ANALYSIS OF A MEDIA EVENT. CASE STUDY: EUROVISION 2012

The objective of the study is to identify the characteristics of a media event and to analyze the specific features of a major event in Europe, the Eurovision Song Contest. The research design was based on the theoretical presentation of the media event concept related to the interpretation of the specific features of this year’s edition. This case study starts from framing the event into the restorative event category because the event itself is the result of an over-exposure, both pre and post event and especially during it. Another aspect that gives Eurovision the label of a“media event” comes from its interrupting nature. That is given by the mobilization of the public who abandoned their daily activities and participated at the event on the ground, in Baku, or in front of the TV. The anticipated nature of the event is reflected in the frequency with which it took place from 1956 to present and in its over-exposure as well, being the longest running program in the television history, with the largest international audience of the unsporting broadcasts.