The findings are detailed in a new discussion paper, authored by Rhiannon Corcoran, professor of psychology and public mental health at the University of Liverpool, for and on behalf of the Eurovision 2023 Community and Wellbeing evaluation team and presented by the What Works Centre for Wellbeing. Following a UK city bidding process, Liverpool was chosen to host on behalf of Ukraine, which won the previous year’s Song Contest ahead of the UK as runner-up.

Large cultural and sporting events, such as the Eurovision Song Contest or the Olympics, can generate social and economic value in a place and influence individual and community wellbeing. Evaluation of such events can also help shape decisions around funding, planning and delivery of future events to enhance wellbeing.

Liverpool City Council commissioned the University of Liverpool team to carry out an evaluation of Eurovision 2023 to understand the community and wellbeing impacts of the city hosting the entire festival, which took place over a fortnight in early May.

The evaluation team focused on assessing subjective and community wellbeing; civic pride; sense of belonging to different scales of place; and tolerance of diversity. Methods used included a pre-post household survey; focus groups and interviews; a thematic synthesis of feedback forms; and an ‘event feelings questionnaire’.

Key findings

Among the findings, 74.1 per cent of Liverpool citizens surveyed were enthusiastic about the city hosting Eurovision, and 80 per cent felt proud that Liverpool had been selected to host the event. Those surveyed in the lead-up to the event reported personal wellbeing above the national average, while those who felt involved in the Contest and its activities showed improvement in wellbeing, both during the lead-up and post the event.

Liverpool citizens were more engaged in Eurovision events than they thought they would be, but fans of Eurovision were five times more likely to have attended live events than non-fans.

Eurovision encouraged the people of Liverpool to see themselves as part of a global community, with activities associated with the event serving to help foster feelings of community and wellbeing, in addition to developing a sense of solidarity with Ukraine. Feelings about Eurovision drew parallels with feelings about Liverpool as a city, with respondents describing both as ‘vibrant’ and ‘inclusive’.

The discussion paper also noted that the data revealed the importance of generating emotion. “Joy was emphasised but there were also tenser dualities of emotional experience related both to the contrast of Eurovision fun with the hostilities and sadness of the war in Ukraine, and to the restorative nature of involvement in activities after the isolation of Covid and cost-of-living stresses,” observes the paper.

“These emotional experiences were very clearly related to wellbeing uplift. So too were themes of solidarity, collaboration, inclusion, space and place, the making of memories, and the power of music. All these aspects of the Eurovision 2023 community experience contributed to the sense of feeling good and functioning well as individuals and in togetherness.”

Insights and learnings

In addition to the key findings, the discussion paper shares several insights from the evaluation, including the relationship between enthusiasm and subjective wellbeing; whether the size of a host city matters; methodological learnings; choosing appropriate measures; qualitative and quantitative data; and sustaining legacy.

The research team’s insights could help inform the spending and investment decisions taken by policymakers, funders and commissioners. This, asserts the discussion paper, is vital, in respect of promoting the case for funding of cultural events and ensuring suitable arts budgets, particularly for one-off events.

Says the paper: “The issue of legacy feels even more important when events are one-off or where host cities are unlikely to attract further events of similar scale and impact in the near future. Similarly, in the context of strained global, national and local economies, the need for legacy is palpable and all the more pressing while being harder to achieve during periods of uncertainty.”

Local and national government should consider how the infrastructure required to support large cultural events can be reused or repurposed to extend its life and the benefits it provides.

Another key insight – and an unexpected benefit – is how the very act of evaluation itself can help shape an event’s legacy. “What we had not expected was the way the focus groups acted as ‘next steps’ for those involved,” explained Prof Corcoran. “They facilitated further contact, networking and provided a reason to arrange more work together in the future. In a sense, the evaluation of Eurovision 2023 set in motion some of the first steps towards legacy.”