Ludwig relies on ESC: Economic upswing for Vienna in sight!

Ludwig relies on ESC: Economic upswing for Vienna in sight!

On June 2, 2025 at 5:30 p.m., the mayor Ludwig received the documents for the application for the execution of the Eurovision Song Contest. He has already confirmed that Vienna will definitely apply to align this prestigious event again. This is seen as an opportunity to boost the economy in the city and all over Austria. Kleine Zeitung reports that Ludwig looks back on the positive experiences from 2015. At that time, the event led to a strong economic boost that not only influenced Vienna, but also other parts of Austria.

In order to maximize the economic effect, the team plans to show pictures from all over Austria and not just from Vienna. This could help increase the tourist interest even further. Details about the budget for the discharge are not yet available, but the application explains what the city itself can take over and how much the ORF can do. It should be noted that the ORF is currently suffering from budgetary bottlenecks.

costs and challenges for the ebu

The Eurovision Song Contest always attracts discussions about costs and benefits. In comparison to other countries, such as Northern Macedonia and Montenegro, which have not participated due to financial difficulties, Germany has continuously paid the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) by 2025. Eurovision.de notes that the fees have varied in recent years and also depend on pay-as-you-go costs.

In 2015, the participation fee for Germany was 363,500 euros and rose to 451,216 euros by 2025. For the EBU, the Eurovision Song Contest is a comparatively favorable format despite these editions, which provides entertainment to the broadcasting institutions that they could not produce to such a level. The grant of the EBU for the host country is around 6.2 million euros, which is largely financed by the other participating countries. Nevertheless, the host country has to expect 10 to 20 million euros from its own resources.

economic effects and risks

After the ESC was carried out in 2015, it became clear that such events not only strengthen the image of a city, but also have significant economic advantages. In the past, the ESC has promoted tourism in Vienna, which was an advantage for hotels, restaurants and retail. Ludwig and his team are convinced that these positive effects would also be shown in a new edition.

Despite these hopes and plans, the financial reality remains a challenge. There are often discussions about "a waste of fees" after the competition, especially if the participants from Germany do badly. However, the city has the opportunity to learn from the experience of the past and to submit an application that makes both creative and economically useful ones