In the years that followed, the band rose in the charts, and were nominated and won a number of different awards.

In 2018, they released their second album, ‘Palo Santo’.

In 2021, sadly Years and Years made an announcement of some of the changes happening in the band. The band took to Instagram to explain that Years & Years would became an Olly Alexander solo project. However, the two members would still have some involvement in the band.

Olly’s success outside Years and Years

During the band’s success, Olly was still part of other projects that were contributing to his career too.

In 2020, Olly joined the launch of a new radio station Hits Radio Pride. Then in 2021, Olly played the part of Richie Tozer in a show called It’s a Sin, which is based around the AIDS outbreak in the 1980s. While this wasn’t Olly’s first role, it put his name on the map as an actor.

In 2022, his first album ‘Night Call’ as a solo artist was released.

And most recently in 2023, Olly was announced as the UK entry for Eurovision 2024. His entry is under just his name, Olly Alexander and not Years and Years.

Olly Alexander's Eurovision Preparation

Fans are excited to see what kind of approach Olly is going to have for the song competition. Especially with the awareness he raised for AIDS and for the place he holds in the LGBT community.

He is also known for his incredible sense of style, so no doubt his costume will be suitably audacious.

Olly released his single, Dizzy, for Eurovision in early March: “I wrote the song last summer with Danny L Harle, we started off with the word ‘Dizzy’ because it just popped into my head and I liked it. I was thinking about fun things that could make you dizzy and I remember saying “dizzy from your kisses” so the song is about feeling such an intense swell of emotion for someone they totally turn your world upside down and inside out."

Leading up to the event, Olly will be working hard to prepare for the competition. It’s a lot of work; it’s not just about creating an incredible song, it’s also about creating a memorable and winning stage performance. Knowing Olly Alexander, we can expect both.