Olly Alexander CONFIRMS he’s representing the UK at Eurovision Song Contest as he promises to put on a ‘spectacular’ show in Sweden while revealing news during Strictly final

Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander has confirmed he will represent Great Britain at the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden next year.

The singer, 33, made the announcement during the live final of Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday as the audience cheered along.

After bursting through the golden curtain to reveal the voting terms for the dance show final, Olly then shared his news as Claudia said: 'On behalf of everyone we are so lucky to have you.

“I know everything is secret, but can you tell us something?”

Olly replied: 'I'm planning it now, it's going to be spectacular. I love Eurovision, I'm so excited, it's going to be amazing.'

The star is said to be a big fan of the competition and was 'desperate' to be the official UK entry for 2024.

BBC bosses will no doubt be hoping to turn Britain's fortunes around after Mae Muller failed to impress the crowd at the Liverpool match earlier this year, where she finished second.

According to The sun Olly has pitched a catchy song written by producer Danny L Harle, the mastermind behind Dua Lipa's latest hit Houdini.

A source told the publication: 'It's a dream come true for Olly. Things aren't completely locked down, but he's a favorite with bosses.

'Olly has been saying he wants to give it a go – and after working with Danny on the song he thinks we have a great opportunity.

He added: 'He is aware that people say no common sense establishment would appear on the show because of its record in Britain, but as far as he is concerned that is just snobbery.'

As well as topping the charts with Years & Years, Olly has also established himself as an actor, leading the cast of Channel 4's award-winning drama It's A Sin.

The news comes after it was reported earlier this year that the BBC was lining up Sophie Ellis-Bextor as the next British entry.

Sophie, 44, is an established performer with hits including Murder On The Dancefloor, and during lockdown she reached new audiences with her successful Kitchen Disco videos, which landed her a Radio 2 show of the same name.

The mother-of-five will be probed about taking part in next year's show as BBC bosses regain full control of the selection process for Britain's entry.

In 2021, they handed the role to an external company in an attempt to reverse the poor performance of the British newcomers.

A music industry source told The Mail at the time: 'There is currently only one artist on the BBC's list for Eurovision 2024, and they have no plans to add any more.

'Sophie Ellis-Bextor is seen as the ideal candidate for the competition. She is a great singer and performer, and she is already known to audiences, both straight and gay, all over Europe. The criticism the BBC has received this year for the decision to choose Mae Muller has been quite intense.'

Mae was chosen to perform in last weekend's Eurovision final by global management company TaP Music, who also selected 2022 runner-up Sam Ryder.

Doubts about the singer had been growing before the final, with her voice criticized for not being strong enough to carry the song she was performing, I Wrote A Song. Her rehearsal was littered with errors and affected by sound problems.

A series of old quotes in which she suggested she hated Britain alienated some.

There was also controversy when she said Boris Johnson should not have had a hospital bed when he was struck down with Covid.

It also turned out that she had applied for a German passport, with which she said she wanted to save extra paperwork when performing in the EU.