Spy: Cheers! NZ's heading to Eurovision

They look the part but Invivo co-founders Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron's impact is behind the scenes at Eurovision.

New Zealand will be represented this year at Eurovision - not on stage but on the tastebuds of those at the world's biggest live music event.

No stranger to matching with big global brands, Invivo will be will be the first-ever official prosecco at the Eurovision Song Contest with its new brand Invivo X Unity, dubbed the celebration wine.

Co-founders Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron are most famous for their collaborations with Graham Norton in the UK and Sarah Jessica Parker in the US and the Eurovision opportunity makes sense to their ever-evolving global reach.

Some of the famous names that have participated over the years have included ABBA, Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias, Bonnie Tyler and Conchita Wurst and the Kiwi brand is excited to join the party.

Invivo co-founders Tim Lightbourne and Rob Cameron with their Eurovision wine.

Unity features the official logo of the Eurovision Song Contest on its neck collar, which is accompanied by a striking set of point-of-sale material that features the Eurovision logo.

The wine will be served throughout the semi-finals and finals of the contest, enjoyed by hundreds of contestants and their teams, and by the winners at the Invivo X Unity bar. The hot favourites at the moment, Lightbourne says, are Italian entry Mahmood & Blanco and German entry Malik Harris.

The brand will also be sponsoring Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs and parties throughout May.

"We've been working with Eurovision for a number of years now to produce a wine," Lightbourne tells Spy. "Rob and I travelled to the finals four years ago to see how the show is run backstage and we loved it.

"It's absolutely huge across Europe with about 189 million watching live on TV or streaming. The event is such a huge celebration and brings people together to watch some very unique acts."

This year, the song contest is being held next month in Turin and Lightbourne says they have a long-term agreement with Eurovision, which will be fruitful for the European market, with the competition communicating the brand on its media channels.

"To have the support of Eurovision for this long-term partnership with Invivo X Unity is a massive opportunity for us. Eurovision is a household name in Europe and has millions of loyal fans who have grown up with the event over 66 years."

Martin Osterdahl, executive supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, says he is thrilled to have the brand on board, saying Europe has never needed more unity right now.

Lightbourne says that this year, they will be donating a portion of Unity proceeds to the Red Cross.

The brand will simultaneously roll out through Europe as well as in New Zealand. Invivo team member Bernard Budel will be flying over from New Zealand this year to the final and to play host, attending with a representative from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

Next year Lightbourne, Cameron and a bigger Invivo contingent will go to Europe to make their imprint bigger and better and Lightbourne is thinking of creating a live event to broadcast the contest in future years in New Zealand.

Lightbourne says the company is looking forward to once again getting out and travelling on the global stage.

"Like for everyone, the past couple of years have been challenging for business. However, our collaborations have given us opportunities and opened doors on a global stage. Our new Invivo airline we've just launched, for example, which featured on CNN, has been so popular we're having to get a larger plane," he says before nonchalantly adding to look out for a new Invivo documentary film they start shooting this year.