and overnight for a while in northern ireland and particularly scotland. some patchy rain for northern england and perhaps north wales, that further south dry. it should be quite a bit milder than last night for many of us, temperatures 9—10d. we start with clouds and rain for the northern half of the uk, particularly scotland and a more persistent rain was simply a way for me nor the mind and will get some sunshine here and some patchy rain could come back into northern ireland and southern scotland. it does become largely dry for england and wales, sunnier skies towards the south—east, where temperatures are continuing to climb, although 18 degrees is likely in the north—east of scotland. over the weekend, rain early and late in the week, mainly across the northern half of the uk. all of us, though, will be getting a lot warmer.

hello, this is bbc news with tim willcox. the headlines: as the uk's daily figure for coronavirus deaths drops to 170, the government pledges £81; million of funding to help accelerate the work of vaccine programmes. this new money will help mass—produce the oxford vaccine so that if current trials are successful, we have dosages to start vaccinating the uk population straightaway. the government defends plans to begin reopening primary schools in england from next month — it says there'll be measures to ensure the safety of children and teachers. and the italian prime minister admits his country's taking a calculated risk by easing a number of lockdown measures from next week. we are back at the top of the hour.

now on bbc news, newsbeat charts what happened following the cancellation of this year's eurovision song contest. i'm james newman, and i'm the uk entry at the eurovision song contest. mrjames newman. cheering and applause. over the next three months, it's going to be a whirlwind. i mean, i can see the dates in my diary, but i don't really know what's going to happen. this is to dreaming big. this is to music first, always. thank you. thank you! and it sounds like this. # don't bring me. # don't bring me down, down, down, down. # don't bring me. # are you hearing me? down, down, down, down...# music: think about things by dadi freyr. the eurovision entry for the uk for this year... james newman, a multi—award—winning singer and songwriter.

he's written for ed sheeran, for little mix, for calvin harris. such a compliment to be asked to represent your country in a song competition when you're a singer and a songwriter. it's like being asked to do the olympics. # if we were deep—sea divers. ..# music cuts out. all of italy has now been placed in quarantine. # never had the heart to pray. # and never thought i'd find the way. # but now i do...# # who—ooh—ooh—ooh. ..# is there any concern coronavirus might interfere in any way? has anyone even talking about that? # there's no doubt i'm strong enough. # to reach the state i've dreamed of...# i suppose we're all in it together, aren't we? the worst public health crisis for a generation. tough new measures to restrict the movement of people are being introduced by governments around the world. # i know we're getting closer.

# life is music. # i am a composer...# music cuts out. glastonbury festival has been postponed until next year because of the pandemic. # i think my heart is beating me to death. # i have got an arrow through my chest. # i am so in love, i must confess. # say yes, say yes!# belgium has become the latest european country to go into lockdown. elsewhere, spain's prime minister has announced a state of emergency. chanting in latin. # la cleopatra! # la—la—la—la, la—la—la—la. # la—la—la—la. # la cleopatra!# and some breaking newsjust coming in to us. the eurovision song contest, we're hearing, will not take place this year in rotterdam because of the coronavirus outbreak. we'rejust going to, like,

run through with the song. so... # some people let go. # some people let love slip away...# i'm really, really excited. i can't wait for everyone to know that it's me. # but i'm gonna hold on. # when no—one believes, i'll keep the faith. #mm, yeah...# i'm feeling nervous, excited... can't wait for the song to be on the radio. can't wait to sing tomorrow night at my first gig. # and i know that we're in trouble. # but i swear that we'll survive. # if we were deep—sea divers...# i've written quite few pop songs, yeah. started off with rudimental... # i've been waiting all night for you to tell me what you want. ..# ..ed sheeran... # lay it all on me...# ..calvin harris... # so blame it on the ni—i—i—ight. # don't blame it on me...# ..little mix...

