The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 is just around the corner, and with many Maltese Eurovision fans eagerly awaiting the exciting night on May 14th, Visa Europe is also joining in the festivities, as an Official Partner of the event. Visa will be the preferred payment partner for the event which will take place in Stockholm.
Visa will create a contactless payments experience for the audience attending the Final and Semi-Finals of the contest as well as for visitors to the Eurovision Village at Kungsträdgården in Stockholm. Though yet to reach Maltese shores, contactless payments are becoming increasingly common across Europe, as a quick, easy and secure way to shop. A contactless device contains an antenna that when touched against a contactless terminal, securely transmits purchase information to and from the terminal.
Efraim Preisler, Senior Relationship Manager for Israel and Malta at Visa Europe, remarked: “The Eurovision Song Contest is a very popular event across Europe and particularly in Malta, with global television viewing figures in the hundreds of millions and a major draw for visitors to the host city. Visa Europe is delighted to be sponsoring this year’s contest as well as enabling those attending in Stockholm to experience the speed and convenience of contactless payments. Yet to be launched in Malta, contactless is becoming increasingly prevalent across Europe, providing consumers with the benefits of faster checkout experiences, expanded acceptance as well as curtailing their need to carry cash for low value payments. Together with key stakeholders, Visa Europe will enable contactless acceptance across the Eurovision venues as well as facilitate contactless experiences.”
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest marks the 61st anniversary of the first ever contest held back in 1956 and is set out to be the largest event thus far, reaching 200 million television viewers across the world. This year will mark the 29th time that Malta has participated in the contest. The 2016 event will open with Semi-Finals on 10 and 12 May with the Final being held on 14 May at the Globe Arena in Stockholm. Malta will be represented this year by Ira Losco with the song ‘Walk on Water’.
Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, added: “We are pleased to welcome the world’s number one payment provider, Visa, as a sponsor of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. Visa Europe has an established track record sponsoring some of the biggest events in the world, which makes us even more proud to have them on board.”