Bridging the ‘sport/culture silo’: the Eurovision Song Contest and its lessons for sporting and cultural mega-events

The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) uniquely exhibits features of both sporting and cultural events. Its tradition of awarding hosting rights to the previous year’s winning broadcaster has persisted even as its scale has approached that of sporting and cultural mega-events. Research on its politics of place has increasingly drawn on studies of sports mega-events, especially surrounding nation-branding and ‘soft power.’ Yet there has been little dialogue between research on the ESC and cultural mega-events such as Capital/City of Culture (CoC), despite their similar demands and opportunities for host cities. This disconnect leaves the ESC underappreciated in cultural policy research. The case of Liverpool’s hosting ESC 2023 on Ukraine’s behalf, however, demonstrates that insights from research into both sporting and cultural mega-events are needed to understand the ESC’s contemporary politics and impact. It also demonstrates that bridging the ‘sport/culture silo’ through studying this event invites wider shared learning between sporting and cultural domains.