It was a year of big stories – from the war in Ukraine and wider conflict in the Middle East to the Olympic Games in Paris, the growth of AI and a wave of elections worldwide, including the return of Donald Trump as president of the United States.
The pace and extent of that coverage demands high-quality, reliable journalism and the global reach of our Eurovision News network — more than 45,000 Member journalists and partners around the world.
In 2024, we saw a record number of Member contributions to the Eurovision News Exchange. More than 22,000 live and edited items were provided by Members, making up 46% of the total 48,451 content items shared.
Crucial to this flow of reliable news is the work of the Eurovision Social Newswire that sources and verifies eyewitness content, providing extra context from the scene.
Playing with Fire, the latest report by our Investigative Journalism Network, revealed the extent of Russian hybrid attacks in Europe. While the Ukraine Archive, our project to collect and share public media broadcasting about the conflict, grew more valuable as a searchable trove of more than 25,000 video and audio reports on the Russia-Ukraine War since 2022.
Overall, it is our community that underpins our success with collaboration across our News Committee, expert groups and networks to champion the value of trusted news.
On the ground at major stories, Eurovision News Events supported clients globally with host broadcast services, studio spaces, stand-up positions and other solutions. From the World Economic Forum’s meeting in Davos to Pope Francis’ historic Asia-Pacific visit and many places in between, these are operations that require feats of planning, logistics, flexibility and delivery.
This was on full display across the 2024/25 U.S. election cycle. From Iowa's caucuses in frigid January, state primaries and party conventions to Election Day and Trump’s surprise indoor inauguration, Eurovision delivered comprehensive content and services. With rooftop positions overlooking the White House and Capitol Building, we had great views.
The EBU’s Digital News Hub is one of the largest databases of multimedia news stories, built on a foundation of diverse and quality journalism. Every day, more than 3,000 multimedia news stories are collected in the Digital News Hub and automatically translated into English (and other languages on demand) by our EuroVOX tool.
What started as a purely editorial exchange has evolved into a powerful database fuelling innovations such as the networked newsroom A European Perspective (AEP), and NEO, a conversational news interface using GenAI. A new Public Service Algorithm has also been designed to identify the highest-quality, public service–driven content present in the database.
23 organizations from 19 countries now participate in AEP. During 2024, more than 10,000 original news stories generated almost 23,000 publications in multiple languages, garnering over 4.9 million additional reads.
Building on its success and supported by EU-funding, this year saw the launch of YEP News (Your European Perspective), a public-facing news aggregator website, featuring news content from across the continent, in five languages.
2024 also saw the launch of a series of co-produced stories by journalists from different organizations collaborating on pan-European topics, such as women’s rights, migration, defence and more.
The Eurovision Debate 2024 was aimed at bringing the EU elections closer to citizens, particularly young and first-time voters.
Featuring dynamic candidate Q&A sessions, it was broadcast in 23 languages and aired by 212 channels across 51 countries. The event saw a sharp rise in social media engagement, reflecting its broad reach and resonance with audiences across the continent.
Organized in partnership with the European Parliament, the debate demonstrated the power of PSM to foster democratic participation through accessible, high-quality political programming.
Our Television team continues to support Members in co-production initiatives including a new animation co-development for the French series ‘My Life is a Manga’, and Eurovision Classical Concerts, a new BBC-led series of televised concerts showcasing some of the best public service media ensembles.
The Eurovision Documentary Development Network remains dedicated to high-quality storytelling, this year launching the 'Europe Now!' initiative – a special call designed to attract impactful programme ideas relating to the changing geopolitical landscape.
Launched in 2020, the 6th edition of the Eurovision TV Programme Exchange saw over 200 programmes exchanged among a group of 16 broadcasters.
And a commitment to cultural programming is reflected in the worldwide broadcasts of the Vienna Philharmonic’s Summer and New Year concerts, distributed via the Eurovision satellite network and enjoyed by millions of viewers across the world.
As listening behaviours continue to evolve, we remain committed to helping Members embrace emerging technologies for radio and refine their content strategies.
At the Podcast Forum in Berlin, senior podcast producers explored climate crisis coverage, promotion of mental health awareness, development of high-quality content for children, and ways to build engaged communities and use platforms strategically for audience growth. Our Audio Storytelling Festival in Rome focused on the changing landscape of radio and audio storytelling.
We continued our focus on critical innovation themes including audio app strategies, AI-driven personalization, and generated audio. Our renamed Audio and Radio Futures group gave Members a platform to exchange insights around these topics through regular calls and a highly interactive gathering in Paris.
Recognizing the need for cross-industry collaboration, we also convened high-level industry stakeholders, including from the commercial radio sector, to align on actionable strategies to support the prominence of radio in cars and stronger legal protections in the EU.
