James Newman has unveiled ‘Embers’, the UK’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 after the coronavirus pandemic previously dashed his hopes of taking part.

The singer-songwriter was chosen as the UK’s entrant last year, but the pandemic forced the event to be cancelled for the first time in its 64-year history.

But Newman has now returned with his upbeat effort ‘Embers’, which marks an energetic and uplifting contrast to the sombre sounds of ‘My Last Breath’ – his 2020 track.

Newman said: “I wanted to write an upbeat and positive song that people could have a party to.

“It’s about the spark between people who love each other. Just because you don’t see the people you care about all the time, doesn’t mean that spark isn’t there.”

The track sees Newman collaborating with songwriters such as Conor Blake, Danny Shah, Tom Hollings and Samuel Brennan – who have amassed over four billion streams with their tunes.

Other acts returning for a shot at Eurovision glory this year include Iceland’s Daði Freyr, who delivered a viral hit with ‘Think About Things’ in 2020.

While the pandemic forced the cancellation of last year’s events, Eurovision bosses have said that this year’s event will go ahead at Rotterdam’s Ahoy! venue from May 18-22 – even if it means performing to a crowd-less arena.