In case you haven’t been online much the last week, you missed big Eurovision news! The European Broadcasting Union is expanding even more after The American Song Contest, which featured just USAmerican states battling against each other in a Eurovision style TV show. The EBU recently announced that there will be Eurovision Song Contest: Latin America soon!
Numbers and producers
While this news may come as a surprise to some, Latin American countries are actually really interested in Eurovision. They are among the top-performing markets for non-participating nations, with almost 400,000 viewing hours combined. The biggest Eurovision fans are from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico!
The contest will be produced by Christer Björkman, who now works for Voxovation: a company in Los Angeles that is focused on expanding the Eurovision Song Contest into new markets. Aside from this familiar name, the production will be led by Anders Lenhoff, Ola Melzig, Peter Settman, and Greg Lipstone. It is possible that those names ring a bell as well: they produced the American Song Contest too!
The search for a host city
With a new Eurovision Song Contest comes, of course, the search for a host city. This part of the world is large and very diverse, which offers many different options with regards to where the contest could take place. According to Eurovision.tv, the aforementioned producers will begin the search for a host among the top-performing Latin American markets for the Eurovision Song Contest in the coming months. This means that the host city will most likely be in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, or Mexico.
Statements from Martin Österdahl and Voxovation
Martin Österdahl, who is Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest (aka Mr “you’re good to go), said the following statement about the Latin American Contest:
“Following on from the launch of the American Song Contest, and with plans underway for Eurovision Song Contest Canada next year, the European Broadcasting Union is thrilled to be now working with Voxovation on bringing the excitement and magic of the Eurovision Song Contest to Latin America. The unique Eurovision format finds new fans across the globe every year and we can’t wait to expand the brand in this hugely diverse part of the world.”
Martin Österdahl to Eurovision.tv
Following up on this global expansion, producers Peter Settman and Greg Lipstone stated on behalf of Voxovation that:
“Fans across Latin America have consistently shown up and showed out for the Eurovision Song Contest brand, and Eurovision Song Contest Latin America is the embodiment of that fervent passion, as well as a continuation of the broad vision we, the producing team, have for Eurovision as a global brand.”
Peter Settman and Greg Lipstone to Eurovision.tv
Indeed, they confirm that Voxovation has a vision for the Eurovision Song Contest to become a global sensation rather than staying limited to the EBU member states. Asides from Latin America, Voxovation is also expanding towards Canada in 2023. Of course, it has already wrapped up the first version of the American Song Contest, although the several shows did not attract an audience quite as large as the Eurovision Song Contest’s audience.
Are you excited for the Eurovision Song Contest to expand? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our reactions to the news in the run up to Rotterdam!1