# last night, i lay in bed so blue...# ..john newman, who you might know. he's my brother. # i still got a fire in me. # i never wanna let it go...# it looks just so fun. it looks like the most amazing place to perform, and it kind of looks a bit like the olympics. # i hear you calling me at night. # whenever wind is blowing...# it's hard to say what a eurovision song is. i think it's about finding a song that connects to people, and that's what i hope we've done with our song and we're going to, you know, try and connect to many people as possible. # it's all good in the good times. # but i'll still be there when it all goes wrong. # yes, i will...# i wrote it in scotland, with three of my friends — ed drewett, iainjames and adam argyle. and we got, like, little house by a loch, jumped in the loch every day — this was injanuary as well — had a few whiskies and watched a documentary about these divers

in the north sea and how one of them got cut off from everyone, stuck at the bottom of the sea, and how they all saved him. and then it got us think about, like, what people would do for other people, and then what you would do for someone who you loved. all: # if you had nothing left...# that kind of lead us on to the thought of, you know, "i'd give you my last breath." # ..my last breath!# james, morning. morning, ken. it's lovely to have you here. and that is... you know, it's one of the best songs we put forward to eurovision in years, i think. oh, wow, thank you very much. no, honestly. it's a huge compliment. first of all, how do you feel about hearing it on the radio for the first time? i can't believe it. i think you saw me smiling then.

i wasjust like, "i can't believe i'm on the radio." they laugh. the response of, like, the song was wicked. i didn't let myself down as a songwriter. morning, james. morning, how you doing? all right? how does it feel to...? unfortunately, i can't stop. i'm on a bit of a tight schedule. so... how does it feel to have let the secret out now? he laughs. very, very excited. i really like it. amazing, isn't it? what do you think? um, well, it'sjust really exciting. as a huge fan of eurovision, you know, you talk about it being a big morning — this is the news everyone needs to be hearing about, right? when they played this on radio 1 this morning, when they premiered it on greg james' breakfast show, for the first time in a long time, it didn't feel like suddenly the station had been hacked and, you know, this terrible, cheesy eurovision song had come on. it feels like a proper song that fits in the modern pop landscape. i didn't really know what to expect at all, you know? cos, um... ..i hadn't told anyone really about it, so i didn't know how it was going to, you know, come across or whatever. but, yeah, the response from everyone was just amazing. like, so positive. so i was first introduced

to james as a songwriter, but the more i heard him singing in the studio, i was thinking, "hold on a minute. "why aren't you releasing these songs? "your voice is incredible!" now it's up to james to come out and show people what he's all about, and he's brilliant. he really is a fantastic lad. really proud of him. one of those people that you really connect with in the studio, like... we like the same music. the soul music of the '605 and the funk of the 705, you know? that's all in there with his influences. he is one of the most hard—working and talented people i know. he's also a lot of fun. if you want a fun time, james newman is who you call. yeah, he's good. he's good at getting a song started, you know? he's, um... yeah, he's a wicked guy, man. big up, james. boom! hello. it's jack white. jack white. and do you know which list you're on? should be on press and media. press? yeah. it's been a bit of a whirlwind. i did some more interviews and went... took my mother for lunch. how i'm feeling about performing it in front of a room of critics? i'm excited. because every time... i'm not being big—headed but every time i've done a gig,

people are always like, "oh, my god, your voice sounds great." and that's one thing that i always feel confident about, about singing live. i love it. it's like... it's just the reason that i do music, so... i'm not, um... i'm not that nervous. who's that in the paper?! who's that? james chuckles. oh, it's your son. it feels kind of weird. it's like my mum's reading the newspaper now with a massive picture of me in the middle, which kind of feels quite surreal. oh, really? we need to do it as soon as possible, really. so i'm about to do a live interview on the phone, but then i also need to go and do my sound check before everyone gets let in in...seven minutes. ok, i'll hand the phone over. they're just wrapping up the interview they're doing before, and they'll go straight into you. 0k. 0k? so you'll be listening to the end of the other one. 0k. hi there, how you doing?

