The new psychological study, from Imperial College London, concludes that participating in the Eurovision Song Contest appears to be connected with an increase in a nation’s life satisfaction. Additionally, the researchers also found doing poorly in the international even (the infamous “nul point”) was linked with a greater increase in life satisfaction compared to not taking part in the event at all.
Unfamiliar with Eurovision’s big, bombastic ballads and high-energy pop? Here’s a taste of 2017’s event:
For the study, the British researchers analysed data from more than 160,000 people living in 33 European countries, during the period 2009 to 2015. The information was gathered from a questionnaire given to selected individuals as part of the Eurobarometer survey. This survey is conducted by the European Commission at several intervals throughout the year to assess the well-being of European Union citizens.
The study showed, based on a summary from The Independent:
European citizens had a four percent higher probability of feeling satisfied with their lives if their own country climbed the Eurovision scoreboard by ten places.
People had a 13 percent higher chance of feeling content with their lives if their country competed, in contrast with a country not competing.
These are associations rather than correlations. The underlying theme is about how big, live broadcast events impact upon a nation’s psyche.
Lead researcher Dr Filippos Filippidis explains how the research came about: “This finding emerged from a jokey conversation in our department. Our ‘day job’ involves investigating the effect of public policies, environmental factors and economic conditions on people’s lifestyle and health.”
He adds: “Our department employs people from lots of different countries and around the time of the Eurovision Song Contest we were chatting about whether the competition could also affect a country’s national wellbeing. We looked into it and were surprised to see there may be a link.”
The research is published in the journal BMC Public Health. The research paper is titled ““Euphoria” or “Only Teardrops”? Eurovision Song Contest performance, life satisfaction and suicide.”
A live stream of Eurovision 2018 can be found here:
