Fans eager to hear Olly Alexander’s Eurovision song will have to keep waiting as BBC bosses are yet to decide a release date. 

Alexander was announced as the UK’s 2024 Eurovision entrant on December 16 last year, but in a break from tradition, the song wasn’t unveiled at the same time. 

Asked by The Euro Trip if a plan to release the song was already in place, BBC Studios’ Eurovision Executive Producer, Lee Smithurst, said: “We’re keeping things open. 

“There’s so much interest in Olly, but we want to make sure we’re doing the right things and get as much exposure for the song. We want to do things a little bit differently.” 

Each year since 2020, the UK’s song and artist have been revealed together on either Radio 1 or Radio 2. But Smithurst says he and his team are exploring many different television and radio opportunities for the song reveal. 

“We’ve got some markers, but we’re just trying to work around which are the best of those places to go. 

“There’s lots of other things going on at the same time. We have to make sure that it’s fitting into a space where it’s not going to be overshadowed by another big announcement on the same day.” 

The BBC has received assurances from Alexander’s label, Poloydor, that his Eurovision song will be the lead single from his upcoming debut album under his own name.

The deadline to release Alexander’s Eurovision song will coincide with the annual Heads of Delegation meeting, typically held in mid-March. 

BBC Music’s Commissioning Executive, Will Wilkin, joined Smithurst for an exclusive interview with The Euro Trip – available now on Acast, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Wilkin has been involved in the BBC Eurovision artists selection for the last three years. 

“Picking your moment dictates so much,” Wilkin said. 

“We are in a really exciting space where we can start to build a run into the contest with Olly because of those who have come before him. 

There’s lots of great options and opportunities.” 

The announcement of Alexander as the UK’s representative was the earliest since the unveiling of Frances Ruffelle as the country’s 1994 representative. 

“This was the reason why we wanted to announce the artist before Christmas – it allows us to speak openly about who our artist is,” Smithurst said. 

“Because Olly is an established artist it really helps us look at where we can put him between now and March for a song reveal, and March to May for Eurovison promo as well.”