RTÉ publishes full Eurovision 2017 costs: €331,482

It has been revealed that RTÉ has spent around €331,482 in order to take on participation in this years Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv.
This was revealed under the ‘Freedom of Information Request’ from the Irish Sun.

Smaller participation fee

According to the breakdown, it has been revealed that RTÉ paid €84,534 for its participation fee. This is a decrease to the €88,472 that was spent in order to secure its participation in Stockholm.
For those who wonder what the participation fee is, it is sort of like a contribution paid to the EBU to assist the host broadcaster in putting on the show. Each competing broadcaster has to pay a certain amount to enter the competition. For the Irish broadcaster, that came down to €84,534 for Kyiv. It is unsure why the fee is lower than last year.

Overall cost decreased compare to Stockholm

According to a spokesperson mentioned:

“RTÉ incurred a cost of approximately €331,482 in delivering Eurovision Song Contest television programming to Irish audiences.

However, please note that as the RTÉ annual accounts for 2017 have not yet been finalised. These costs do not include charges for RTÉ labour and support costs, as these will only be finalised once the annual accounts have been completed.

This compares with last year’s figure of €337,000″

The figure covers all the required costs in order to produce the Irish entry. Included in that list are:

• The participation fee
• Sending a delegation, consisting of sixteen people, to Ukraine
• The cost of staging the performance, including rehearsals, graphics, pyro, costumes, choreography, studio fees to record the song, postcard filming and props, such as the giant air balloon

Not all the costs have been disclosed

Louis Walsh consulting fees were not disclosed by RTÉ. Walsh acted as Brendan Murray’s mentor during the Eurovision 2017 adventure and was paid for his services by the Irish broadcaster.
A spokesperson for RTÉ said:

“Mr Louis Walsh was engaged as a consultant during RTÉ’s Eurovision selection process and received payment for his service.

“Mr Walsh travelled to Kiev for four nights as part of the RTÉ delegation and stayed in an EBU-approved hotel, on a B&B basis.

“Similar to other delegation members his flights were economy class.”

It doesn’t happen often that we hear this much about fees paid to enter the Eurovision Song Contest. What do you think, should all participating broadcasters be obliged to release their financial stats when it comes to Eurovision? Should RTÉ go even further and publish the exact amounts paid to Louis Walsh? And finally, what do you think about the sum RTÉ spent?
Leave us your comments and opinions below!