The Eurovision Song Contest has returned to the top of the ratings in Russia, as the nation returned to the Grand Final.
Viewing data for the week of May 13 to 19, shows that the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest topped the ratings across Russia. The final live from Tel Aviv, Israel had a market share of 28.2% across cities in Russia with a population over 100,000, while in Moscow a total of 36.8% of the viewing audience watched the Grand Final.
The exact number of viewers for the 2019 contest in Russia has not been revealed. Interest in this years contest has increased by 55%, compared to 2018 when Russia failed to reach the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, Portugal.
Market share for Eurovision 2019 in Russia:
- Semi-Final One – 15% share (Moscow), 11.8% share (Cities over 100k)
- Semi-Final Two – 20.1% share (Moscow), 17.2% share (Cities over 100k)
- Grand Final – 36.8% share (Moscow), 28.2% share (Cities over 100k)
Who is Sergey Lazarev?
Russian singer Sergey Lazarev has been singing and acting since he was ten years old, and had received his first award in music by fourteen. He represented Russia at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm, Sweden, with his song “You Are The Only One”. He placed third in the grand final, and will return to the contest this year in Tel Aviv.
Source: Mediascope
Russia debuted in Eurovision in 1994 and has gone on to be one of the most successful countries in the contest. Since the mid-00s Russia has had a string of strong results including their first and only victory in 2008. Dima Bilan won the contest in Belgrade, Serbia with the song “Believe” taking the contest to Moscow in the following year. In 2015 and 2016, Russia finished in 2nd and 3rd place respectively in the final.
