Eurovision 2024: BBC reveal huge chart ambitions for Olly Alexander's UK entry

BBC bosses have given an update on the UK's Eurovision Song Contest 2024 entry, ahead of this year's show in Malmö, Sweden on May 11 2024.

Back in December, Olly Alexander was confirmed as the UK's 2024 and, while he's remained pretty tight-lipped about the song so far, we have had a couple of sneaky teasers as to what we can expect.

Olly, who previously earned 10 UK Top 40 singles and three Top 10 albums as a member of Years & Years, has already revealed the track is 'not a ballad,' and now BBC bigwigs have discussed their big chart ambitions for the single.

MORE: Olly Alexander reveals Eurovision 2024 song is 'not a ballad'

Speaking exclusively to The Euro Trip podcast, BBC Studios’ Eurovision Executive Producer, Lee Smithurst, and BBC Music’s Commissioning Executive, Will Wilkin explained that the team are keen for the song to see commercial success; revealing the ultimate goal is to secure a Number 1 single.

Will Wilkin said: "Our ambition is to win and for the single to go to Number 1, and for it to be another watershed moment for Eurovision for the UK. 

"You have to make peace with what the worst case scenario is to reach the best. 

"Everyone that enters Eurovision is aware of what the worst case scenario can be, but I believe this will be another huge growth spike in terms of what Eurovision means. 

"We can measure that in a million different ways if we want to, but really we’re going there to win it. 

"And we are going there to win it with a single that is an incredibly commercially successful single."

MORE: Everything you need to know about the Eurovision Song Contest 2024

On possible options for the song's reveal this year, Lee Smithurst added: "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.

"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."

Olly's entry has been co-written with Danny L Harle (who most recently enjoyed success with Dua Lipa's Houdini) and, while its title and release date are yet to be confirmed, the deadline for the song's release is Eurovision's annual Heads of Delegation meeting, typically held in mid-March.