it's like a baptism of fire, this, you are just thrown into it. of the scoreboard to the left—hand side of the scoreboard. that's it. that's the aim this year. everything else will be a bonus. mr james newman. cheering and applause. # but i swear that we'll survive. # if we were deep—sea divers. # and no—one came to find us. # if you had nothing left. # i'd give you my last breath.# cheering and applause. you're so wonderful! cheers! the awesome band!

thank you. you get reactions on instagram and twitter and stuff but when you get, like, a real—life reaction, it was like... ..you know, really rewarding. john's come for a bit of press. haven't seen me in a while, have you? ijust wanted a couple of drinks to calm down, cos it has been... laughter. that was pretty good, actually. it has been a mental day. you remember what it used to be like, john? yeah. remember, back in the day? i remember back in the day. next week. next week, head—to—head. i got you a tequila. oh, you are a legend. a good one. a lot of people were excited that i was doing eurovision, and didn't expect it. well, some people guessed it on twitter the night before. they thought it was either going to be me orjohn. well, what do you want, half? i'll do half, you do half. cheers.

to the future. cos it's been a crazy day. good morning. it's friday, 28 february. now, i always think the test of a decent eurovision song is, "can you sing the chorus the second time it comes through "on the first listening?" and actually, genuinely, that one, james, you can. yeah, great. that was the idea. we wanted to do something simple that people would remember straight away. eurovision is a bit of a madhouse, isn't it? in the best possible way. people love it, but i imagine... you see the room where people are doing their performances. it's like no other kind of venue, isn't it? it's like a fever. and i've been speaking to people that have been there, and people say once you go there, you just fall in love with it,

cos it's a whole... we go there for a whole week. is there any concern, because it is a massive international gathering, that coronavirus might interfere in any way? has anyone even been talking about that? i've been asked about it a few times, but i mean... it's a way off yet. yeah, it's a way off yet, and i suppose we're all in it together, aren't we? i think the bbc breakfast thing was the moment where it kind of turned, after that, really, for me. after i come back from doing all my kind of promo and stuff over that weekend, and then after that, it kind of started getting more and more serious. italy is now under the most severe restrictions since the second world war. there's now a nationwide ban on any gathering of more than a thousand people. never could people in italy have conceived of the idea that they'd need this to be able to move within their own country. all schools and colleges are closed. no cafes, no bars and no restaurants. it's the main hospital in rome, where people who have

coronavirus are treated. ..with commiserations to all fans of europop. rotterdam in the netherlands was the destination. a major disappointment, of course, to all those artists that would have been taking part. we regret the situation very much. but i can promise you the eurovision song contest will come back stronger than ever. i am sad, because quite a few countries this year i think could have got their first win, and obviously now they can't. so many songs that deserved to be performed this year. and it's really sad that we will not be hearing them on stage. i don't know how anyone can choose just one act from this year and call that their favourite, because they were all so incredibly strong. this year was the first year that i could actually go to the contest, so on a personal level, i was, yeah, kind of disappointed. i was really, really looking forward to the contest this year because it was taking place

in rotterdam, my home city. even though i'm sad, i know that everyone else is, so it's ok. i speak english thanks to the eurovision. i sing thanks to the eurovision. this would have been my first year i would have organised a party with my friends. i'm sad at this point, but i'm really looking forward to 2021. i am very sad that 2020 entries won't be seen or heard live. i think that every single one of them deserves it. even though turkey doesn't participate any more, we still love and follow eurovision. the cancellation hit me really hard. i was devastated just like the others. i had the tickets booked. i had a hotel booked. all that i was waiting to do was book the flights. the only way to describe how i'm feeling is heartbroken and like a piece of me has been torn away.

