For ten years Britain has languished a long way from glory in the Eurovision Song Contest, a victim of both tactical bloc-voting and the dross put forward on the nation's behalf. But Andrew Lloyd-Webber hopes to reverse a decade of failure, after announcing he is to pen Britain's entry next year.

Lord Lloyd-Webber, the man behind box-office hits including Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar, and better known lately for talent shows such as I'd Do Anything, said he had accepted “mission impossible” in taking up an offer from the BBC to write the song and lead a search for an artist to perform it. In a televised address on Saturday night, he said: “People of Britain, I am here to speak to you about a subject of considerable gravity. A subject that affects each and every one of us.

“I refer of course to our great nation's continued failure in the Eurovision Song Contest. The BBC have asked me to unite our kingdom in a quest to bring home the Eurovision crown once more. I have been asked to write the song, but where will I be unless one of you volunteers to sing it? So ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country, by contacting our website.”

The nation must pray, however, that Lord Lloyd-Webber's foray into Eurovision will not meet with the same result as the last time he tackled the subject. In 1993 he was forced to close a West End stage show of the same name after just two weeks at a loss of some £200,000. Eurovision, a spoof musical that told the tale of a box-office attendant and his gay air steward lover on their journey to the contest, was universally panned.

Its complex plot, which saw the two men haunted by the ghosts of Roman Emperor Hadrian and his lover, Antonius, was the subject of most commentators' ire.

Benedict Nightingale, The Times theatre critic, admitted to getting lost as the plot became more fantastical, commenting: “When Anita Dobson was transformed from the contest compere into the Spirit of Europe and began preaching a gospel of love, I decided I must be reviewing the after-effects of my flu.” Another reviewer called it “painfully contrived”.

In recent years the song contest has been beset by claims that former Soviet bloc countries have clubbed together to ordain a winner, leading Terry Wogan to threaten to boycott the event. Next May's show, in Moscow, will see the return of the jury system in an attempt to prevent abuse of the voting process.

The BBC is hoping to make a big ratings winner out of the quest to find a Eurovision winner, building on its relationship with Lord Lloyd-Webber which has included the talent shows Any Dream Will Do, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and I'd Do Anything. BBC One will be screening a series of live shows called Your Country Needs You to choose the winner via a public vote on a shortlist of six finalists. Eurovision hopefuls have until November 21 to send their auditions to the BBC website.

Lord Lloyd-Webber said: “I have never shied away from the impossible and this looks like the biggest mission impossible of all time. But with the might of the British public behind me, who knows what will happen?”

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