Six artists and three BBC-written songs is not good enough. The British Eurovision fans, who are a dedicated community, deserve better.

With a population of 65+ million people, and one of the largest music industries in the world, there really is no excuse. The BBC must start taking Eurovision seriously, and providing us with a better National Final format would be a fantastic start.

An ideal national selection format would look something like;

• "British Music Festival" — rename the show so it can exist as a musical platform in it's own right. Not just as a side-show for Eurovision.
• 12+ songs in total.
• Two semi-final rounds, in addition to the final.
• Allow artists to submit their own songs, with their own artistic styles, don't give them entries from the so-called "songwriting camps". And don't be afraid to contact recording labels in search of upcoming/established artists!
• Accept entries from a wide range of entries. Not every song has to appeal to everyone. This mentality leads to generic songs filling up the national final without any quirks or personality.
• Full transparency with the result. This is crucial, and every successful Eurovision selection provides it.
• All shows should be aired on BBC One during prime-time television.

If the BBC lacks inspiration, simply look to Sweden's Melodifestivalen, a 6 week show containing 28 artists and entries. Or, you might look to France's new format "Destination Eurovision" - which contains 18 artists and songs over a three-show format. I recommend contacting the teams from those countries and borrowing their expertise in the setting-up phase? Eduardo Grassi and Christer Björkman are highly active in the Eurovision community and would be willing to help you.

From Eesti Laul to A Dal, it seems that every country has a wide choice in the entries they send to the Eurovision Song Contest, a show with a global audience of 200+ million, except for the United Kingdom. And this is a travesty. The BBC is one of the most prestigious broadcasters in the world, if not the most, and sidelining Eurovision fans is not a good look.

It is clear that the current BBC approach is not bringing results for the UK, so change it!

We, the undersigned, call upon the BBC to respect the wishes of the UK Eurovision community, and introduce a genuinely democratic competition that showcases the best of British music. Give us a chance to succeed!