Why Olly Alexander was a forgotten face in Eurovision school reunion crowd

The UK’s familiar-sounding entry fared poorly with voters in a contest where the shock of the new often does well

Though it takes place every 12 months, to understand the dynamics of the Eurovision public vote it may be useful to think of the song contest as a kind of school reunion. There’s a basic feeling of shared belonging fostered by geographic proximity among the 26-pupil class in the grand final, but it’s fair to say most of them haven’t thought about each other much for some time. Life got in the way. So when they meet, there’s joy in recognising the familiar and discovering the new.

Portugal is still the same as when you last raised a glass together. Finland has let itself go a bit. Ireland has definitely changed. And who thought Switzerland, of all places, would triumph like that?