Liverpool has been praised for their handling of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in an official report by the British Council, Liverpool City Council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The report recognises Liverpool’s efforts to revolutionise the hosting of the contest, through their vision to achieve a positive impact from the opportunity which redefined the event’s politics of place. Liverpool laid the foundation for future hosts in how to communicate key narratives to an enormous international audience. Liverpool’s evaluation methodology revealed that Eurovision 2023 generated £54million for the Liverpool City Region economy and welcomed 473,000 visitors.
The report’s extensive research, case studies and international survey used ground-breaking research to measure the power and impact on global cultural relations that the UK and Liverpool had when hosting the event. Liverpool’s approach has set a high standard for future host cities, redefining the Eurovision politics of place as it established itself as a leader in hosting large-scale events with strong community participation.
The report also highlighted the city-wide embrace of all things Eurovision. Local businesses and residents flying Eurovision, Ukraine and Pride flags symbolised the inclusivity and nature of the event, resulting in it successfully endorsing Liverpool’s values of being a warm, welcoming and friendly city. Liverpool’s EuroFestival programme was a first for a host city and saw 24 brand new artistic commissions, 19 of which were by Ukrainian artists. This approach forged new, creative partnerships with Ukraine, showcasing Ukrainian culture to diverse audiences and representing meaningful and tangible cultural relations.
The evaluation methodology should be used by future host cities as a blueprint for when evaluating the impact of future events. The report also revealed that a third of the survey’s 5,000 respondents said they were now more likely to visit the UK and Liverpool, demonstrating the impressive reach of Liverpool’s vision.
Liverpool’s hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 has redefined the event’s politics of place, re-establishing Liverpool as a leader in hosting large-scale events with strong community participation. Liverpool’s comprehensive evaluation methodology should be implemented by future host cities to maximise the impact of similar events, with Liverpool’s hosting having generated £54million and welcomed 473,000 visitors. The report establishes Liverpool’s EuroFestival as a blueprint for future hosts, as it demonstrated meaningful and tangible cultural relations while forging new, creative partnerships with Ukraine. Liverpool’s welcoming nature endorsed its values as a warm, welcoming, and friendly city and showed a third of the survey’s respondents that they were now more likely to visit the UK and Liverpool
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