Liverpool has picked up its biggest award of the year for hosting Eurovision 2023 on behalf of Ukraine and this time it’s for Best Experience in Sport, Leisure and Travel at The Drum Awards.
The Drum Awards is a global awards programme which recognises the best brands, companies, agencies and people from across the marketing and communications industry. They recognise a campaign’s understanding of customers and measurable impact, not just outputs – which makes winning this award for Eurovision extra special.
Liverpool City Council were nominated for Best Experience in Sport, Leisure and Travel alongside brands like Budweiser, Tripadvisor and the Super Bowl, and to win is a huge achievement for a local council, up against global brands with large budgets.
The visitor experience campaign was completely delivered in-house by Liverpool City Council, Marketing Liverpool and Culture Liverpool – demonstrating the creativity, talent and passion of the team who made winning this award possible.
Susan Finnegan, Acting Head of Visitor Economy at Marketing Liverpool, who led on the visitor experience model for Eurovision as a host city said:
“Liverpool’s aim was to put the people at the heart of Eurovision, and ensure that from the moment visitors arrived, to the moment they left, the experience would be second to none. It was about offering a celebration of people and cultures, from that of Liverpool, the UK, Europe and most importantly Ukraine, whilst also throwing one huge party.
And when Liverpool throws a party, we don’t do it by halves. Delivering what the team at Eurovision have dubbed ‘The best Eurovision ever’ and a top quality visitor experience in six months was always going to be a challenge but we did it – showing visitors and everyone watching from around the world that Liverpool is an inclusive and welcoming city – our city truly had its tap shoes on.
The visitor experience model we implemented was a collaboration from partners and stakeholders from around the city region, nationally and internationally. It brought everyone together for an experience that will never be forgotten, creating a positive impact on local people and businesses. From immersive travel to the experiential welcome, themed menus to TiKTok busking spots, Sam Ryder popping up at the Royal Albert Dock to Sophie Ellis Bexter’s kitchen disco in John Lewis – it was beautifully bonkers.
Liverpool is an events city but the model that was created and honed over Eurovision was a huge step forward. It’s now recognised as a model of best practice – a model that shows how a destination can truly unlock the power of major events – such the power of one the UK’s most powerful attack brands.”
This latest accolade adds to the string of awards that Liverpool’s hosting of Eurovision 2023 has received – find out more about them here.