Â鶹ԼÅÄ

Eurovision 2019: Michael Rice to represent UK in Tel Aviv

  • Published
  • comments
Media caption,

Michael Rice's version of Bigger Than Us

If you're a fan of reality shows like 'The X-Factor' or 'All Together Now' you might recognise this face.

Twenty one-year-old Michael Rice has been on both shows - The X Factor in 2014, and All Together Now in March 2018.

He also won over the public in Â鶹ԼÅÄ Eurovision You Decide, being chosen to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.

More about Eurovision

He will now travel to Israel in May in the hope of impressing Eurovision fans with his anthem Bigger Than Us.

So what do you need to know about this year's Eurovision star?

He's from Hartlepool

Image source, Getty Images

If you aren't sure where it is, Hartlepool is a town in County Durham on the North Sea coast.

The town is roughly 7 miles from Middlesbrough and 17 miles from Sunderland.

He owns a waffle shop

Image source, Getty Images

If you won £50,000 what would you spend it on?

Michael used the prize money he got from All Together Now to take his family to Disneyland and to set up a shop selling ice cream and waffles.

He made his first European trip 2 weeks ago

Image source, Getty Images

You might think having visited lots of European countries would give you an advantage in Eurovision, but Michael's lack of travel hasn't stood in his way.

He went to Tenerife with his friends and says he had the "best time" even though he came back with a broken toe after falling in the pool.

He's fronted an anti-bullying campaign

Image source, Getty Images

In an interview with the Â鶹ԼÅÄ after winning You Decide Michael revealed that he'd experienced bullying during secondary school.

He said: "When I was growing up I used to get bullied a lot - in Year 7 and Year 8.

"When I left school, I did The X Factor and I got loads of hate from that, and it really sparked me on to go to schools and tell people my story and inspire them."

He hadn't been born the last time the UK won Eurovision

Image source, PA
Image caption,

The last UK win was Katrina and the Waves with "Love, Shine a Light" in 1997

The last time the UK won was 22 years ago, and it hasn't made it into the top 10 during the last decade.

But Michael's feeling positive about our chances this time around.

He told the Â鶹ԼÅÄ: "I think you have to be positive when it comes to stuff like this. Some people do take the mickey out of it and these other countries really do take it seriously.

"We might have lost loads of times, but I think, why couldn't it change? Why can't we make this different? We've got the best music industry - Adele, Sam Smith, The Beatles - why can't we send someone and hope for the best?"

So can Michael turn our luck around in 2019? We'll just have to wait until May to find out.