Music continues to unite people, giving our community and audiences a space for expression and storytelling.
This year’s knowledge-sharing efforts featured dynamic discussions on a wide range of topics — from the link between music and well-being, to music rights, the digital media revolution, and the new ‘discovery visit’ component of the Sound Engineers Scheme.
We remain committed to supporting young artists across all genres. A key initiative was the Euroradio Season Top Young Performers series, spotlighting emerging classical talent from around the world.
We celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Euroradio Jazz Orchestra, and through our new Commissioning Scheme project, collaborated with 10 composers to create new works for orchestras and choirs.
We also brought iconic performances to audiences across Europe. Concert exchanges celebrated legends like Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, with curated archives such as Celia Cruz that marked her 100th birthday.
Meanwhile, we continued championing new voices through standout events like the Eurosonic Festival, Europe’s Biggest Soundsystem Party, and new addition to the ‘Europe’s Biggest’ franchise; Europe’s Biggest Gig — an evolving celebration of live music culture across the continent.
Following our landmark acquisition of the European rights for the Olympic Games 2026–2032, we remain committed to acquiring the best sports rights for audiences across the continent.
We reached a new deal with FIBA for the Men’s and Women’s FIBA World Cups, and the Eurobasket while, in cycling, we secured rights with ASO/Unipublic for major events including the Men’s and Women’s Tour de France and La Vuelta, and with UCI for all major cycling World Championships including Road and Track.
Key prolongations include European Aquatics — notably for Swimming, Water Polo, Diving and the Artistic Swimming European Championships; FIG for Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships; European Gymnastics for Artistic and Rhythmic European Championships; and World Rowing for World and European Rowing Championships. Moreover, we continue to acquire rights in select territories for the FIFA World Cups 2026 and 2030.
A key event for the EBU this summer will be the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 broadcast by over 34 Members.
We have also published new editorial guidelines on the respectful coverage of women athletes in athletics; and earned albert certification for sustainable host broadcasting at the IBU World Championships Biathlon 2025, thanks to our collaboration with ACTUA Sport and the vital support of our Members.
Last year, we launched eurovisionsport.com, our pioneering free-to-air digital streaming platform.
Eurovision Sport positions public service media at the forefront of sports distribution as a groundbreaking, subscription-free player that complements and enhances our Members’ existing coverage.
Over the past year, we've partnered with 30+ federations to deliver 3000+ hours of live sports, including athletics, aquatics, gymnastics, and biathlon — alongside events in racket sports, combat sports, motorsports, skiing, and women's football.
Although our focus is on Europe, we have users in over 100 countries worldwide, with content available in multiple languages.
Since launch, we've collaborated with over 20 Members — ranging from promotional campaigns and localised highlights, to offering free access to live sports through embedded links.
Eurovision Sport helps fans easily discover and enjoy the sports they love, while enabling sports federations to reach and grow new audiences. It also offers Members the flexibility to fully leverage their rights and secure new sporting content in the future.
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The 2024 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, hosted by SRT in Malmö, reached 163 million viewers one million more than 2023’s Contest – with votes received from 156 countries and territories. Online engagement soared once again, with TikTok videos tagged #Eurovision2024 amassing 6.5 billion views.
Following the 2024 event, we conducted an independent review to identify key areas of development to strengthen the Contest for the future.
A new Director and Head of Brand and Commercial were appointed. Recommendations from the review included the introduction of a new Code of Conduct and Duty of Care Protocol to clarify roles and responsibilities and foster a respectful and joyful environment at the event.
Additional measures established for the 2025 Contest included no-filming zones in artist areas, more closed-door rehearsals, and optimized schedules to ensure artist well-being.
The 2025 Contest, hosted by our Swiss Member SRG SSR after victory in Malmö for Nemo’s ‘The Code’, reached 166 million viewers across 37 markets, with significant increases in youth engagement and digital interaction.
The 22nd Junior Eurovision Song Contest, held in Madrid in November, captivated 23 million viewers underscoring its growing appeal among younger audiences.
Georgian broadcaster GPB secured a record-breaking fourth victory with Andria Putkaradze’s ‘To My Mom’.
The event achieved a 15.7% viewing share among children aged 4-14 — more than triple the average for the broadcast channels — and an 8.1% share among 15–24-year-olds, significantly outperforming typical ratings for that demographic.
Meanwhile, the 2024 edition of Eurovision Young Musicians was held in Bodø (Norway) in August, offering a unique and prestigious stage for emerging classical talent from across Europe.
Set in the 2024 European Capital of Culture, the event brought together 11 young musicians in a spirit of collaboration and cultural exchange. It was won by 17 year old Austrian violinist Leonhard Baumgartner.
The competition, driven by NRK's strong production, highlighted how public service media can dynamically nurture new talent and connect diverse audiences.
