Survey says, Aussies know Eurovision.

• 90% of Australians are aware of the Eurovision Song Contest, but only 36% have ever watched.
• 24% of Australians planned to watch this year’s event
• Waterloo is the favourite Eurovision song, followed by Euphoria, Hold Me Now & Hard Rock Hallelujah 
• Only 4% of people have ever voted
• Awareness is high in China and Saudi Arabia, low in Japan

Recognition of the Eurovision Song Contest is extremely high in Australia with 9 in 10 Australians familiar with the annual event.

However we are far less interested in actually watching, according to a new global survey.

Ipsos surveyed over 20,000 online adults aged 16-74 in 28 countries between February 20 and March 3, 2020 -including participating and non-participating ESC countries.

Key findings for Australia:

· Among the current or past participating countries, we are somewhat surprisingly (given we aren’t part of Europe) not at the very bottom of the list in terms of awareness and viewing. Nine in ten Australians surveyed were aware of the Eurovision Song Contest (ahead of Italy at 74%) and 36% have watched it (34% in Italy).

· When compared with non-participating countries, our awareness is high. China leads the non-participating countries with 64% awareness.

· Interestingly, while The Voice and Got Talent show greater viewership with 46% and 54% respectively, the proportion of people who have ever voted on these programs (6% and 5% respectively) wasn’t much higher than for Eurovision (4%).

· In February, when Ipsos asked those aware if they were likely to watch any of the Eurovision Song Contest, only 24% said they were very/somewhat likely. Again, we weren’t the lowest. This time France came in last at 17%.

· While we show much lower interest in the Eurovision Song Contest than most other participating countries, it’s a different story when it comes to taking pleasure in a victory. Among those aware of the contest in Australia, 50% indicated they would be delighted or pleased if the song representing Australia won this year. Only Poland (71%), Italy (31%) and Russia (62%) showed a greater level of those who would be delighted or pleased with a victory.

Key global findings:

Across the 12 European countries surveyed and Australia, all of which are currently participating or have participated in the contest, 94% of adults have heard of it, 63% say they have watched it at least once, and 10% say they have voted for a contestant at least once. Outside of Europe and Australia, an average of 40% report having heard of the contest and 17% say they have watched it at least once.

About two in five adults who know of the Eurovision Song Contest (38% across Europe and Australia, and 45% across countries in other parts of the world) said they were likely to watch any of this year’s semi-finals or final before it was announced that this year’s contest was cancelled and replaced by a special event.

Half (52%) of all people from the 11 countries surveyed with an entry in the 65th contest said they would be delighted or pleased if their country won.

ABBA’s Waterloo is the most popular song that ever came out of the Eurovision Song Contest. Thirty-six percent of all adults surveyed across 11 countries currently participating in the contest selected it as their favourite among 16 of the contest’s all-time best-selling songs.

The survey was conducted among 20,031 adults under the age of 75 across 28 countries on the Global Advisor online platform between February 20 and March 3, 2020.

Detailed findings:

Awareness

· On average, across all 13 countries surveyed with a history of participating in the contest, 94% of adults have heard of it. Awareness of the contest ranges from 95% to 99% in all but one of the European countries surveyed with Italy (74%) being the exception. In Australia, 89% awareness of the contest is nearly as high as it is in Europe. Australia is the only non-European country surveyed that participates in the contest.

· Outside of Europe and Australia, an average of 40% of respondents report of having heard of the contest. Awareness of the contest is especially high in China (64%) and Saudi Arabia (56%). It ranges between 33% and 49% in all other countries surveyed in Asia and the Americas, with Japan (7%) and the United States (21%) being the only exceptions.

Viewership

· Among countries that have participated in the contest, 63% say they have watched the contest at least once. Among these countries, “ever viewership” is highest in Sweden (86%), Turkey (82%), Spain (80%), the Netherlands and Poland (73%) and Russia (72%). In contrast, fewer than half in Italy (34%), Australia (36%), Hungary (43%), and France (45%) say they have watched the contest at least once.

