Millions of us will tune in tonight to watch the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, which this year is being held right on our doorstep at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.
But do you know how much it costs on average for each act to enter the contest, or which country held the most expensive Eurovision of all time?
This year, investments from Liverpool City Council, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, and the UK government, as well as the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the BBC come to a total of around €11.3 million (£9.8 million) - and while that might seem staggering, it's far from the priciest Eurovision on record.
Here, we break down some of the most outrageous costs associated with the contest's history.
How much does it cost to enter Eurovision?
The cost to enter Eurovision varies from country to country, but the countries known as the "Big Five" - the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain - pay the most to enter. This is why we, along with the other four "Big" countries, don't have to go through qualifying and are automatically put through to the final each year.
However, all 37 countries must pay a fee to enter, and the total for all entrants comes to around £5 million combined.
On top of the entry fee, each country then has to part with cash to put together a Eurovision-worthy performance, including paying the performer themselves, as well as paying for hair and make-up and any fancy staging they might want to use.
Information on how much each country spends on their performances is limited, but according to Eurovision Fun, Spain spent a staggering €680,000 on its entry in 2022 - where their act, Chanel, finished third with her song SloMo.
It was reported that around €302,000 went on the participation fee, while the remaining €380,000 was spent on expenses including payments for the stage performance and hotel accommodation.
Meanwhile, in 2016, Eurovisionary reported that the Netherlands spent €500,000 to send Douwe Bob to Stockholm, Sweden, where he finished 11th with his song, Slow Down.
How much does it cost to host Eurovision?
The cost of hosting Eurovision also varies from country to country and depends on factors such as whether the host nation already has a venue large enough to host the contest, or if one needs to be built ahead of the event.
For the UK, it's estimated our costs this year will fall somewhere between £8 million and £17 million, although final totals have not yet been confirmed.
The host country receives the participation fees collected by the EBU to help fund the show, but beyond that, the rest of the budget is covered by the hosts themselves - so the sky is the limit when it comes to how much they're willing to spend.
Recent host nations have spent between €10 million (£8.6 million) and €30 million (£26 million) on the contest, with 2022's contest in Turin, Italy, reportedly costing a total of €16.3 million (£14 million) according to Eurovoix.
Which country spent the most on hosting Eurovision?
While €22.8 million for 2022's Eurovision might sound like an eye-watering amount, it still doesn't come close to the most amount of money ever spent by a host nation.
That crown has been uncontested for over a decade, as it currently belongs to Azerbaijan, who hosted Eurovision in 2012 and had to build a completely new arena for the event.
In total, Azerbaijan spent a staggering €60 million (£52 million) at the time, which MoneyTransfers estimates would now cost them an even more astronomical €89 million (£77.4 million) if adjusted for current inflation.
Second place for the most expensive Eurovision Song Contest goes to Denmark's efforts in 2014, where they spent a total of €44.8 million (£38.9 million), while the third priciest host nation was Ukraine in 2017, as they parted with €37 million (£32 million).
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