Profile of Sietse Bakker (m)
The relevance of the Eurovision Song Contest
Posted 8/Oct 2008 at 20:41 By Sietse Bakker
For almost 54 years, the Eurovision Song Contest is strongly embedded into Europe's collective mind. Despite increasing competition and quickly changing media consumption patterns, it still is Europe's favorite TV show! On the other hand, the contest has always faced challenges, and these times are not different. Despite continuous updates to the format, a growing number of represented countries and over a hundred million viewers, some critics believe the end is near. Therefore I asked myself the question: Is the Eurovision Song Contest still relevant?
As Manager Communications & Public Relations of the Eurovision Song Contest, I am not the most objective source of information. However, by looking for objective facts and figures, I tried to find the answer to the question that is on some people’s minds.
Most critics refer to the purpose the Eurovision Song Contest serves when they question the relevance of the event. What is it good for? What does it bring us? Why are we still doing this? These are some of the questions asked when the relevance of the contest is being questioned. I think we can easily split up the relevance in three groups – relevance for public service broadcasters, for music artists and for you, as fan or regular viewer.
Broadcasters: Annual television highlight
In 1956, public service broadcasters joined forces and organized the first ever Eurovision Song Contest, setting a tradition which quickly became part of the European mindset. Hundreds of millions, if not billions, watched the Eurovision Song Contest across Europe, in North-Africa, Asia and Australia over the past 53 years. Despite increasing competition from commercial broadcasters and new entertainment formats, the song contest still has over 100 million viewers every year across over 40 countries. These are, even today, unprecedented figures in television entertainment, considering that only major sports events are doing better overall.
Over seven hours of prime-time, live and high-quality television are the centre of attention for weeks, and sometimes even months of preceding press coverage, assuring nearly all participating EBU Members of excellent ratings. In all its aspects, it is an annual television highlight!
Participants: It is what you make of it
Defining the purpose of the song contest for the music business is slightly more complicated, but at the base line, I would say: It is what you make of it. Over the past years – if not ever since 1956 – we’ve seen a wide variety of artists and acts competing in the Eurovision Song Contest, some being more able to benefit from their participation than others. It all depends on your goals when you step into it. Do you take part because of pride for your country? Or to lift off your career at home? Or are you aiming at an international career launch? Lately, critics argue that the song contest “has become irrelevant” because it doesn’t bring international success anymore. Besides the fact that this is simply not true, it also depends on the individual goals of each contestant. And that is, with all respect, up to them.
Now, before looking at the numbers, I’d like to highlight three different versions of this criticism. Either, the comment is that internationally well-known stars do not take part in the contest anymore. The second argument is that the song contest doesn’t deliver international stars anymore. The third and last version: The contest doesn’t bring international hits anymore.
Several participants are well-known in their region, such as 2008 winner Dima Bilan (who enjoys popularity across Eastern Europe, which partly explains neighbor voting in the region), or artists who are well-known in a particular stream, such as last year’s French representative Sébastien Tellier. Lordi, Finland’s 2006 winners, were also well-known amongst fans of hard-rock, and are said to have received a lot of votes due to their support amongst members of an online gaming community. In fact, even the biggest success stories the Eurovision Song Contest featured, such as ABBA, Johnny Logan, Céline Dion and interval act Riverdance, were virtually unknown internationally before they took part.
The second comment – that the Eurovision Song Contest doesn’t deliver international stars anymore, is questionable. Questions remain; What is an international star? Success in how many countries? For how long? We are still waiting for a new ABBA, or a new Céline Dion, or another interval act that makes a smashing impact, like Riverdance did. But hey, there is about 15 years between ABBA and Céline Dion as well. That we haven’t seen such big, worldwide success emerging from the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years, doesn’t mean that another pearl could just be waiting to be unveiled. You never know what the future brings!
The last argument to defend the claim that the Eurovision Song Contest lost its relevance for the music industry is that no international hits emerge from it anymore. That is simply incorrect (sorry guys!). Let’s take My Number One, Helena Paparizou’s winning song from 2005, as an example. It made the charts in 15 countries, amongst them the United States and Brazil. It went straight to number one in Greece and Sweden, and in the Web Top 100. In Romania, the Netherlands, Hungary and Belgium, My Number One made it to the top-10. It wasn’t that successful in all participating countries that year, but if this isn’t an international hit yet..!
Viewers: Enjoy!
With over a hundred million viewers and over 8 million televotes, the Eurovision Song Contest can impossibly be added to the list of irrelevant TV shows (if there would be one). In the end, it is the viewer who makes the conscious decision to tune in for the show, and every year, we are excited to see that so many do, despite competition from commercial channels, an overwhelming amount of other media that could be consumed instead or the choice people still have of leaving the television off for a night. No matter what you think of him and his comments, but in my personal opinion, Sir Terry Wogan hit the right spot when he said that it was “the contest we love to hate, and hate to love.” Everyone knows it, ánd everyone has an opinion about it. They discovered that in countries like Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Albania, for example, who joined the contest in recent years. Eager to put their music, culture and flag in the European spotlight, the Eurovision Song Contest quickly gained massive following in those countries.
In the entertainment business, they often say; “You’re as good as your last show.” True, at least for the critics. The Eurovision Song Contest isn’t different from that. But along with its rich history, it also has a high emotional value for millions of people. As the EBU and its Members did for almost 54 years, the format of the event will be adapted and updated, to meet the expectations of the public and to continue bringing people together. Keep everything as it was, and you’re quickly old-fashioned.
It isn’t hard to conclude that despite changes in its influence over time, the Eurovision Song Contest still has significant relevance for the public, but also for the music industry and, last but not least, for Europe's public service broadcasters. In May, the contest will see its 54th running, and again, over 40 countries are expected to send their representatives to what truly is Europe’s favorite TV show! As long as the contest still brings so many different people, from different cultures and backgrounds, together, and as long as we provide our viewers with hours of entertaining television, full of emotions, the future is bright for the Eurovision Song Contest is bright. And relevant!
