By Jacob Dutkiewicz
Published on
The indefinite postponement of the inaugural Eurovision live tour to celebrate the contest’s 70th anniversary has unleashed a storm of anger online from fans of the world’s biggest song contest.
While reactions to the cancellation have ranged from disappointment, despondency or celebrations for some, one of the most prevalent topics online has been the price of tickets for the event.
One user on X wrote: “Wonder if the ‘unforeseen challenges’ were the awful lineup and the £200 ticket prices.”
The reply sections below the official announcement have been filled with hundreds of similar comments decrying the costs and the apparently very low demand for tickets themselves.
“We have encountered unforeseen challenges = no one bought the ridiculously overpriced tickets,” another user wrote.
Eurovision journalist GJ Kooijman posted maps of available seats in some of the tours venues on the day of the cancellation, with thousands of tickets still up for grabs:
The tour was originally scheduled for summer 2026, with performances planned in 10 major European cities including London, Milan, Amsterdam, Paris and Stockholm.
Some users also brought up the similarities between the Eurovision live tour and Het Groote Songfestivalfeest, another Amsterdam based event which exclusively stars artists from the Eurovision song concert.
A stop in the Dutch capital was planned for the Eurovision live tour despite The Netherlands’ ongoing boycott of the main contest. As of writing Spain, Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland and Ireland have all ruled out participating in Eurovision due to ethical concerns over Israel’s inclusion because of its role in the Gaza war.
The backlash resulting from the tour’s cancellation is the latest in a string of obstacle facing Eurovision’s organisers as preparations for the 70th edition of the competition are in full swing.
Meanwhile, the BBC has announced that Sam Battle, known online as LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER, will represent the United Kingdom at this year’s Eurovision. Battle is an experimental electronic musician with a YouTube channel about all things electronic. His live shows where he recreates iconic hits on a massive jerry-rigged synthesiser have gone viral before.
Greece, Denmark, Luxemburg have also recently revealed their delegations to Vienna, for the event, while several others countries are yet to hold national finals to select their candidates.
Indefinitely postponed
In a statement released last Friday, Martin Green, director for the Eurovision Song Contest, said: “We have encountered unforeseen challenges that despite the best efforts of our team, the producers, and promoters we have been unable to resolve. To the thousands of fans who bought tickets, thank you.”
According to Green, however, the tour is set to be relaunched at a later point with all of the focus now on the rapidly approaching main contest.
“We look forward to relaunching the live tour when we can ensure the world-class experience that our fans expect. Our focus remains on delivering an incredible Eurovision Song Contest in May.
The Eurovision Grand Final will take place on the 16th of May in the Austrian capital, Vienna.