hi, everybody. ijust thought i'd talk to you face—to—face. you know, here we are, face—to—face. because it's been a sad day for eurovision. but it's really important that people's health is looked after at this crazy time, so... so when i found out it was cancelled, it was... the bbcjust sent us an e—mail and was like... it was like their statement — you know, the reasons why. and, you know, you know it's going to happen, but when you actually see it's been cancelled, i was sitting in my car just on the way to the shop. ijust had to pull over, and i was like... he sighs. i had to take a moment and just... ..kind of reset and just think, you know, "well, it's happening for a reason." yeah, it was pretty

heartbreaking, though. since eurovision got cancelled, i've just been here with my wife. not leaving this area, really, getting deliveries and stuff like that. we've got two little rabbits that roam free in the house. we've been hanging out with them. i've got some decks, some turntables that i've been learning to beat match, but very unsuccessfully. we've been cooking, out in the garden, just having a laugh, really. at first, ifelt, like, alone. because it was like, "oh, it's been cancelled, so i'm not doing it." and then i realised there's 41 other people that are in the exact same position as me. you know? so it was nice, cos then i started talking to people. hey, man, how are you doing? i'm doing very good. how are you? i'm good, thanks. how did it feel, like, when your son went viral? it feels pretty good! i can't really complain. # baby.

# i can't wait to know...# obviously you were, like, one of the favourites to win the show. what was the kind of feeling like in iceland? we get excited every year, but it was more this time. a lot of icelandic eurovision fans are more disappointed in us not going than i am. #ah...# definitely had it. i mean, it's pretty scary, the whole process. because you don't know where... you don't know what's... when you get the flu, you know you're probably going to get better in a few days, or you know the process. but with. .. i had moments where i felt better, and i'd be like, "oh, i feel ok now." and then an hour later, i'd be like, "i can't breathe again." and it would be like, up and down, for, like, two weeks, that was.

one of the biggest moments in your life is cancelled because of this huge, horrible thing that's happening, and then it really affects you in a different way — like, in a health way, like it has affected everyone — it really solidified to me why we have to all stay at home and why we have to cancel big events like this, because it spreads so easily. there's no way it could have happened. there's no way you could've done it in an arena with no—one there, or... you can't even do it from a studio, could you, cos the amount of production that needs to go into things? i think we were quite far along in terms of, like, what we wanted for the stage show, the same kind of vibe as the video. i wanted it to be like the stage show version, anyway, but with more of a story to it. so, i love cold water swimming and cold water exposure, all because of the wim hof method, who is the love interest in my music video. the breath is the life force. if you control the life force, the force of life is with you. cold water exposure‘s so good for your body, so good for your mental health, because it puts you into, like,

fight—or—flight mode when you get in the cold water. i've slowly been converting a lot of my close friends. this is my friend jack leonard... hello! ..and i'm going to make him get in this. isn't it delicious? just how i feel when i do it and how i feel when i don't is like night and day. because i did suffer from anxiety quite a lot. you know, i had, like, panic attacks quite a lot, often driving in the car. i was thinking if we were going to do eurovision, i'd have to ask for an ice bath in my hotel room. i think it would really help, you know. before you go to the dress rehearsal, you have an ice bath and do 20 minutes of breathing and just walk in, like... you'd be fine. hi, jess. hi,james. how are you going? i hear that you haven't yet received word whether or not you'll be retained to perform next year. no, not yet. i'm still waiting to...

i've said that i want to do it, that i'll do it if i get asked, so i'm just waiting for them to make the decision, so... yeah, that sucks. i don't know. i worked hard. you worked hard. you know, your life has been, like, revolving around this big thing for at least six months so far — like, six months we'll never get back. i am starting to feel pretty salty about potentially not getting re—selected. cos... in the end, they did — and i'm really grateful, and i'm glad they made that decision, but i was like, "i feel like it's only fair that you get another shot at it." you know? yeah, definitely. ifeel like, for me, i want to finish what i started. # don't bring me. # don't bring me down, down, down, down. # don't bring me...# so it has been a weird few months for everyone. but i just want to say thanks to the fans for their support of me,

the song and the competition. hopefully, i'll do it again next year, but we'lljust have to see. but, really, i just want to say a massive thank you to everyone, and i know there's some other people who would like to do the same. one, two, one, two! what's up, guys? hey, everybody. hi, everyone. i'm sending all my love to all of my fans in europe. i love you guys, and stay safe and healthy. just keep on celebrating our music. keep on playing it. keep on downloading it. cos eurovision was always my biggest dream. to be able to make people happy through music makes me the happiest person on earth. play the artists' songs as much as you can, give them support that they're not going to be getting. only in such strange times and difficult situations, we realise that music is the common language that unites us. even though it was a short fair game, it was amazing because of the fans.