· Outside of Europe and Australia, an average of 17% say they have watched the contest at least once. Reported experience of having ever watched the contest is as high in China (36%) and Saudi Arabia (35%) as it is in Italy and Australia. It ranges from 10% to 25% in all other countries, except for Japan (4%), the United States (6%), and Canada (7%).

Voter participation

· One in ten people in countries that have participated in the contest say they have voted for a song at least once. Countries where people are most likely to have voted for a song are Sweden (23%), Turkey (17%), Poland (15%), the Netherlands and Germany (11%) and Great Britain and Spain (10%). In contrast, only 3% in France and 4% in Australia say they have ever voted.

2020 viewing intentions

· Before the contest was cancelled and replaced by a special event, an average of 38% across Europe and Australia said they were likely to watch any of this year’s semi-finals or final. Viewing intention was highest in Turkey (56%) even though the country stopped participating several years ago, followed by Poland (52%) and Sweden, Spain and the Netherlands (49%). It was lowest in France (17%), Australia (24%), and Hungary (25%). Hungary is the other European country surveyed that was not participating this year.

· Outside of Europe and Australia, 45% of those who have heard of the contest reported they are likely to watch any of this year’s contest, including 72% in China, 67% in India, 65% in Saudi Arabia, 54% in Peru, and 52% in Malaysia.

· Globally, the likelihood of watching this year’s contest varies only slightly by gender (45% among females vs. 39% among males) and by age (45% among those under 35, 43% among those aged 35-49, and 37% among those aged 50-74).

Excitement about own country’s song winning

· Half (52%) of all people from the 11 countries surveyed that are participating in this year’s contest say there would be delighted or pleased if their country won.

· Poland (71%), Italy (65%) and Russia (62%) show the highest level of enthusiasm.

· Overall, women (59%) and those under 35 (55%) are more likely than men (44%) and those aged 35-49 (49%) or 50-74 (50%) to say they would be delighted or pleased.

Most popular Eurovision songs

· ABBA’s Waterloo, the winner of the 1974 contest, was selected as the favourite among 16 of the contest’s all-time best-selling songs by more than a third (36%) of the respondents across the 11 countries surveyed that are currently participating. Waterloo ranks No.1 in nine of the 11 countries.

· One exception is Italy, where the top spot goes to Domenico Modugno’s Nel blu dipinto di blu (also known as Volare), a song that finished third in the1958 contest and ranks No.3 across all 11 countries. Another exception is Russia where the favourite song in the contest’s history is the country’s 2019 entry, Sergey Lazarev’s SCREAM.

· The second most popular song across the 11 countries is Loreen’s Euphoria, which won the contest in 2012. It represented Sweden, as did Waterloo.

· The other songs in the top five are Johnny Logan’s Hold Me Now from Ireland (the 1987 winner) at No.4, and Lordi’s Hard Rock Hallelujah from Finland (the 2006 winner) at No. 5.

About the Study

These are findings from a Global Advisor survey conducted by Ipsos among 20,031 adults aged 18-74 in the United States, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, and Turkey and 16-74 in 23 other markets, February 20 – March 3, 2020. It was carried out via the Ipsos Online Panel System in 28 markets.

Approximately 1000+ individuals were surveyed in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland), France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S. Approximately 500+ individuals were surveyed in Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, India, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey.

The samples in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the U.S. can be taken as representative of these countries’ general adult population under the age of 75.

The samples in Brazil, Chile, China (mainland), Colombia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey are more urban, more educated, and/or more affluent than the general population. The survey results for these markets should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more “connected” segment of these populations.

The data is weighted so that each market’s sample composition best reflects the demographic profile of the adult population according to the most recent census data.

Where results do not sum to 100 or the ‘difference’ appears to be +/-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses or the exclusion of don’t knows or not stated responses.

The precision of Ipsos online polls are calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate to +/- 4.8 percentage points. For more information on the Ipsos use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website.

Eurovision 2020: Big Night In! special 7:30pm Saturday on SBS
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light special 8:30pm Sunday on SBS