Last week, I began by introducing my series of articles on hosting the Eurovision song contest and what this means for the host country . Today , I am going to look at one of the most important things that the winning country of the year has to take into consideration, once the glitz and glamour of the win has died down ……..

WE HAVE TO HOST THE CONTEST NEXT YEAR …..AND THAT COSTS A LOT OF MONEY !!!💰💰💰

Indeed , the UK has actually stepped in four times to host the event in the 60’s and 70’s after other countries , The Netherlands, France, Monaco and Luxembourg , all said ” Nee” and ” Non ” due to costs and that was in days where the contest was not as big . However, as we all know , our beloved contest has grown quite significantly in the last years, with many countries since the early 90’s , wanting to take part. This has taken the contest from just being your once a year Saturday night show , to a Grand final show and a semi final , then as more countries joined , two semi-finals and a Grand final . While this in itself can be an organisational headache for the host country , with having to find a venue that will accommodate the delegations from 40 + countries, the large numbers of people from all corners of the globe coming to the contest , numerous amounts of journalists and press and transport that will enable easy access to the venue .This of course, leads to much bigger costs , with the host country broadcaster , having to fund the cost and relying on sponsors, the income generated from tourism and ticket sales and hoping you have a supportive government willing to contribute to the costs .

On the plus side, as the host country , you do get to promote how wonderful your country is , in the hope that this will help to boost the tourist industry and encourage more people to come back and visit again.

Let’s take a look at the figures for hosting Eurovision over the last few years

A lot of money …..and Denmark’s National broadcaster, DR apparently overspent on their budget alone by one million Euros . While the Host city, Copenhagen organisation that was tasked with the hosting duties , including preparing the B & W Hallerne for a suitable venue , overspent by 13.8 million Euros . I don’t think anyone could blame Denmark if they don’t want to win the contest again for a good number of years!

So there you have it, some of the highs and lows of the financial costs of hosting Eurovision . Which will lead us nicely into part three of my series, which I will bring you next week , on Being the Host Country and look at whether a host country really wants a ” Back to Back win” or whether this is something they look to avoid at all costs !

Author : Sarah Rudman

Source: Eurovision Ireland , Eurovision World.com . CyprusTimes

Image Source : YouTube Financial stats : EurovisionWorld