Eurovision launches TikTok partnership for 2022 event

The Eurovision Song Contest has announced TikTok as its official entertainment partner ahead of its 66th competition in May.

The social media platform will feature special programming, music playlists and behind the scenes content throughout the week-long event in Turin, Italy.

Both the semi-final shows and the grand final will be streamed on the Eurovision account in a new vertical format, combining the official broadcast with backstage clips.

TikTok users will also have access to backstage content from all the participating international performers’ first rehearsals.

Playlists featuring the entrants will feature on TikTok’s Sound Pages, which users can use to create and share their own videos.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which produces the contest, said TikTok would celebrate “the music, the artists, the countries, the history and the event itself”.

Since last year, there have been more than 1.4 billion video views on the hashtag #Eurovision2021, and a total of 3.7 billion views of #Eurovision videos.

Rich Waterworth, EU general manager for TikTok, said: “We’re excited to bring the magic and music of Eurovision to our community this year.

“TikTok is the home of entertainment and creativity and I know our creators and users across Europe and beyond will embrace this much-loved celebration of music and culture.

“We’ll be bringing fans exclusive content, taking them behind the scenes and placing them at the heart of the show itself.

“We can’t wait to see how our community will be inspired by Eurovision this year.”

Martin Osterdahl, executive supervisor of Eurovision for the EBU, said: “We’re delighted to be making TikTok the official entertainment partner of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, working closely to create even more exclusive and engaging content.

“The TikTok community really embraced the Eurovision Song Contest last year and now we’re looking forward to giving them unprecedented access to the world’s largest live music event and inspiring a whole new generation of fans.”

The Eurovision grand final will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer and on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds from 8pm on May 14.