FORMER Hereford student Olly Alexander failed to win over the public at the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Years and Years frontman - who attended Hereford College of Arts - represented the United Kingdom in the showpiece event in Malmo, Sweden.

However, he failed to get a single point from the public for his song, Dizzy.

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All of his 46 points were from the judges, with Iceland and Sweden both giving him eight points. 

His performance, which featured upside-down dressing room staging and cameras rotating to give a spinning feel to Alexander and the dancers, went smoothly after his mic pack fell off earlier in the week.

Following the performance, Alexander told BBC Radio 2’s Scott Mills programme: “I did have a slight wardrobe malfunction in that my mic pack fell off in the second chorus, so I was confused and stressed by that.”

Hereford Times: Olly Alexander finished 18th in the Eurovision Song ContestOlly Alexander finished 18th in the Eurovision Song Contest (Image: Suzan Moore/PA)

Speaking after Alexander’s performance in the final, Graham Norton, who was leading coverage on BBC One, said: “Wow what a great job.”

Norton said there was clapping in the commentary booth, adding: “Oh, the reaction in the arena is sensational, if only they could vote! Maybe they will later.”

He continued: “That is terrific, we don’t know how it will do because it is so different to everything else in the contest tonight.”

At the halfway stage of the voting, the 33th was in the top half of the table; however, because he finished bottom in the public vote, it meant the 33-year-old finished 18th overall out of 25 countries. 

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Switzerland won the contest with a huge 591 points, ahead of Croatia (547) and Ukraine (453). Ireland, meanwhile, was sixth with 278.

Prior to the show, demonstrators were gathered outside the venue in Malmo before the event, calling for a boycott of the competition due to the participation of Israel’s Eden Golan.

They shouted “free Palestine” and “shame” to those attending.

Alexander, along with Ireland’s entry, Bambie Thug, and other Eurovision artists released a joint statement in March backing “an immediate and lasting ceasefire” in Gaza but refused to boycott the event.

Israel finished fifth, helped massively by the public giving them 323 points. The UK also gave them the most points.