Eurovision Song Contest Rivals Largest Sports Productions in Scale and Reach Competition with artists from 37 countries drew more than 160 million on-air, online viewers By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Tuesday, May 16, 2023 - 11:15 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Is there a broadcast competition that could dwarf the recent NFL Draft or even the Olympics? There is, and it took place on Sunday in Liverpool, UK.
With teams from 37 countries competing, the 2023 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest may appear to be a European version of The Voice or American Idol, but the joint production by host broadcaster BBC and EBU Eurovision Network (comprising more than 100 public broadcasters across Europe) managed 50 live feeds of two semifinals on May 9 and 11 and 26 feeds for the finale on May 13, totaling eight hours of live performance.
Attracting an estimated audience of more than 160 million on-air and online via TikTok and YouTube, the production arguably had much in common with a World Cup series, with entries competing for national honors as much as for artistic achievement. Its fan voting procedures are as convoluted as those for an NFL Draft.
It is the biggest live music event in the world by audience, and no other show attempts live voting on this scale, Eurovision Services Project Leader Lennard Bartlett told SVGEurope. There's no other show like it.
The Big Show The event took place at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena. Normally, the previous year's winner would host, but 2022 victor Ukraine was unavailable because of the war with Russia (whose Eurovision entries have been barred since the 2022 invasion). In fact, air-raid sirens sounded across Ukraine as this year's contest was under way).
Staging was on a colossal scale: a reported 8 miles of cabling for lighting, sound, video, and SFX; more than 2,000 specialist lighting fixtures; 200 custom staging decks; and 10,225 sq. ft. of staging for the main stage. The lighting alone required 165,000 channels and 23,700 individual light sources held aloft by most of the 600 rigging points, including 2,500 automated color-changing robotic lights and 15 follow spots, controlled via nine lighting consoles running 28,000 lighting cues.
The Sound of Music The event's audio required deployment of 150 mostly wireless microphones and more than 1,200 individual streams of audio. Live venue sound was through L-Acoustics L-Series PA speakers and mixed over DiGiCo consoles, both provided by production integrator Britannia Row.
Comms were understandably both critical and complex. Riedel Communications, with a crew of 22 onsite, deployed more than 100 RSP series intercom panels, 170 Bolero full-duplex wireless beltpacks and associated accessories, and 10 C3 full-duplex wired beltpacks - much of it on 10 miles of fiber backbone. Signal distribution and management was based on MediorNet, handling about 200 audio and 400 video signals and associated services. Additionally, there were 32 simplex and semi-duplex radio channels for 250 handheld radios plus associated accessories for broadcast/show-related communications, such as show call, TV crew, and stage management.
The co-production of BBC and EBU Eurovision Network managed as many as 50 live feeds in 8 hours of live performance.
Just as with any major broadcast-sports event, the picture and sound weren't left to speak for themselves: 29 commentators provided live annotation from the arena, with Riedel providing 45 CCP commentary panels, 90 monitors, and a centralized routing facility housing commentary and coordination lines for 30 master-control rooms in 24 countries across Europe and the world.
The event's logistics rivaled the Super Bowl halftime spectacular's usual chaotic changeover from game to show. The Eurovision Song Contest managed to switch all 37 of its musical moments with less than 50 seconds to strike and set between performances.
Replays, of course, are available: all 37 songs are available via various streaming services and on the event's official YouTube channel. The competition streamed in the U.S. on NBC/Comcast's Peacock.
SVT won the 67th Eurovision Song Contest with Tattoo, performed by Swedish chanteuse Loreen - only the second artist (and only female) to win the Eurovision Song Contest twice, having done so in 2012). Sweden now has seven victories in the Eurovision Song Contest, equaling Ireland's record set in 1996.
Fans track the Eurovision artists as avidly as they follow their sports teams. As one superfan put it to the BBC, It's like sport without the sport. The event is an avatar of the convergence of sports and entertainment that is leading the growth in all types of media, including broadcast and streaming.
For instance, on June 10, Nigerian Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum-selling singer, songwriter, and producer Burna Boy will co-headline the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show by Pepsi at Istanbul's Atat rk Olympic Stadium. Last year's show was topped by Camila Cabello at the Stade de France. And of course, the Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies have come to resemble events like the Grammy Awards.
PepsiCo VP, Global Brand Marketing, Eric Melis, who oversees the brand relationship between UEFA and Pepsi (the Super Bowl's halftime sponsor for a decade until Apple took over this year), told UK-based Sport Industry Group in March, It's no secret that the lines between sport and popular culture are rapidly blurring. At an ever increasing rate, we're seeing the often segmented worlds of music, fashion, art, and sport collide.
Most recent headlines
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Inducts 10 Industry Icons During Unforgettable ...
17/12/2025
ESPN to Debut MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats, a New AI-Driven NFL Data-AltCastThe series, powered by Adrenaline TruPlay AI, launches Dec. 22 and runs through ...
17/12/2025
Inaugural Optum Golf Channel Games Debut Under the Lights' in Primetime on ...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Audiences Watched Over 103 Billion Minutes of TV on Thanksgiving Day
NFL Games ...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Stars Visit Berklee for Weeklong Celebration Andrew Choi and EJAE, who voiced the film's main characters and contributed to its soundtr...
17/12/2025
December 17 2025, 17:00 (PST) Dolby and LG Unveil a New Era of Home Audio With ...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Inside The Unseen World Of Indian Customs: Netflix Reveals The...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix announces PAPARAZZI KING: the docu series coming to Ne...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First Look at Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole Pr...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Welcomes Warner Bros. Discovery Board Recommendation
Business
17 December 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
After Careful Revi...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
The Hao AI Lab research team at the University of California San Diego - at the forefront of pioneering AI model innovation - recently received an NVIDIA DGX B...
17/12/2025
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Docu-reality My Korean Boyfriend Gets a Trailer and Premiere D...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Harlem Globetrotters Celebrate 100th Anniversary With New Brand Campaign From Th...
15/12/2025
Top L-R: La Tierra Del Valor (The Home of the Brave), Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawe...
Eurovision Song Contest Rivals Largest Sports Productions in Scale and Reach Competition with artists from 37 countries drew more than 160 million on-air, online viewers By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
