I often describe the Eurovision Song Contest as the biggest event in the world… that you only get twelve months to plan for. Involved in the production are not just the participants but also tons of backstage staff working on everything from make-up to sound, rigging to security. At the Liverpool edition in 2023, 5,330 people were working at the Contest in some capacity, a number that excludes the 803 members of the competing delegations and nearly 1,500 journalists.
That’s the number of people you need to make the Song Contest function. To make it fabulous, Liverpool believed you needed to have 475 more. This number was the amount of volunteers that were part of the team in Liverpool last May. In total, volunteers contributed over 12,000 hours of service at various locations around the city, being based at the Tourist Information Centre, Eurovision Village and key transport hubs around the city.
Liverpool Councillor Harry Doyle, Cabinet Member for Culture and the Visitor Economy, described how the volunteers were the “perfect ambassadors” for the city, adding how they went “above and beyond” to show their Liverpool warmth to make Ukraine proud.
At each edition of the Song Contest, there is a call for volunteers, and the 2024 edition in Malmö aims to recruit 600 volunteers to this ever-growing spectacle of song.
What is needed to be a Eurovision volunteer, what volunteer positions are available, and what is the experience of volunteering at the Song Contest like?
What Malmö Is Looking For
Volunteering at each Eurovision Song Contest is organised not by the European Broadcasting Union but by the host city. Malmö is looking for volunteers to help showcase the city’s “creative and multicultural sides” to all the visitors attending the Song Contest, aiming to show that this area of southwest Sweden is “a music city to be proud of”.
Not everybody can be a volunteer at the 2024 Song Contest. The requirements are that participants were born at the latest 2005 and that they can both read and write in English and Swedish. Each volunteer must also have Mobile BankID, an identification platform used in Sweden, that should work on each volunteer’s personal smartphone. To have Mobile BankID, applicants need to have a Swedish personal identification number. While one can apply to be a volunteer from anywhere in the world, it is noted by the team that local knowledge is preferred from candidates.
Some roles within the volunteer portfolio require additional experience. The application procedure from the city of Malmö highlights how previous volunteer experience at international events is desirable. Johan Rönning, Volunteer Coordinator for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, has noted how interest is already high from previous volunteers from not just Malmö’s 2013 Eurovision Song Contest but also the World Handball Championship and World Junior Ice Hockey Championships that have both graced the Malmö Arena in recent years.
In addition, there are roles where driving around the city is a part of the responsibilities, and thus, a driving licence is required to apply for them. Furthermore, some roles require an older birthdate, so applicants must be born in 1998 or earlier for certain positions.
As you would expect with volunteer experiences, there is no salary attached to any of the positions. However, volunteers for the Malmö edition have been promised free public transport in the Skånetrafiken area during the period of their volunteer placement, as well as food during their volunteer placements and a free volunteer-branded kit to keep after the Song Contest concludes for another year. In addition to this, all volunteers will undergo training for their specific roles in advance, and certain roles carry with them the privileges to attend certain parties and access certain accredited areas during the Contest period.
Should anybody wish to apply through the City of Malmö portal, you have the opportunity to include a one minute video in your application, as well as describing other volunteering experience you may have.
The Volunteer Roles Available
The 600 volunteers that Malmö is searching for are split into eight different sections. Those who are outgoing and have a good knowledge of the Malmö area could be city hosts, where your role is to be stationed across different parts of the city helping visitors with questions and showing Eurovision joy to passers-by. In addition a different group with skills in assembly and painting will be part of the design group for the city, decorating the Malmö streets with regalia before visitors arrive for the city festivities.
There are also roles with the Malmö Arena itself, positions that were not available in Liverpool. Those with event production or television production experience are invited to volunteer while supervised by SVT’s backstage manager, who is looking for solution-oriented people who will work closely with the delegations. Those instead who are service-oriented, and perhaps can master more languages than just English and Swedish can work in the Media Centre, assisting the journalists stationed there to work effectively.
Another team within the volunteers will be working on vital logistics around the Song Contest. One team will be driving around the city transporting luggage and equipment from place to place, where language skills and service experience is desirable. Those with good administrative skills, especially digitally, are invited to apply to volunteer in the accreditation centre, a place where all people involved in the Eurovision Song Contest must pass to collect their accreditation for their time at the Song Contest.
If your skills are in creating good relationships and being flexible and caring, then a role within the volunteer support squad is perhaps perfect for you. These are the people who are volunteering to ensure all the other volunteers can give 100%, making a cosy and relaxing space for volunteers to eat and have downtime, as well as a space to ensure SVT staff have a constant supply of coffee and other goodies to keep their energy up despite many weeks away from home. Some of the support team will be runners, people there on-demand to help whenever help is needed.
