Eurovision: delivering an evaluation of community and wellbeing impact

The University of Liverpool, in partnership with Liverpool City Council, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and Spirit of 2012, is conducting an assessment program to determine the impact of hosting the song contest on the wellbeing and sense of community of local residents.

M·E·L Research are delivering the project management and fieldwork elements of the evaluation program, which commenced with a baseline in March and April, and will also include follow-up surveys post-Eurovision. Speaking about the commission, Elliot Simmonds, our Culture Sector Lead, said:

“Obviously Eurovision is a fantastic and much-beloved event and brand and this year, with the context of the solidarity between the UK and the Ukraine in terms of hosting the event, is particularly special. The City of Liverpool has done a huge amount of work to harness and support the arts and culture sector post-COVID and is arguably one of the most famous homes of music in the UK and globally, so to be able to contribute to an understanding of the impact of Eurovision on the communities in the City is an amazing opportunity and one we are very proud to be working on.”

The project further supports M·E·L Research’s expertise in large-scale evaluations of events and cultural activations including for Birmingham 2022, the Creative City Grants programme, UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK and work for Culture Liverpool among others.

Chair of the Evaluation group and Director of Public Health for Liverpool, Professor Matthew Ashton, said:

“The eyes of the world will be watching Liverpool through their TVs and online during Eurovision, with thousands more visiting – but I’m especially interested in how hosting this fantastic event will impact on local residents.

“These studies will not only contribute to the development of hosting major events in the future – but will also help us to understand how events like this can benefit the local communities in which they are hosted.”

The fieldwork will involve approximately 1,300 residents who will be queried on their engagement with Eurovision and related community events. The baseline wave was delivered via a face-to-face doorknocking approach with follow-up waves planned with the same audience to ensure a longitudinal sample. Sampling covers all Liverpool wards, with quotas by age, gender, ethnicity and educational level and covering a range of Indices of Multiple Deprivation Quintiles in order to ensure a representative sample of residents of the City of Liverpool. The survey aims to determine whether their participation has contributed to improved wellbeing, sense of civic pride, and citizenship.

Beyond this, the programme will include focus groups comprising individuals who either participated in or attended Eurovision events. These focus groups will delve into people’s thoughts, emotions, and attitudes towards Eurovision 2023 and assess what it has accomplished for them, the City Region, and the people of Ukraine. These will be delivered by a team from the University.

For further details or to discuss evaluation, stakeholder or audience research for your event please contact us.