More than six decades of passion, glamour and nail biting drama

The Eurovision Song Contest is a cultural phenomenon that has captivated audiences across Europe and beyond for over six decades. It has become an important platform for promoting cultural diversity and unity, and has helped to launch the careers of many famous artists.

The history of the contest is rich with memorable moments and iconic performances. For example, ABBA's win with "Waterloo" in 1974 catapulted the Swedish group to international fame and set a new standard for pop music. Similarly, Celine Dion's victory in 1988 with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi" helped to establish her as one of the most successful singers of all time. And more recently, Maneskin’s win in 2021 catapulted them into one of the most successful rock bands on the global stage today.

But it's not just the winners who have left their mark on the contest. The Eurovision Song Contest is also known for its quirky, unusual, and sometimes controversial performances. In 2006, the Finnish band Lordi shocked the world with their heavy metal song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" and their elaborate monster costumes. The performance was a huge hit with audiences, and Lordi became the first ever hard rock act to win the Eurovision Song Contest.

In recent years, the contest has also embraced the use of advanced entertainment technology and the power of social media for the engagement of legions of fans. Starting in 2023, fans all everywhere in the world will be able to vote for their favorits, not just people in the participating countries.

Perhaps most importantly, the Eurovision Song Contest continues to embody the values of diversity, inclusivity, and cultural exchange that are so important in today's world. It provides a platform for artists from all over the world to showcase their music and their culture, and promotes cross-border understanding and unity.

Despite occasional controversies and criticisms, the Eurovision Song Contest remains a beloved and highly anticipated event that brings people together and celebrates the beauty and diversity of music and culture. It has become an integral part of the cultural identity of many countries, and its impact on popular culture cannot be overstated. The Eurovision Song Contest truly is a celebration of everything that makes us human.

And we’re awarding our 12 points to that!

In May 2023, Sweden's Loreen wrote Eurovision History by becoming the first ever woman to win the Eurovision Song Contest twice. The only other human to do so is Ireland's Johnny Logan.
With her victory, Loreen also brought the Contest to Sweden for the 7th time (also equalling Irelands number of wins). The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place in Malmö, a city in Southern Sweden that has hosted the ESC two times before, in 1992 and as recently as 2013.
As is the custom, the broadcast will be produced by the participating network, SVT of Sweden. Voxovation team members are hired by SVT to bring their expertise to the Contest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBzQQHJpLS8
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The 2023 Contest was produced in the United Kingdom by the BBC on behalf of Ukraine when it became clear that Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC would be unable to host due to the ongoing war in their country.

The EBU’s annual brand impact report reveals that the Eurovision Song Contest is now the most familiar non-sporting global event, with only the Olympics and FIFA World Cup surpassing the brand. It’s a story and revenue creator too, with €795 Million of ad-value generated through 152,196 online articles (up on the 119,000 written in 2022), and record levels of digital engagement. During the Grand Final 53.5% of TV viewers aged 15-24 were watching the show live. This is 4 times higher than the group of broadcast channel average in primetime, and this over performance has remained consistent over time and the Eurovision Song Contest continues to bring young viewers to public service channels across Europe and beyond.

As well as capturing the elusive youth market, the Eurovision Song Contest continues to be popular across all age groups, with its balanced audience profile demonstrating that it remains relevant to all generations. Figures now available from last year show that the 2022 Contest was ranked in the Top 10 TV shows of 2022 across 15 different markets - that’s the most since 2010 - and this trend looks set to continue.

And, of course, the Eurovision Song Contest is fully celebrated online, across all our digital platforms which saw record levels of engagement. The official Eurovision Song Contest playlist was the most streamed Spotify playlist globally on Sunday 14 May, the day after the Grand Final - but the popularity of the songs continues long after the show leaves town. There have been 21.9 billion global streams of Eurovision Song Contest songs across all platforms since the 2019 Contest in Tel Aviv up until May 25 this year - and 90% of these streams are generated outside of event weeks.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was also a massive success for host city Liverpool. Estimates at the end of May 2023 put visitors to Liverpool over the two-week Eurovision Song Contest period at 500,000 people - far exceeding the pre-event estimate of 100,000.64% of people that visited the Liverpool Arena also visited Liverpool One shopping complex, making it their busiest week of the year so far. Visitors to Liverpool One were up 32% year on year, with visitors accounting for an extra £20M revenue and a 78% leap in restaurant sales.

Facts from the EBU