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Abstract
BackgroundThe popularity of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Europe has been high for decades. We aimed to assess whether a country’s performance in the ESC is associated with life satisfaction and suicide mortality in European countries.MethodsWe analysed nationally representative Eurobarometer survey data on life satisfaction from 33 European countries (N = 162,773) and country-level standardised suicide mortality data for years 2009 to 2015. The associations of winning the Contest, performing terribly, and higher final ranking with life satisfaction and suicide rates were all assessed.ResultsWinning the ESC was not statistically significantly associated with increased life satisfaction or suicide rates, although every ten-place increase in final ranking was associated with an increase in life satisfaction (adjusted odds ratios [aOR] 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02 to 1.05) and a decrease in suicide mortality rates (β = − 0.30; 95% CI: -0.59 to − 0.01). Terrible performance was associated with greater life satisfaction compared to not competing at all (aOR 1.13; 95%CI: 1.07 to 1.20).ConclusionThe good news for participating countries is that just competing at the ESC is associated with higher life satisfaction among the population. As improved performance is linked to Ooh Aah Just a Little Bit of improved life satisfaction, further research into how such international competitions may impact public health is needed.
Highlights
The popularity of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Europe has been high for decades
Winning the contest was not significantly associated with self-reported life satisfaction
Models adjusted for sex, age, marital status, occupation, education, area of residence, difficulty paying bills, Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, unemployment, time and all factors included in the table Results in italics indicate statistically significant results at the 0.05 level higher odds of reporting high life satisfaction compared to not participating in the contest at all, a finding that was consistent among both men and women (Table 2)
Summary
The popularity of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Europe has been high for decades. The annual Eurovision Song Contest (ESC, hereafter “The Contest”) is a seminal event for both music lovers and haters everywhere. The format of the Contest changed in 2004 and semi-finals were introduced in order to accommodate the increased number of participating countries. Each country awards points to the ten highest ranked entries giving the famous “douze points” (i.e. 12 points) to the entry that receives the most votes. Some viewers, such as the British, are more familiar with the infamous, albeit grammatically troublesome, “nil points”
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