eurovision this year gave us an opportunity to spread our music all around the world. my eurovisionjourney has been a really exciting one, and a beautiful one. thank you so much for the response to the song. it's been way more than i ever anticipated, even if the competition would have actually happened. we wanted to thank everybody out there for showing so much love and support for our song, yes. now we're working on our new song for the next year, and i hope it will be just as wonderful. my performance is going to stay in my mind, in my illusions, forever. hi, eurofans. thank you for supporting us. we hope to see you next year in rotterdam. it's a sad thing, but at the same time, it gives us strength and hope. and i'm sure i'm not the only one who says this, but it hurt. it really, really hurt. it still hurts. i was...very upset. i cried a lot. but i'm sure it will be just as fun next year. please don't lose your smile.

you have to keep your smile, of course. ihope we... we get to value a lot of things in life, life in general, a lot more. i hope everything will get well and that everybody will be in good health. so i would like to wish you all good health so that we can celebrate eurovision and everything else next year. we'll sing all together, we'll dance all together. never, never, neverforget that music is still alive. so, let's grab a glass of wine and cheers to music. just keep spreading love, cos that's what this competition across all borders is all about. hope you are all safe and sound. and even though there might have been chains on you right now, don't forget that there is always the right timing for everything. some months ago, i was preparing for one of the most beautiful moments of my life. even though eurovision is cancelled, music is not cancelled, so listen to good music, people.

guys, stay positive, have fun and... yeah, it will pass. er... i'm doing 0k. i'm sad for everyone that's very sad. i was very excited to go to eurovision. maybe. well, excited and terrified. i'm looking forward to seeing you in 2021. i would love and hope to see you all next year, but until then, stay safe. thank you, i love you and wish you all the best. i hope that you guys will be safe as well. don't shake hands. keep a safe distance, all right? it's a difficult time, but we need to stay strong and stay freaky. we would like to send our best wishes to all of our fans and eurovision fans. we hope you're all staying at home and being safe. i love you so much. keep being you.

this has been the strangest few months for everyone. it's almost like the world has pressed this pause button, and i'm really happy that one of the few things that will never pause is music. i've been gaining so much strength from music, and i hope a lot of people do too. and that's why i put music first, always. and, of course, i hope to see everyone next year at the eurovision song contest. and for now, stay healthy, stay safe and enjoy music.

hello there. we are seeing the warmest weather to the south today and some cloud and some patchy rain, but it will turn wetter this evening and overnight for a while in northern ireland and particularly scotland. some patchy rain for northern england and perhaps north wales, that further south dry. it should be quite a bit milder than last night for many of us, temperatures 9—10d. we start with clouds and rain for the northern half of the uk, particularly scotland and a more persistent rain was simply a way for me nor the mind and will get some sunshine here and some patchy rain could come back into northern ireland and southern scotland. it does become largely dry for england and wales, sunnier skies towards the south—east, where temperatures are continuing to climb, although 18 degrees is likely in the north—east of scotland. over the week, rain early and late in the week,

mainly across the northern half of the uk. all of us, though, will be getting a lot warmer.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the uk government insists england's schools are safe to open to more children at the beginning of next month. it is the case that it is extremely unlikely that any school is likely to be the source of a covid—19 outbreak and if, for any reason, there are risks, then we can take steps to mitigate them. britain pledges 84 million pounds to help accelerate the work of vaccine programmes. spain records fewer than 100 death in the past 2a hours — for the first time since the lockdown began. barack obama launches a second scathing attack on the trump