Despite protests, Eurovision 2024 breaks global viewing figures

NME

Eurovision 2024 broke global viewing figures despite protests over the inclusion of Israel at this year’s event.

• READ MORE: Eurovision 2024 – fans and boycotters speak: “This is bigger than the contest”

According to figures from the EBU, 163 million viewers tuned into the three live events including the Grand Final.

The total reach of the contest also increased by one million people compared to 2023 and has grown by two million since 2022’s event in Turin.

The viewing share for the Grand Final was also 46.7 per cent – the highest since 2006 and almost triple the broadcast channels average (17.6 per cent).

Germany recorded the highest audience for the Grand Final with an average of 8.1million viewers watching on Das Erste and ONE. The United Kingdom also had the second highest audience with 7.7 million viewers tuning in for the Grand Final on BBC One despite viewing figures being down compared to last year’s event in Liverpool.

Online, the Eurovision Song Contest’s digital platforms had another record year with 486million unique accounts reached on TikTok, during the event weeks, more than four times as many as that in 2023.

Up to 42million unique viewers across 231 countries and territories also watched content on the official YouTube channel during the week of the live shows.

Speaking about the record results across the board, Jean Philip De Tender, EBU Deputy Director General said: “These incredible numbers show the Eurovision Song Contest’s huge global impact – online, on TV and importantly musically. We’re thrilled to see a growth in the hundreds of millions tuning in to the live shows on EBU Member channels and record-breaking numbers engaging with the songs and artists on our different digital platforms.”

This year, the contest faced criticism for its inclusion of Israel amid their role in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

Due to this political neutrality clause, the EBU announced they reserved the right to remove Palestinian flags and symbols, and would go on to censor Irish contestant Bambie Thug for wearing the word ‘ceasefire’ and ‘freedom for Palestine’ as a hidden message on their costume.

Israel’s inclusion prompted boycott calls from the LGBT+ community towards UK entry Olly Alexander, reasoning that the competition was “providing cultural cover and endorsement for the catastrophic violence that Israel has unleashed on Palestinians.”

Over 1,000 Swedish artists also called for Israel to be banned this year – including Robyn, Fever Ray, and First Aid Kit – and more than 1,400 Finnish music industry professionals signed a petition to ban the country from taking part in the contest as well. Over 400 Irish artists called on Bambie Thug to boycott the contest too.

However, Israel’s broadcaster Kan later issued a statement claiming that the Israeli delegation “faced immense pressure and an unprecedented display of hatred, notably from other delegations and artists, publicly and collectively, solely because of the simple fact that we are Israelis and that we were there,” it said.

“Throughout the journey, the delegation maintained a dignified and respectful approach towards artists and other delegations, striving to foster unity around music while adhering to the competition’s rules, unlike some other delegations,” they added.

Additionally, this year’s competition saw organisers disqualify the Netherlands’ entry Joost Klein just hours before the contest, in which Klein was accused of making verbal threats towards a female member of production crew. In response, Dutch broadcasters said they were “very disappointed” by the decision, calling it “disproportionate”.

Elsewhere, the BBC recently responded to complaints about this year’s Eurovision coverage saying “some aspects of the broadcast…didn’t appeal to everyone.”

This year, Switzerland’s entry Nemo won, becoming the first nonbinary contestant to be crowned the champion with their song ‘The Code’.

Nemo’s victory also marked Switzerland’s first Eurovision win since 1988, when Celine Dion competed with ‘Ne partez pas sans moi’.

In their victory speech, Nemo declared: “I hope this contest can live up to its promise and continue to stand for peace and dignity for every person in this world.”

However, in a press conference later, they later hit out at the “unbelievable double standard” of the competition, saying it “needs fixing”. When asked about their policy of banning nonbinary flags, Nemo said: “I had to smuggle my flag in because Eurovision said no, but I did it anyway, so I hope some people did that too. But, I mean, come on, this is clearly a double standard.”

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