ESC 2025: Austria lacks the finances to host the event

"One more victory like that, and I'm lost!" What King Pyrrhus is said to have said after his victory against the Romans, following enormous losses, applies equally to the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) following its victory at the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday. Because: The public broadcaster in Austria is financially up against the wall, forced to cut costs drastically—and now faces an unplanned, mammoth project.

It was 12:59 a.m. in Basel on Sunday night when it was confirmed: Austrian countertenor Johannes Pietsch, aka JJ, had won the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, ahead of Israel, Estonia, and the favorites Sweden. And with that, it was also clear: ORF will be the host broadcaster of the world's largest music competition next year.

“Sorry to the ORF, this is going to be expensive”

Austria consistently ranked second in the betting odds, with bookmakers predicting a 20 percent chance of victory beforehand. But no one in the Alpine republic really believed that, because Austria and the Song Contest have always had a volatile relationship. The victories of Udo Jürgens in 1966, Conchita Wurst in 2014, and now JJ, as well as a third-place finish by Cesar Sampson in 2018, have been offset by numerous embarrassments. Single-digit results were therefore often celebrated as major triumphs in Austria.

That may have been reassuring for many ORF officials, as two hearts beat in their chests on Saturday night. A victory at the Eurovision Song Contest naturally brings prestige to the public broadcaster. But due to the enormous costs of hosting the event the following year, many may have secretly hoped that it almost certainly wouldn't be enough to win. In an ORF interview after his victory on Sunday night, JJ said: "Sorry to the ORF, this is going to be expensive." What the newly crowned Eurovision Song Contest winner said with a wink, however, is the bitter truth.

“We probably won’t implement everything”

This year's Eurovision Song Contest in Basel cost around 60 million euros. For 2026, the ORF will likely have to raise at least 30 million euros from its own budget. Europe's expectations for next year's Eurovision Song Contest are all the greater, however, as the 70th anniversary approaches. Appropriately, ORF CEO Roland Weißmann commented on the victory to the Kronen Zeitung with a typically Austrian "Na, servas" – translated: "Are you crazy?"

The public broadcaster was already looking ahead to the coming fiscal year with concern: With the FIFA World Cup and the Winter Olympics, higher costs were already expected. "We'll have to make a collection plate," said ORF Program Director Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz with a wink after JJ's victory. Speaking to the Austrian tabloid "Heute," she spoke of a serious undertaking: "There will be changes coming our way for next year's budget, and we probably won't be able to implement everything as we currently plan."

ORF condemned to cut costs

In fact, the ORF is condemned to rigorous austerity measures: Revenues from the transition from the so-called GIS fee to a household levy are stagnating – while costs are constantly rising. Advertising revenues have recently declined steadily, and international competition in the digital sector is causing ORF enormous problems. Furthermore, the political sword of Damocles still hangs over the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation: The FPÖ, which won first place in the last national election and almost nominated the chancellor, wants to reduce it to a "basic broadcast," essentially cutting it down with a chainsaw.

Cities and state with enormous debts

One thing is clear: such a mega-event cannot be managed by public broadcasters alone. The host city, in particular, traditionally provides significant financial support. When Conchita Wurst won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014, several cities immediately came forward to host the mega-event the following year – whether that will be the case again this time is at least questionable for pragmatic reasons.

Vienna, the host city at the time, contributed around €17 million to the Song Contest. A lot has changed since then, however: Vienna's debt currently stands at around €11.9 million – and the trend is rising sharply. Nevertheless, interest in hosting the contest again was already expressed on Sunday morning.

Austria's second-largest city, the much smaller Graz, is also facing debts. Here, they amount to €1.7 billion under the reign of a communist mayor. Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, which bid to host the 2015 Olympics, has approximately €180 million in debt. There, debts are rising daily; the city is virtually bankrupt and increasingly unable to act.

The Austrian government will also find it difficult – and even if it does, only to a limited extent – ​​to co-finance the ESC. Just a few days ago, the new Austrian Finance Minister announced a strict austerity program; the national debt now exceeds 400 billion euros. Cutting costs on pensions and workers' salaries and then investing that money in the ESC will be unacceptable.

ORF’s fight for survival or opportunity?

The ORF's frown will likely deepen. Theoretically, however, there's no need to host the Eurovision Song Contest at all. In 1970, Luxembourg declined to host the event despite its victory, and in 1980, Israel did the same. Both times, the Netherlands stepped in. In 2023, Great Britain hosted the Eurovision Song Contest because the previous year's winner, Ukraine, would not have been able to guarantee security if it had hosted the event in its own country. But from the ORF, the positive voices, the congratulations, and the pledges of perseverance prevail.

Ultimately, the Eurovision Song Contest will likely go off well in Austria next year. However, other shows in the program will fall by the wayside, which will in turn increase the pressure on the ORF from politicians and the public. This could even become a fight for survival for the Austrian public broadcaster. Or, through innovative approaches, it could create a financially viable and internationally admired Eurovision Song Contest in 2026, which could bring about a turnaround for the ORF as a whole – the task seems difficult, but the potential is certainly there.