Eurovision puts smile on our face, win or lose
IT is the definition of kitsch, which has featured bearded ladies, sequins and, er, Dustin the Turkey. But, love it or hate it, the Eurovision Song Contest actually could improve our national happiness.
Avoiding the dreaded ‘nul points’ can raise life satisfaction, according to findings of a new study. For every ten points higher Ireland finishes on the leader board, people are 4% more likely to be satisfied with their lives.
This year’s contest, the 63rd, takes place in Lisbon tomorrow when Ryan O’Shaughnessy will be singing his heart out for Ireland. But even if we finish near the bottom on the score board, we still have a 13% higher chance of life satisfaction than those that don’t enter the contest. In other words: It’s not about the winning, it’s the taking part.
Researchers at Imperial College London analysed survey data from 160,000 people in 33 European countries, collected around the time of the Eurovision Song Contest between 2009 and 2015.
They say that despite [some] terrible performances’, the happiness jump could be similar to the national boost we get from major sporting events like our Grand Slam victory.
Lead author Dr Filippos Filippidis, from Imperial’s school of public health, said the research emerged from a ‘jokey conversation’ at work. ‘Our department has people from lots of countries,’ he said. ‘We were chatting about whether the competition could affect a country’s national wellbeing, looked into it and were surprised to see there may be a link.’
The research is based on the Eurobarometer survey, which is conducted by the European Commission and records life satisfaction.
The study, published in the journal BMC Public Health, states: ‘The good news for any country entering the contest is that it is not necessary to win to improve the population’s life satisfaction.’
Eurovision coverage starts on RTÉ One at 8pm tomorrow.
It’s not the winning, it’s the taking part