Eurovision 2023: wellbeing impact and schools programme

Liverpool has a strong history of deploying events as part of a process of wider social change. As the London 2012 Games legacy funder, Spirit of 2012 carries out research into how events can make a difference to the wellbeing of people and places, and we  were eager to learn what we can from Eurovision about engagement, inclusion, impact and legacy. This project, led by Liverpool City Council, comprised two strands to mark the Eurovision 2023 finals in Liverpool, the host city.

The first was an academic-led study looking at the impact of Eurovision cultural content on the health and wellbeing of the residents of Liverpool, both in the short and medium term. The second was EuroLearn, a programme of engagement work for schools, providing the tools and resources to use Eurovision as a launchpad for curriculum-aligned content.

Community and Wellbeing Assessment

The University of Liverpool led on this research, which aimed to explore how hosting the Eurovision song contest in 2023 on behalf of Ukraine impacted residents of the Liverpool City Region. The report produced was part of a series of commissioned evaluation reports which examine the impact of Eurovision. These reports can be found here.

This evaluation report focuses on wellbeing, civic pride and citizenship. It measures the success and impact of community projects funded by EuroGrants, and events supported by EuroLearn and EuroStreet commissions. Tools used included a pre-post household survey, focus groups and interviews, a thematic synthesis of the grantees feedback forms, and a questionnaire distributed by volunteers. The evaluation data shows evidence that Liverpool residents experienced pride and happiness as a result of winning the competition to host Eurovision, and for the quality of the event itself, which was well-received internationally. It demonstrates how wellbeing can be built through cultural involvement, with improved wellbeing shown for those who felt engaged with Eurovision. The research shows that major events such as Eurovision can be a catalyst for community engagement, with many volunteers planning to volunteer locally again, along with an appetite for the continuation of the projects and activities that took place.

Schools programme

The funding also supported EuroLearn, a programme of engagement work for schools. Students of foreign languages at the University of Liverpool worked with schools across the Liverpool region to promote language learning and celebrate the power of music to bring people together.

This extensive schools programme produced and commissioned projects which included:

міні Eurovision

міні is Ukrainan for ‘mini’ and pronounced ‘min-yee’. This was a Festival of Languages through Music, which engaged 16 schools and 360 young people. Each school worked with a student to learn a song in one of the European languages.  The project culminated with all the schools coming together to perform their songs at the міні Eurovision Festival Finale at the University of Liverpool. A video specially recorded by the University’s partner university in Ukraine, Sumy State University, introduced greetings and phrases in Ukrainian for the children to repeat.

Land & Sky, Hope & Dreams

This was a collaboration between Liverpool and Ukraine, with 1,500 children at schools across both countries creating their own kites which expressed their dreams and hopes for the future, with a design using traditional Ukrainian techniques. The design they created was around the idea of ‘home’. The kites were flown at a mutual time, in a ‘mass flying’ that took place in both Ukraine and Liverpool. More on this project can be found here.

EuroGrants

EuroGrant funding of up to £2,000 was distributed by Culture Liverpool to 29 schools to develop their own Eurovision projects, engaging 6,000 children and young people. The schools involved can be found here.

Home

Home: What Does It Mean to You? is a creative writing resource pack for Year 5 primary school pupils, developed by poet and writer, Pauline Rowe, and the team at Open Eye Gallery. The pack uses five photographs from contemporary Ukrainian photographers to encourage pupils to respond creatively to visual images through stories, poems, lyrics and letters. The pack includes seven PDF files – a colourful presentation for the classroom, guidance notes about the pack, and five black-and-white printable activity worksheets for pupils. The pack was shared with 76 participating schools.

EuroBrass

The free Brass Band for children and young people across Merseyside played a huge part in Eurovision as part of the King’s visit and as part of the BBC Blue Peter Eurovision activities. The band engaged 70 young people from schools across the city region and has continued to perform at events since. The project has led to the development of further ‘Eurobrass’ Bands from each Local Authority in the LCR.

100 Voices

The young people performance as part of the King’s visit and on Pier Head Stage as part of the Eurovision activities. The choir engaged 140 young people from 10 schools across the city region and performed to 2,777 people.

iSing

Performances took place in June 2023 at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall with KS1- KS5 students. The performance was a celebration of Eurovision and Ukraine and engaged 40 schools and 1,790 pupils.

Learning Resources

A resource pack, which engaged 1,000 young people, was produced to support the curriculum and enable teachers to have access to free materials to use in the classroom linked to the cultural activity taking place within the city. Five different learning packs were created: Visual Arts Resource Pack, Music Workpack, Creative Writing/ Storytelling Pack, Early Years Pack, Maths Resource Pack