Rivalries Stay on Stage as Booking.com Brings Friends Together for Eurovision 2021

The countdown to the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 is on and Eurofans are already choosing their favourites as performers start promoting their songs. 

Naturally, rivalries exist between nations, which only increase when facing off against one another in competitions like the Eurovision Song Contest. But as the Official Travel Partner of Europe’s most famous music show, Booking.com wanted to show that the rivalry stays on the stage, proving that even though we’re rivals, above all, we’re friends. 

How? In collaboration with the creative agency Officer & Gentleman, Booking.com’s team studied their data and trends surrounding all the competing nations and analysed the relationships between them when it comes to travel. They did so by looking at the trips, scores, reviews and endorsements that travellers from each one of the countries left on the site after their stays within Europe. The results were surprising, because they revealed that the countries that are considered the biggest 'rivals' are, in many cases, actually each other’s biggest fans - demonstrating that something as rational as data can reveal powerful emotional insights which, when put into context, shed a new light on rivalry between fans from different European nations.  

Did you know?

• The average rating on Booking.com by European travellers within the continent is 8.5 'Very Good'. 

• 'Love' appears in 1.4 million reviews by European travelling within Europe.

• 'Friendly' has been mentioned over 2.5 million times in reviews.

• London is the most visited capital by European travellers.

• France is a favourite destination for German travellers, who rate their trips with an average of 8.3 

• Belgians rate their Dutch hosts as 'Very Good' with an average score of 8.3.

• Italy is a favourite destination for Spanish travellers, who rate their visits with an average 8.5.

• Music is one of the main motivators for travelling, and in the last five years, European travellers booked over half a million trips to enjoy live music in a different European country. 


The creative platform has been brought to life with an advert featuring a series of scenes shot in different parts of Europe combined with some of the most iconic performances in the Eurovision Song Contest’s illustrious history. In it, the brand shows how music plays an important role in our travel experiences by helping us discover different cultures, and how Eurovision Song Contest brings people from different nations together to celebrate our friendship. The spot also uses data-backed conclusions to support the message, showing the pivotal role of the brand in proving the positive statement that closes out the ad: They say we’re rivals. We know we’re friends.

The spot was produced by Caviar Antwerp and directed by Thomas Ralph.