Saturday night’s Eurovision song contest in Liverpool was the most watched grand final in the competition’s history, the BBC has said.
In the UK, there was a five-minute peak of 11 million people watching and an average viewing figure of 9.9 million, which equates to a 63% TV audience share.
The previous ratings record was the 2011 final, when an average of 9.5 million tuned in to watch Blue finish in 11th place with I Can. Last year, the final in Turin was watched by an average of 8.9 million.
The contest was won by bookies’ favourite Loreen of Sweden, who also made history by becoming the first woman to win the contest twice. She triumphed on Saturday with her power ballad Tattoo – as in “you’re stuck on me like a tattoo” – which came more than a decade after her victory in 2012 with the floor-filler Euphoria.
This year’s contest should have taken place in Ukraine after the emphatic victory last year of the Kalush Orchestra and their song Stefania!
Due to the war, it was decided that the UK, last year’s runner-up, would host the contest this year on Ukraine’s behalf, with Liverpool chosen as host city. The city promised “the best party ever” and, it has been widely acknowledged, did not disappoint.
After the shock success last year of UK entrant Sam Ryder, with 466 points for his song Space Man, it was back to reality for this year’s UK entrant Mae Muller.
With 24 points, Muller finished second from bottom with her song I Wrote a Song, a comparative triumph compared with the 2021 result – 0 points for James Newman’s Embers.
Before Ryder, the UK’s record has been bottom, bottom, third from bottom, 15th (Lucie Jones), third from bottom, fourth from bottom, 17th (Molly), 19th (Bonnie Tyler), and second from bottom.
On Saturday, Muller was the final performer of the 26, arguably the worst slot to have, and she admitted afterwards it was “not the result we hoped for”.
Posting on Twitter in the early hours of Sunday, 25-year-old Muller said: “I just want to say thank u x i know i joke a lot but we really put our all into the last few months, not the result we hoped for but so proud of everyone & what we achieved on this journey.
“Congrats to all the countries, I’ll never forget this journey and I love you all.”
Rylan Clark, part of BBC Radio 2’s commentary team, was the first to respond, posting: “We love you so much and we couldn’t be prouder of you.”
The show itself was as slick, camp, loud and fabulous as Eurovision fans had been expecting.
Claire McColgan, the director of Culture Liverpool, said the “incredible” experience showed the value and importance of investing in culture.
“In cities that aren’t London, it is easy to have one narrative, one story, a history that can dominate your present,” McColgan said afterwards.
“But Liverpool is different, Liverpool is complex. And that’s why I love it. It has highs and lows like nowhere else. It has a big outspoken heart and an opinion for basically everything. It is contrary and confrontational. Kind and emotional. And it loves to party.
“That’s why Eurovision has supersized here. Everything that is brilliant about Eurovision, especially this special year that we are hosting it on behalf of Ukraine, fits with Liverpool.
“The bonkers-ness, the brashness, the heart and the authenticity, everything we have done has had Ukraine in the centre of it, because that is who we are.”
The success of this year’s event would be felt for years, she suggested. “If I was 18 choosing where to go to university, if I was a young investor wanting to locate my business, if I was a kid in a Liverpool school, I would look at this city and say: ‘I want to go there. I want to be there and most importantly I want to do that.’
“So, here’s to the arts, because this is great art. Here’s to events.”
