The Eurovision 2022 in Turin comes alive. The second of the two semi-finals is scheduled tonight, but everyone's eyes are already on the final of Saturday May 14. It is an event that Italy has been waiting for a year, since the Maneskins with their splendid victory they kicked off a global success that led them to tread the most important stages in the world. Thanks to them, the 2022 edition of the European Song Contest is held in Italy, in Turin.
Such an event, which comes every year followed by over 200 million people, for the Piedmontese capital and for Italy, represents an opportunity not to be missed, a showcase, but also a push to restart after more than two years of the pandemic. However, the question that many are asking is: you make money by hosting Eurovision or is it a losing investment? Although there are still no official figures, there is already a partial answer.
Eurovision 2022 in Turin: how much does it cost to host the event? Here are the expenses
The Eurovision Song Contest is organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Rai. According to the information provided by the mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, by the president of the Region, Alberto Cirio, and by the director of the Rai production center of Turin, Guido Rossi, the local system - and therefore by Municipality, Region, Chamber of Commerce and Bank foundations – to organize the event you spent more than 14 million euro, of which about 10 should be headed by the municipal administration.
However, the contribution that for each edition comes from theebu – which is usually around 4-6 million euros – and the budget equal to 1,5 million euros established by the Government last February in order to cover the costs of promotion and all the events connected to Eurovision. In total, therefore, the cost of the event should be around to 20-25 million euros.
How much did past editions of Eurovision cost?
The costs for organizing the event are in line with those of past editions. In 2021, for example, Rotterdam spent 19 million euros (but to this figure we must add costs of 6,7 million deriving from the cancellation of Eurovision 2020 due to Covid). In 2019 Tel Aviv incurred expenditure of 28,5 million, the year before Lisbon disbursed 25. In the last ten years, the highest figure was spent by Azerbaijan, which in 2012 spent 51 million euros for the festival, 9 million for collateral events and even 100 million for the construction of the Baku Crystal Hall. Much cheaper instead the Eurovision organized in 2013 by Sweden, costing a total of 15 million euros. By averaging the various editions, we can say that the overall costs travel on average around 20-25 million euros.
The revenues of Eurovision 2022 in Turin
Let's move on to the revenue section. When it comes to revenue, two different aspects need to be considered: direct revenues, arising from advertising, sponsorship and ticket sales, and economic effects indirect effects that an event of this kind, of global reach, can have on the city.
As for from the former. To understand what the event's advertising revenues are, a comparison can be useful with the Sanremo festival. This year Rai managed to collect 38 million euros of advertising for all five evenings, with an audience of 8,4 million viewers. The final night of Eurovision in recent years has been seen by 200 million people, about 25 times more. For state TV, the potentialrevenues from advertising revenues so they are huge. These are joined by the contributions of the six main sponsors of Eurovision 2022: Costa Crociere, Fiat, Lavazza, Philadelphia, Plenitude (Eni) and Vodafone who will be protagonists of various initiatives in the city and above all in the venues of the event, such as the Olympic Park and the Eurovision Village at Valentino. According to rumors, the total amount disbursed by the sponsors should be around 5,2 million euros.
As regards the second item, according to estimates by the Municipality of Turin, the repercussions for the area would be equal to 6/7 times the investment. In fact, Lo Russo spoke of benefits equal to approx 100 million euros for tourism, catering and for the entire hospitality sector in general.
Eurovision 2022 in Turin: how much do tickets cost?
I tickets to attend the show they are long out of stock. Their cost varies according to the evenings. For the semi-finals, the price varies between 20 and 250 euros. For the live show of the final, it ranges from 150 to 350 euros.