On Saturday night, I will be in a vast arena on the waterfront in Liverpool to watch 26 acts from around Europe (and Australia) at the Eurovision Song Contest. The contest launched the career of Abba, Céline Dion and, most recently, M?neskin. It is an event that has grown in size and stature to now attract an audience of 160mn worldwide.
Despite this, it is often reported that some cities have struggled to make money from hosting the event, which is funded via a mixture of cash from the city, local and international broadcasters, sponsors, ticket sales and the national government. So I wanted to see if the financial implications of hosting Eurovision were true.
While Sweden will be hopeful of securing a seventh victory on Saturday night with a banging Europop anthem, British ministers and city officials are confident that the event will also be a financial success for the UK.