Eurovision Song Contest confirms changes to voting system amid boycotts

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Organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest have explained some adjustments to how voting will work in next week’s shows. These changes, announced late in 2025, are meant to build more trust, openness, and excitement among viewers. They come after concerns were raised – including by the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS – about possible influence from the Israeli government during last year’s competition.

So, they just passed these new rules, and then things got really awkward. There was supposed to be a vote on whether Israel could even compete – it was already a hot topic with everything happening over there – but they actually cancelled that vote. After that, a bunch of countries like Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Iceland, and Slovenia announced they wouldn’t be participating at all. It’s a total mess, honestly.

Both Israel’s KAN and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have stated the recent televote wasn’t rigged. However, a recent interview with Thomas Niedermeyer, from the official voting partner Once Germany GmbH, explains the changes being made for the 2026 contest to ensure the voting process is secure.

First, the EBU has reduced the number of votes each person can cast to 10 per voting method, previously it was 20. Also, online votes will only count if the voter’s credit card is registered to the country they are voting from.

According to Niedermeyer, the system has several security features to ensure fair voting. These include only allowing votes during the official voting period, preventing people from voting for their own country, limiting the number of votes each person can cast, and detecting and stopping fraudulent activity – like checking where payments come from and preventing the use of stolen credit cards.

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Payment methods like credit cards reveal the country where a user is located. This information helps make sure votes are counted accurately by country and stops people from going around rules that limit voting based on location.

When asked about security measures to prevent manipulation, Niedermeyer explained that some details can’t be shared for security reasons. However, he did confirm the system includes checks to ensure votes are cast at the correct time and within voting limits, as well as verification that payments are legitimate and come from the correct source.

The way the winner is chosen isn’t just based on how the public votes. Expert juries will also be involved again starting in 2026. In recent years (2023-2025), the semi-finals were decided solely by public vote, but in 2026, each country will have a jury made up of people from different ages, backgrounds, and genders. Both the jury’s votes and the public’s votes will count almost equally in both the semi-finals and the final.

Jurors aren’t allowed to share how they ranked the songs with anyone, or reveal their opinions publicly – that includes on social media. They each sign a document and their ballot confirming they made their decisions on their own, according to Niedermeyer.

The UK’s entry this year is Look Mum No Computer, and Australia is being represented by Delta Goodrem, among other performers.

Mae Muller, who represented the UK at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, recently shared her reasons for signing an open letter from last year. The letter called for Israel’s exclusion from the competition due to the current conflict in the Middle East.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will be broadcast live on Saturday, May 16th. The Semi-Finals will air on Tuesday, May 12th and Thursday, May 14th. You can watch it on BBC One and iPlayer, and listen on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds.

I’m so excited! The latest issue of Living Legends is out, and it’s a gorgeous, full-color tribute to Sir David Attenborough – 100 pages dedicated to the legend himself! You can grab a copy at any newsstand or order it online.

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2026-05-08 12:19