While many of the above roles may be what you are looking for, from my experience on the ground at numerous Song Contests, there is always one position with the most interest – the role of delegation host. Each delegation is provided with delegation hosts who are their contact from the host city to help that particular nation’s team with their stay in Malmö. Such help might include booking transport or restaurant reservations and guiding them to the right place at the right time. As a part of being a delegation host, you are likely to get to know not just the artist but also the rest of the team supporting them.
One requirement of being a delegation host is to speak the language of the delegation you are hosting. For example, an applicant with knowledge of Albanian would volunteer alongside the Albanian delegation, a Croatian speaker with the Croatian delegation and so on.
The Volunteer Experience
So many of these experiences can provide windows into the world of Eurovision that people rarely get the opportunity to experience. But how do volunteers from previous years reflect on their experience?
Now, I make no pretence about claiming that we at ESC Insight have produced a scientific survey of volunteer experiences. Instead, we asked if any of our readers had previous volunteer experience at Eurovision and if they would be able to fill in a survey for us.
Peter Warren-Jowett and Ruth Worthington volunteered at last year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. The pair were stationed at the Eurovision Village at Pier Head, with Peter at the meet and greet point and Ruth acting as artist liaison. Peter described how he loved “everything about the role”, which involved helping those visiting the Eurovision Village with what was happening and what they were allowed to take into the venue.
“For me it was about giving something back to the contest and city I love so much. There was an overwhelming sense of joy for two weeks in May and I would like to think that I contributed to that in some way.”
Both Ruth and Peter have unique memories from their time in Liverpool. Peter recalls an emotional conversation with a displaced Ukrainian who had moved to the UK, bringing both to tears. For Ruth, who describes herself as “a lifelong Eurovision fan”, it was this love of Eurovision that meant she recognised Kalush Orchestra queuing patiently to get their passes to enter Eurovision Village for their performance. However, this was 40 minutes before their performance had started and with the band still not in the venue to perform a soundcheck, she stepped in and got them escorted to the front of the queue.
“It felt amazing to be a part of it, and [volunteering] added to my overall experience of the week”, explains Ruth. “I was able to watch soundchecks and meet the artists professionally, and it felt great to represent my city. I was proud to wear my volunteer uniform and loved being stopped by tourists asking for advice on my way to and from shifts. I loved getting the uniform and especially love the branded water bottle and coffee cup, which I still use daily!”
Ruth met Eurovision stars like Sonja backstage at the Eurovision Village (Photo: Ruth Worthington)
Other volunteers from previous editions also shared that sense of joy. Emma Hellgren volunteered at Eurovision 2016 in Stockholm, and Zulema González Portela assisted with the Eurovision edition from the city of Rotterdam. Emma assisted the city of Stockholm inside EuroClub, while Zulema was a delegation host for the Spanish delegation to the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest.
Emma recalls great memories from inside the 4,500-capacity EuroClub, which she recalls was an “honour and a pleasure”. As a part of her experience, she had access to the EuroClub venue for the whole two weeks of Eurovision, and she was also able to party on those nights when she was not on volunteer shifts.
Zulema’s experience was very different in a pandemic-afflicted 2021 contest. As delegation host, she followed the Spanish delegation from their arrival to their departure from the city, a role which involved going with them to rehearsals and the shows at the Rotterdam Ahoy, as well as arranging their transportation and assisting with any trips they had, to make sure all the team had a good experience in the host city. Zulema recalls a favourite memory of her experience being in the hotel common room, where many of the 2021 artists had gathered to play the piano and sing together.
While Zulema notes that the volunteer experience can be “energy-draining”, she also “would totally recommend” her role to others, especially those who have moved to their host city. She found that being a delegation host helped her knowledge of Dutch and gave a “unique experience” to the Eurovision Song Contest following much of the behind-the-scenes experience. She does note, though, the extra demands upon being a delegation host, including keeping professional standards and relationships with the acts at all times, the ability to communicate in multiple languages and to problem-solve on the spot to help whenever the delegation is in need.
When I asked all these four people if they would recommend volunteering at Eurovision to others, their answers went above and beyond the yes I expected. They spoke about the “unique and joyful experiences” and how, compared to their previous volunteer opportunities, “nothing compares to Eurovision.” They wrote about how Eurovision provides the platform to “represent your city and country with pride” and how the opportunity to work on a production of such a large scale is a “once-in-a-lifetime” event.
Furthermore, all four of them explained how Eurovision volunteering allowed them to forge new friendships with others, and they would all want to volunteer at Eurovision again should the opportunity present itself once more.
That statement of intent from former volunteers, all saying that they would want to do it again in the future, is the greatest appraisal of Eurovision volunteering I can think of. If you are sitting on the fence debating volunteering for the Malmö 2024 edition, the advice from this panel is simple. Do it.
Prospective volunteers to the Malmö edition of the Eurovision Song Contest can apply via the City of Malmö’s online application form. Applications must be submitted by January 7th for those interested.