Eurovision Song Contest: Everything you need to know about UK's entry Lucie Jones The former X Factor star will sing Never Give Up on You at the annual music event

Lucie Jones has been selected as the lucky candidate to represent the United Kingdom at this year's Eurovision Song Contest. The former X Factor hopeful will fly the flag for Britain at the European music festival event, performing a track called Never Give Up on You at the event in Kiev, Ukraine. And with the semi-finals just around the corner, here are the facts you need to know about UK entry, Lucie Jones:

1. The 26-year-old singer comes from Pentyrch, a village in Cardiff.

2. Lucie appeared on The X Factor in 2009, where she made it into the live shows. Cheryl coached her on the sixth series and she finished in eight position.

3. She was signed by Sony music label after her stint on the ITV talent show.

4. The singer has also appeared on stage in shows such as Legally Blonde and Ghost The Musical.

Lucie Jones will represent the UK at this year's Eurovision Song Contest

STORY: Liam Payne shows his support to Eurovision hopeful Lucie Jones

5. According to Lucie, One Direction's Liam Payne and his newborn baby son, Bear, will be cheering her on. "We had a really great chat about it, he wished me luck," she told 888sport. "Although, I was really just really saying congratulations to him about little Bear. I didn't get the honour of seeing any baby photos; we were in the lobby of a radio station so that wasn't going to happen! He seems so happy."

6. Her song, Never Give Up on You, was co-written by Emmelie de Forest, who won the contest for Denmark in 2013.

The former X Factor star will sing Never Give Up on You

7. The chance to sing at Eurovision is a "dream come true". Lucie confessed she won't let the current political issues get the better of her performance. She said: "Am I worried that Brexit is going to cost me votes? Well there's a political aspect every year and this year there are different motives for political voting but I'm really not trying to think about it at all."

8. After the competition, Lucie plans to marry her fiancé Ethan Boroian - whom she got engaged to in November 2015. "I just can't [wait] for it, I'm getting married in late August this year and it's just going to be so awesome," she confessed.

Lucie appeared on The X Factor in 2009

It has been 20 years since the UK last won Eurovision with Love Shine a Light by Katrina and the Waves in 1997. Lucie is gearing up for the first round of semi-finals for this year's Eurovision Song Contest which takes place on Tuesday. The second semi-final takes place on Thursday with the final on Saturday. The Eurovision Song Contest first started with just seven participating countries in 1956 and it has since gone on to become one of the world's biggest music extravaganzas. Ireland has managed to win the most times with seven wins, while Sweden is a close second with six wins.

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