Picture credits: © Corinne Cumming / EBU This year, the staging costs of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Switzerland have sparked considerable discussion, with one of Ukraine’s representatives reporting a doubling in prices.
Valentyn Leshchynskyi, guitarist of Ziferblat – the band representing the Eastern European country – told Eurovoix.com that their budget just for including smoke effects on stage was €15,000. He added that Ukraine’s 2024 representative, Jerry Heil, told him that costs had doubled compared to last year (€7,600).
Martin Green, Executive Supervisor of the ESC, responded to the same outlet: “I think that, broadly speaking, we’ve got two issues going on here: a double whammy of being in a relatively expensive country and a cost-of-living crisis”.
Tobias Åberg, Eurovision’s Head of Production, stated that he believe there isn’t a significant difference in costs compared to last year. However, broadcaster participation fees also appear to have risen sharply: RTVSLO (Slovenia) reported an increase from €75,069 in 2023 to €87,379 this year.
In any case, this is speculated to be one of the most expensive editions of ESC in recent years. Swiss broadcaster SRF published an article estimating the total cost at 60 million Swiss francs – the highest in a decade. A quarter of that amount is being spent inside the St. Jakobshalle, which is hosting the event.
Martin Green assured that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) does not profit from the contest. He also emphasized a commitment to keeping costs relatively accessible and said efforts are being made to explore ways to achieve that.
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