UK TV coverage of Eurovision 2022 to be broadcast from Salford

The BBC has today announced that the UK’s television coverage of Eurovision, the world’s biggest and most watched song competition, will be produced and broadcast from Salford.

This year, the points awarded by the UK professional jury will be announced by the spokesperson from a North West location for the first time ever.

This result will be beamed live to the Eurovision 2022 Grand Final hosts in Turin, Italy and to a huge global audience in excess of 180 million viewers, making Salford the new permanent production base and broadcast location for Eurovision in the UK.

“The North West of England is famously renowned for its unrivalled musical heritage not just in the UK but across the globe, so it is fitting that from now on the region will be part of the biggest music contest on the planet,” said Rachel Ashdown, commissioning editor at the BBC.

Eurovision will be joining a well-established production and broadcast hub in Salford with BBC shows such as Children in Need and Comic Relief announced last year, as well as A Question of Sport, North West Tonight, Dragons’ Den, Football Focus, Match of the Day, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Manchester, BBC Breakfast and Blue Peter.

The broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final on BBC One continues to be one of the most popular entertainment programmes on the BBC, with the most recent broadcast reaching an average audience of 7.8 million in the UK, making it the most watched grand final in the UK since 2014.

It is also one of the most popular entertainment programmes for younger audiences on the BBC, with 1.5 million 16-34 year olds tuning in.

Following Måneskin’s victory in the 2021 contest with Zitti e buoni, the contest will be held in Italy for the first time in 31 years, and further announcements regarding Eurovision 2022 will be made in due course.

“We are so thrilled to continue building the expertise and skillset of our production hub in the North,” said Suzy Lamb, managing director BBC Studios Entertainment.

“It will be so exciting to welcome the global Eurovision audience to the North West with: ‘Good evening from Salford in Greater Manchester’.”

The 66th Eurovision Song Contest will take place in May 2022, with the Grand Final confirmed for Saturday 14th May 2022.