Eurovision Song Contest may be just another Saturday night TV show, but it’s THE event for many! Many viewers consider it the Olympics for music, a chance to enjoy with friends and loved ones and root on their favorite act. Some lucky fans can even travel to Basel to watch the live broadcast in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Eurovision Song Contest offers a unique chance for the hospitality industry of the city to promote its services on a global scale. Beyond the spectacle, Eurovision is a prime example of – a growing travel trend where fans journey to experience live music events. We will examine how such an event can impact Basel’s international appeal and drive “event-tourism”.
Eurovision Television Figures
The 37 countries participating in this year’s edition can watch it. It will be broadcast on TV or online in 230 countries, making it one of the most watched events of the entire year. Over the past three-year period, viewers have steadily increased, reaching 161 millions in 2022 and 162 million by 2023.
If this trend continues, Basel will attract 164 million viewers to its three-night event, which will enhance the city’s reputation on the international stage. While we do not know yet how Basel will be showcased during the live sections, the traditional ‘postcards’ (short videos introducing each entry before each performance) have already been shot in 16 of Switzerland’s cantons. The postcards are being shot in the country for the first time since 2019. Postcards are an integral part of Eurovision and have been used by many countries to promote tourist icons. locations.
Visitors to Basel: Potential Economic Impact
Eurovision Song Contest has also attracted a large number of fans who travel to see it in person. The Eurovision Song Contest is a hugely popular event, with many people travelling to watch it live.
Last year’s host city, Malmö, Sweden, had over 51,000 visitors attending the Eurovision Song Contest events. Turin, Italy will host the event in 2022. 55,000 visitors Participated in the festivities. These two editions show similar numbers. However, the 2023 contest held in Liverpool, England reported that 306,000 people attended the festivities.
Should Basel expect 50,000 people or 300,000? Basel expects 500,000 tourists (!) The show will not be the only thing that fans can do. Many tourists who come to the shows will not only be Europeans but also from the United States, Australia and other countries.
Regarding economic expectations, the predicted tourism revenue for Basel should exceed €35 million. Last year’s tourism spending in Malmö topped SEK 445 million (approximately €38.5 million) and Liverpool hauled in £42.3 million (approximately €49.5 million) in 2023, which is a major shot in the arm for the local economy. In Turin, overall, the contest had a positive impact of €100 million, with €23 million the result of tourism and the remaining €66 million the equivalent of spending this amount on international advertising.
Basel Hotels can capitalize on Eurovision
This large influx will allow the city to earn a lot of international tourism revenue. It must, however, learn from other cities’ mistakes that failed to capitalize on this opportunity.
Smith Travel Research indicates that Basel has 77 hotels. If they plan correctly, these hotels will likely continue to increase their room prices and sell out during Eurovision Week if strategize properly. The hotels may be able to set rates far above the normal rate for May but they need to make sure that they appeal to guests who are willing to pay the extra money.
Tel Aviv was faced with the same problem in 2019 when it hosted Eurovision. The hotels drastically raised their room rates assuming that the tourists would be forced to pay these inflated prices. Instead of paying to attend the event, many tourists chose to stay at home and watch it on television. In that year, it was reported that 182 million people watched the broadcast of the event on television across 40 European markets. This captured the tourists who didn’t want to pay for the high prices in Tel Aviv hotels.
Hotels must use dynamic pricing in order to increase standard room rates while creating unique packages. It seems, however, that hotels this year haven’t taken advantage of the opportunity to offer guests a unique package for Eurovision. In fact, it was difficult to find any hotels that even mentioned Eurovision, let alone offer specials for Eurovision lovers. The possibilities were endless.
Creative Hotel Strategies to Attend Eurovision
Hotels should have thought about creating themed rooms to showcase each of the 37 countries. For example, rooms could be decorated with custom-made art that reflects the region or references previous and current participants. Playlists of previous Eurovision entries by the countries could be made available in-room and via popular streaming services. The culinary team can prepare menus for room service that reflect popular dishes from each country’s participants, or even an original dish inspired by the song of this year. Such creative touches can enhance the guest’s experience and generate shareable content for social media.
One hotel that will truly benefit from the event is the Nomad Design & Lifestyle Hotel. It was selected by Booking.com (partner of the Eurovision Song Contest) as the hotel that will host the winner of the ‘Ultimate Experience for Eurovision Fans’ contest. Two lucky guests have the chance to meet five Eurovision legends and take part in different activities, including attending the grand final. The marketing impact of this one-room hotel is huge.
The event will also benefit hotels outside of Basel. Hotels in Jura or Bern are also hoping to attract customers from the other cantons who may not have the money to pay the high prices of the host city. SBB, the Swiss railway company, has announced special night trains that will be available to tourists who are staying outside Basel.
Events and Partnerships
Basel has decided to be innovative this year and broadcast the grand finale of the Swiss Football Championship in the largest Swiss stadium. The arena can accommodate 36,000 spectators. The event begins with a spectacular Eurovision pre-show featuring Swiss and international Eurovision artists. Many partnership events in Basel will take place during Eurovision week, whether they are organized by the City of Basel directly or the sponsors. For example, Helvetia will open its Campus Helvetia and host activities such as karaoke, exclusive performances, and meet & greets. The same is true for the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel We will have events and exhibits that are tailored to children and adults.
Post Eurovision Song Contest
This event will have a positive effect on tourism numbers in the future. Basel has created a special section on its website for Eurovision visitors to invite them to other international events that the city hosts, like the highly prestigious Art Basel Fair. Basel’s status as a cultural and artistic city will be enhanced by this. This will encourage more tourists to travel to Basel because of the positive images they see on television or read in media articles. What better way to attract media attention than creating a buzz? the biggest turquoise carpet For the opening ceremony of Eurovision history?
© AlmaBengtsson/EBU
This international contest shows how cultural events can boost tourism and revenues for host cities. Switzerland recently received a big boost from Taylor Swift’s concert in Zürich last year. This all sets up for a second European-wide concert that will further boost “event tourism” In Switzerland: the UEFA Women’s EURO 2020. The event of July will be the second opportunity to increase the international profile of the Alpine country and generate unprecedented revenues.
Lionel Saul – Research Assistant & Visiting Lecturer at EHL Hospitality Business School. Lionel Saul is on Facebook. LinkedIn.
The original version of this article appeared on EHL Insights.
