Whether you love it or laugh at it, one thing’s certain — the coveted Eurovision Song Contest continues to amass a global audience every year. Now, the song contest is announcing a Latin American spin-off.
Eurovision Is Growing
When you pair culture, music, and a grand show together, you pretty much get a recipe for success and viewership. Eurovision’s global popularity has largely meant that a continental offshoot has been in the pipeline for a while. Some expansion efforts have already been made — the American Song Contest that aired last year and crowned K-pop star AleXa at the finale, while Eurovision Song Contest Canada will debut next year, in 2023.
The first sign of the expansion of the contest was the inclusion of non-European countries like Australia in the program as part of its “Building Bridges” campaign. In 2022 alone, Eurovision had more than 75 unique viewers on YouTube across more than 230 global territories.
Why Latin America, Though?
Turns out, Eurovision is quite popular in Latin America. According to the song contest’s viewership statistics, its highest ratings from non-participating countries outside of Europe come from Latin America — Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. That’s why contest officials have decided that a spin-off there is the most logical next step toward the global expansion of the beloved music event.
News of the spin-off was made official by Martin Österdahl, the Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor. In his announcement, he said that after the successful launch of the American Song Contest, the European Broadcasting Union will be joining forces with Voxovation to bring the “excitement and magic” of Eurovision to Latin America. Given its rich and colorful culture, it’s fair to assume that the song contest there would give birth to many great hits and aspiring musicians like it did with Italy’s Maneskin, which won the 2021 edition.
At this stage, it’s too early to speak of timelines, but fans hope they won’t have to wait too long for the Latin America edition.