The British national broadcaster, BBC, broadcasts the event within the United Kingdom and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. BBC announced that the United Kingdom would participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 on 20 December 2011. BBC has traditionally organised a national final featuring a competition among several artists and songs to choose the British entry for Eurovision. In 2011, BBC opted to internally select the British entry for the first time since its first entry in 1957, a selection procedure that continued for their 2012 entry.