This morning, the European Broadcasting Union announced major changes to the voting system, ahead of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, in Liverpool.

A summary of the changes are:

• Viewer votes will decide countries qualifying from Semi-Finals 
• Viewers in non-participating countries will be able to vote online
• Jury votes will be combined with votes from the global audience to decide final result

Next year, the countries that qualify from the Semi-Finals will be decided solely based on the votes cast by the viewers, rather than a combination of a jury and public vote as has been the case since 2009. The professional music industry juries will remain for the Grand Final.

Martin Österdahl, the Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor, had the following to say:

“Throughout its 67-year history the Eurovision Song Contest has constantly evolved to remain relevant and exciting. These changes acknowledge the immense popularity of the show by giving more power to the audience of the world’s largest live music event.

In 2023 only Eurovision Song Contest viewers will decide which countries make it to the Grand Final and, reflecting the global impact of the event, everyone watching the show, wherever they live in the world, can cast their votes for their favourite songs.

By also involving juries of music professionals in deciding the final result, all the songs in the Grand Final can be assessed on the broadest possible criteria. We can also maintain the tradition of travelling around Europe and Australia to collect points and ensure a thrilling voting sequence with the winner only revealed at the very end of the show.”

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Author: Richard Taylor

Source: eurovision.tv