The EBU has released the viewing figures for Eurovision 2022, our beloved competition continues to rule the roost!

A whopping 161 million viewers watched the contest on tv as the competition continues to have a massive social media impact and reach. The competition has evolved throughout the years and is now popular amongst younger generations and has gained much exposure via the trending social media platforms like Tik Tok, Instagram and Facebook.

Martin Osterdahl ( EBU/ Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor) says:

We couldn’t be happier to see the success of the Eurovision Song Contest across all our Members’ channels and on our digital platforms this year.

Once again, we have seen the enormous popularity of the Contest among young audiences, some of whom are discovering the event for the first time. The Eurovision Song Contest truly has global appeal demonstrated by the millions watching in every territory on earth and millions more interacting on social media.

The EBU release states:

The viewing share for the Grand Final on Saturday 14 May was up three percentage points on 2021 at 43.3%, and remains more than double the broadcast channels average (18.2%).

The Contest once again proved hugely popular with younger audiences. Among 15–24 year-olds, the viewing share of the Grand Final was up three percentage points on 2021 at 56.2%, remaining four times higher than the broadcast channels average (14.0%).

Italy saw a massive rise in its audience ratings as it hosted the competition. The EBU release says:

Host country Italy delivered their biggest audience on record (since 2011 when they re-joined the Contest), up +53% on 2021, with an average audience of 6.6 million viewers, accounting for 41.9% of TV viewing in the country.

In a third of markets (13 out of 34) the ESC claimed over 50% of the viewing share, led by Iceland with 96.4% and followed closely by other Nordic markets (Norway 89.1%, Sweden 81.4% and Finland 72.1%).

The other markets which saw more than 50% of total TV viewers watch the Grand Final were Armenia, Flemish-speaking Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom and Spain saw soaring viewing rates due to their excellent results and the anticipation created by their respective entries. The EBU release continues:

Spain and the United Kingdom’s success at the Contest (finishing 3rd and 2nd respectively) was also reflected in their ratings; both countries delivered their best TV audiences of the past decade.

6.8 million viewers on average watched in Spain, up 86% on 2021, and their highest audience since 2008.

The United Kingdom delivered the largest audience of all markets in 2022 with 8.9 million viewers watching the Grand Final, up 20% on 2021

Source: eurovision.tv/ EBU
Photo credit: EBU/ Sarah Louise Bennet