1998 жылғы Еуровидение: Ұлыбританияның қатысуы мен таңдау процесі

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The United Kingdom competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. In addition, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on 9 May 1998 after the nation won the competition in with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. The BBC organised a public selection to select its entry for the contest, The Great British Song Contest 1998. Eight songs competed over two rounds, with four songs selected through a radio broadcast semi final advancing to the televised final round, held on 15 March 1998, where viewers selected the winning entry through televoting. Imaani received the most votes and was selected to represent the UK in the contest with the song "Where Are You?". Imaani performed 16th at the international contest, and at the close of the voting process the UK finished in second place with 166 points, the nation's 15th second place finish since its debut.

Prior to the 1998 contest, the United Kingdom had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 40 times since their first entry in 1957 and had competed in all but two editions of the contest. Before this year's event, the UK had won the contest five times: in 1967 with the song "Puppet on a String" performed by Sandie Shaw, in 1969 with the song "Boom Bang a Bang" performed by Lulu, in 1976 with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" performed by Brotherhood of Man, in 1981 with the song "Making Your Mind Up" performed by Bucks Fizz, and in 1997 with the song "Love Shine a Light" performed by Katrina and the Waves. The nation had also finished in second place on 14 occasions, more than any other country. The BBC opted to select its chosen entry for the contest through a national final entitled The Great British Song Contest 1998.

The BBC organised a public selection process to determine its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. The Great British Song Contest was organised for the third time, following the same format used the previous year: after a public submission process, eight songs were selected to compete in a semi final broadcast on BBC Radio 2, where listeners would choose four entries via televoting to progress to a final on BBC One. A second round of public voting during the televised broadcast would determine the winning song that would represent the UK at Eurovision. More than 800 songs were submitted to the competition and following several rounds of shortlisting from these songs, the eight semi finalists were determined.

Ahead of the contest, Imaani made several appearances on UK television programmes to promote her entry to the British public. Imaani performed her Eurovision song on the BBC's children's programmes Blue Peter on 23 March 1998, Live & Kicking on both 28 March 1998 and 11 April 1998, and Fully Booked on 3 May 1998, while she also appeared on the BBC's music chart show Top of the Pops on both 8 and 22 May 1998. BBC Radio 2 also produced a radio documentary, titled Going for a Song, broadcast 9 May 1998, the day of the Eurovision final, which followed Imaani's preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest. "Where Are You?" was released in the formats of both CD and cassette on 9 March 1998, featuring an additional ballad mix of the song. The song peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart, while it also charted on the Netherlands' Mega Top 100 and Belgium's Ultratop chart.

As the winners of the previous year's event, the UK was given the chance to host the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998, with the BBC selecting the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham as the venue of the contest, held on 9 May 1998. Following confirmation of the 25 country participant list, the running order for the contest was decided by a draw held on 13 November 1997; the UK was assigned position 16, following and preceding The contest was hosted by Wogan and Jonsson and was broadcast in the UK on television and radio, with Wogan also providing commentary for BBC One and Bruce doing likewise on BBC Radio 2. Imaani performed alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra, which was conducted by James McMillan for her performance. At the end of the contest, the UK finished in second place, receiving a total of 166 points. The result gave the UK its 15th second place finish in its competitive history, which remains a contest record as of 2022.