The city of Turin has reported the economic impact of hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.
2022 saw the city of Turin host the Eurovision Song Contest at the PalaOlimpico, now the Chamber of Commerce of Turin has provided official data on the economic impact the event had on the city.
Overall the contest had a positive impact of 100 million Euros with 23 million Euros being the result of tourism and the remaining 66 million Euros being the equivalent of spending this amount on international advertising.
The President of the Piedmont Region, Alberto Cirio, made the following statement on the economic impact of hosting Eurovision 2022:
“These data on the repercussions that Eurovision has had are the practical demonstration of why we choose to invest in major events as a tourism and economic engine and as a tool to promote the beauty and excellence of our territory. A communication campaign worth tens of millions of euros would have been needed to obtain media coverage such as that which Eurovision brought to Piedmont, and this is demonstrated by the fact that other countries bought promotional spaces to have visibility during the Turin event. These numbers, then, are only a part of the fallout that events such as Eurovision, but also the ATP, the Giro d’Italia, and the Tour de France, offer. Because alongside the immediate impact, there are also the results that manifest themselves over time, the result of word of mouth and the strength of a destination that enters the imagination of the international public.” – Alberto Cirio
Overall the city saw an 18% growth in visitor numbers during the Eurovision period and a 68% increase in overnight stays of which 40% were foreigners. In total 55,000 visitors came to Turin for Eurovision. Based on questionnaire data gathered from the city it was found 52% of all tourists came to Turin for the first time and 59% said they planned to visit the city again in the future.
In total 63,000 people attended all 9 shows of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, and over 220,000 attended the Euro village. Of the 63,000 tickets sold, 58,000 where to sold to those outside the city of Turin of which 25,000 ticket holders came from beyond Italy. Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany and France were among the biggest groups of overseas visitors. 75.6% of the audience was in the 18-35-year-old age group.
Of the 55,000 who came to Turin for Eurovision just 28.3% did not stay overnight while 7.1% stayed overnight with friends or family and did not use a hotel or rental. Those that did stay overnight without family or friends used non Hotel accommodations for 41.3% of overnight stays, which was reported to be larger than the total number of hotel beds in the city. In total, those that came into the area spent an estimated 11 million Euros. This is the direct impact of hosting Eurovision on the city. Of these 11 million Euros, 4.4 million came from those that stayed in Hotels, 6 million from those staying overnight in non-hotel accommodation, 160,000 euros from those staying overnight with friends or family and 338,000 euros from those who only came to Turin for the day.
The contest also had an Indirect impact due to direct spending in additional sectors of the economy resulting from the contest being hosted, such as the spending for the event itself and extra demand for goods and services needed to support the contest. This is estimated to be around 7.8 million euros.
Lastly, the event had an Induced impact on Turin. Induced impact is the further multiplier on the effects of the growth in consumption due to the change in income, such as a worker on the show spending extra income on consumption in the city. The estimate, in this case, came to 4 million euros.
In total, the direct and induced effects of hosting Eurovision 2022 in Turin were 22.8 million Euros, with each Euro spent by tourists generating 2.08 euros in the Turin area.
The media impact of the contest was also valuable for the city. 161 million viewers watched the contest live from Truin in total and over 9,000 articles in Italy alone were published in print and online press. This leads to an equivalent advertising value (AVE) estimated at 66 million euros, meaning the city would have needed to spend this amount to gain the same exposure in the public eye in ads. In total, it is estimated that 429 million people were reached by the contests in some form.
2022 saw the Eurovision Song Contest return to Italy following Måneskin’s victory at the 2021 contest with their song “Zitti e Buoni”. The 2022 contest was hosted in Turin on the 10th, 12th, and 14th of May at the PalaOlimpico. The contest was last held in Italy in 1991. The 2022 Contest saw Ukraine win with the song “Stefania” by Kalush Orchestra.
Image Source: Wikimedia | Source: Eurofestival News
Italy debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 and has participated a total of 42 times to date. Italy returned to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 having last participated in the contest in 1997, the country has withdrawn from the contest on a number of occasions in the past. Italy has won the contest three times, the first time being in 1964 and the latest being in 2021. Italy’s hosting of the contest in 1991 has been remembered as one of the most chaotic contests to date. Since their return in 2011 Italy has finished in the top 10 on eight occasions.