Don't hesitate to leave your opinion!
As Manager Communications & Public Relations of the Eurovision Song Contest, I am not the most objective source of information. However, by looking for objective facts and figures, I tried to find the answer to the question that is on some people’s minds.
Most critics refer to the purpose the Eurovision Song Contest serves when they question the relevance of the event. What is it good for? What does it bring us? Why are we still doing this? These are some of the questions asked when the relevance of the contest is being questioned. I think we can easily split up the relevance in three groups – relevance for public service broadcasters, for music artists and for you, as fan or regular viewer.
Broadcasters: Annual television highlight
In 1956, public service broadcasters joined forces and organized the first ever Eurovision Song Contest, setting a tradition which quickly became part of the European mindset. Hundreds of millions, if not billions, watched the Eurovision Song Contest across Europe, in North-Africa, Asia and Australia over the past 53 years. Despite increasing competition from commercial broadcasters and new entertainment formats, the song contest still has over 100 million viewers every year across over 40 countries. These are, even today, unprecedented figures in television entertainment, considering that only major sports events are doing better overall.
Over seven hours of prime-time, live and high-quality television are the centre of attention for weeks, and sometimes even months of preceding press coverage, assuring nearly all participating EBU Members of excellent ratings. In all its aspects, it is an annual television highlight!
Participants: It is what you make of it
Defining the purpose of the song contest for the music business is slightly more complicated, but at the base line, I would say: It is what you make of it. Over the past years – if not ever since 1956 – we’ve seen a wide variety of artists and acts competing in the Eurovision Song Contest, some being more able to benefit from their participation than others. It all depends on your goals when you step into it. Do you take part because of pride for your country? Or to lift off your career at home? Or are you aiming at an international career launch? Lately, critics argue that the song contest “has become irrelevant” because it doesn’t bring international success anymore. Besides the fact that this is simply not true, it also depends on the individual goals of each contestant. And that is, with all respect, up to them.
Now, before looking at the numbers, I’d like to highlight three different versions of this criticism. Either, the comment is that internationally well-known stars do not take part in the contest anymore. The second argument is that the song contest doesn’t deliver international stars anymore. The third and last version: The contest doesn’t bring international hits anymore.
Several participants are well-known in their region, such as 2008 winner Dima Bilan (who enjoys popularity across Eastern Europe, which partly explains neighbor voting in the region), or artists who are well-known in a particular stream, such as last year’s French representative Sébastien Tellier. Lordi, Finland’s 2006 winners, were also well-known amongst fans of hard-rock, and are said to have received a lot of votes due to their support amongst members of an online gaming community. In fact, even the biggest success stories the Eurovision Song Contest featured, such as ABBA, Johnny Logan, Céline Dion and interval act Riverdance, were virtually unknown internationally before they took part.
The second comment – that the Eurovision Song Contest doesn’t deliver international stars anymore, is questionable. Questions remain; What is an international star? Success in how many countries? For how long? We are still waiting for a new ABBA, or a new Céline Dion, or another interval act that makes a smashing impact, like Riverdance did. But hey, there is about 15 years between ABBA and Céline Dion as well. That we haven’t seen such big, worldwide success emerging from the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years, doesn’t mean that another pearl could just be waiting to be unveiled. You never know what the future brings!
The last argument to defend the claim that the Eurovision Song Contest lost its relevance for the music industry is that no international hits emerge from it anymore. That is simply incorrect (sorry guys!). Let’s take My Number One, Helena Paparizou’s winning song from 2005, as an example. It made the charts in 15 countries, amongst them the United States and Brazil. It went straight to number one in Greece and Sweden, and in the Web Top 100. In Romania, the Netherlands, Hungary and Belgium, My Number One made it to the top-10. It wasn’t that successful in all participating countries that year, but if this isn’t an international hit yet..!
Viewers: Enjoy!
With over a hundred million viewers and over 8 million televotes, the Eurovision Song Contest can impossibly be added to the list of irrelevant TV shows (if there would be one). In the end, it is the viewer who makes the conscious decision to tune in for the show, and every year, we are excited to see that so many do, despite competition from commercial channels, an overwhelming amount of other media that could be consumed instead or the choice people still have of leaving the television off for a night. No matter what you think of him and his comments, but in my personal opinion, Sir Terry Wogan hit the right spot when he said that it was “the contest we love to hate, and hate to love.” Everyone knows it, ánd everyone has an opinion about it. They discovered that in countries like Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Albania, for example, who joined the contest in recent years. Eager to put their music, culture and flag in the European spotlight, the Eurovision Song Contest quickly gained massive following in those countries.
In the entertainment business, they often say; “You’re as good as your last show.” True, at least for the critics. The Eurovision Song Contest isn’t different from that. But along with its rich history, it also has a high emotional value for millions of people. As the EBU and its Members did for almost 54 years, the format of the event will be adapted and updated, to meet the expectations of the public and to continue bringing people together. Keep everything as it was, and you’re quickly old-fashioned.
It isn’t hard to conclude that despite changes in its influence over time, the Eurovision Song Contest still has significant relevance for the public, but also for the music industry and, last but not least, for Europe's public service broadcasters. In May, the contest will see its 54th running, and again, over 40 countries are expected to send their representatives to what truly is Europe’s favorite TV show! As long as the contest still brings so many different people, from different cultures and backgrounds, together, and as long as we provide our viewers with hours of entertaining television, full of emotions, the future is bright for the Eurovision Song Contest is bright. And relevant!
Don't hesitate to leave your opinion!
