Sweeping Overhaul: EBU Reinstates Juries, Halves Voting Cap to Combat 'Disproportionate' Eurovision Interference

Integrity at the Forefront: A Post-Controversy Reckoning

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) confirmed a raft of changes to the Eurovision Song Contest’s voting rules on Friday, stating the revisions were designed to "strengthen trust" and prevent "disproportionate promotion campaigns, particularly when undertaken or supported by third parties, including governments or governmental agencies."

The sweeping measures come directly in the wake of the previous year’s contest, which was overshadowed by intense political controversy. The debate reached a fever pitch after Yuval Raphael, representing Israel, secured second place amid widespread global protest and allegations of external governmental influence. Following the final, public broadcasters, including Spain’s RTVE and Ireland’s RTÉ, formally requested a complete review of the voting system, citing concerns over transparency and the potential for manipulation.

Contest Director Martin Green CBE emphasized the critical nature of the decision. "The neutrality and integrity of the Eurovision Song Contest is of paramount importance to the EBU, its Members, and all our audiences," Green said. "The Contest should remain a neutral space and must not be instrumentalized."

The Return of the 50/50 Semi-Final Balance

The most significant change for the 2026 contest, scheduled to take place in Vienna, is the immediate return of professional juries to the semi-final stage.

For the last three contests, qualifiers for the Grand Final were determined solely by the audience televote. However, the EBU has reversed course, confirming that the semi-finals will now adopt the same structure as the Grand Final: a 50% split between a national professional jury and the 50% audience televote.

This move is intended to ensure "optimum musical balance and diversity" in the qualifiers, mitigating the risk of songs with broad artistic merit being unfairly eliminated by volatile public voting patterns.

Additional enhancements to the jury system include:

• Expanded Panels: The number of jurors per country will increase from five to seven.
• Younger Voices: To better reflect the Contest’s appeal to a younger demographic, the EBU has mandated that at least two of the seven jurors must be between the ages of 18 and 25.
• Broadened Expertise: The juror pool will now actively include a wider range of professional backgrounds, such as music journalists, critics, choreographers, and creative professionals.

• Curbing Concentrated Fan Votes

Alongside the jury changes, the EBU has reformed the televoting process to discourage large-scale, concentrated voting campaigns.

The maximum number of votes a viewer can cast will be reduced by 50%, from 20 votes down to a new limit of 10 votes per payment method (online, SMS, or phone call).

While the decision sparked some debate among fans—with some arguing that fewer overall votes would encourage voters to concentrate all 10 on a single favourite—the EBU maintains the goal is to encourage a broader distribution of support across multiple entries.

Furthermore, the EBU has committed to implementing enhanced technical safeguards to "monitor, detect and prevent fraudulent patterns" and thwart any form of "suspicious or coordinated voting activity," cementing a multi-layered approach to protecting the fairness of the world's largest live music event.