It’s Eurovision Song Contest week (ESC), which for those in the know, is either a good or a bad thing. But it’s a big deal in Europe (and Australia) nevertheless.
The winning country from the previous year usually hosts the multinational music extravaganza, but this year, the event will take place in Liverpool, England despite being won by Ukraine. The reasons for that are obvious and unfortunate with the war against Russia continuing, and the U.K. was the runner-up in 2022.
And so, to the U.K. the competition comes and with it is the usual swirl of color, noise, silliness and an outpouring of joy from the hundreds of people involved in the production and the millions around the world who tune in.
There is nothing else like it. Think of something resembling an indoor Pride March on the scale of Live Aid and perhaps you could come close. An estimated 30,000 people will travel to Liverpool for this year’s event which is set to be watched by an audience of millions with an estimated 161 million people having watched last year’s contest through TV and online (down from 183 million in 2021.)
Despite it all, it has not become an advertising hot spot despite reaching such a vast international audience who are dedicated to the spectacle. But brands are beginning to wake up.
An outline of the competition
For those not in the know, the Eurovision Song Contest is organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) featuring entries from its membership countries which are primarily based in Europe. The aim of the annual competition is to vote for one new song that impresses both the public and musical experts with each represented through a convoluted voting process which scores all of the competing countries who enter one song each.
The highest-scoring song of the 37 finalists performs live during the Saturday evening showcase event, crowned as the winner and the winning nation hosting the competition the following year.
Each song is performed, often with some form of gimmick be it elaborate costumes, dance routines, stage lighting or using a stunt that gets people talking about the performer in advance, making them stand out from the crowd. It’s not always the music that shines through. It is the event Twitter was created for with users usually offering snarky commentary.
