The cost of winning at Eurovision

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How much would you need to invest in order to win the Eurovision Song Contest? An independent study commissioned by the International Journal of Culture and Language has found that it takes $331,384,680 (€300,000,000) to win the Eurovision Song Contest. The research took into account 2015’s top 5 entries’ marketing and promotional costs.

Promotional Costs

Promotional costs are the costs associated with promoting a song or artist. They can be paid for by any of the following parties:

  • The artist directly, either through their own pocket or by their management team
  • A record label (the company that owns the rights to your music)
  • A management company (a company that provides support in managing your career and image)

Winning Eurovision can cost millions of dollars. For example, in 2019 the winner, Israel’s Netta Barzilai, spent $2 million on her song and an additional $1 million on her stage show. She also spent over $500k on promotional costs (e.g., billboards) and $200k on delegations’ travel expenses (e.g., flying them around Europe).

Financial Responsibility of Participating Nations

The participating nations of Eurovision are responsible for their own expenses. This means that countries like Greece, Italy and Sweden spend a lot more money on the contest than other countries like Belgium or Ireland.

The costs associated with competing in Eurovision can vary wildly depending on a country’s budget and level of ambition. For example, Malta spent around €300,000 on their entry one year while Ireland spent just €10,000. If you don’t pay the necessary fees, you can even be banned from participating, looking at you Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Production costs

Production costs can be broken down into five categories: venue costs, staging costs, production costs, security costs and accommodation/travel costs. In addition to the obvious venue rent or purchase price, you will also have to pay for any special equipment that doesn’t already exist at the site. Staging is another big expense – this could be anything from pyrotechnics to lights or even just a simple backdrop. Finally comes production; this includes things like cameras and microphones. Security is an important factor too – Eurovision has seen its fair share of problems over the years so you need to make sure that your artist(s) won’t get mobbed by fans once at the site. Accommodation/travel should be factored in as well – how many people will be staying with you? And what about food? Food is always expensive when traveling abroad!