The EBU, the European Broadcasting Union, has announced a series of changes to the rules around voting, ahead of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, in Vienna.

Following a period of extensive consultation with EBU Members, new measures will be introduced to the Eurovision Song Contest’s voting framework ahead of the next competition in May. 

Among them, we’ll see professional juries return to Semi-Finals with expanded, more diverse panels, including young jurors aged 18–25. The voting cap for viewers voting at home will be halved for 2026, encouraging fans to spread support across more entries. Enhanced technical safeguards will also be introduced, to detect and block coordinated or fraudulent voting activity. And stronger limits on promotion will be implemented to curb disproportionate third-party influence, including government-backed campaigns.

An independent advisor, commissioned by the EBU’s Executive Board, led an in-depth review of participation, engaging closely with Directors General from participating broadcasters and other global event organisers. Their recommendations aligned with feedback from the Heads of Delegation of EBU Members, informing the measures now introduced to strengthen the voting framework at the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Voting Instructions and Code of Conduct for the competition, which all participating broadcasters must abide by, are being strengthened to further protect the Contest from attempts to unfairly influence the vote. The updated Voting Instructions support appropriate promotion of artists and their songs (which is very much part of the professional music industry), but “discourage disproportionate promotion campaigns…particularly when undertaken or supported by third parties, including governments or governmental agencies.” Participating broadcasters and artists are not permitted to actively engage in, facilitate or contribute to promotional campaigns by third parties that could influence the voting outcome and, as outlined in the updated Code of Conduct, any attempts to unduly influence the results will lead to sanctions.

As part of the annual review of voting, changes have been made to the system to support audience participation. For the 2026 Contest, the maximum number of votes per payment method (online, SMS and phone call) will be reduced from 20 to 10. Fans will be actively encouraged to share their support across multiple entries.

Professional juries of music experts will return to the Semi-Finals for the first time since 2022 – creating a roughly 50/50 split between jury and audience votes as in the Grand Final. This change is intended to encourage the optimum musical balance and diversity in songs that qualify for the Grand Final, ensuring that high-quality entries with broad artistic merit are recognised alongside those with popular appeal. The number of jurors will increase from 5 to 7 and the range of professional backgrounds that jurors can be chosen from will be expanded to include music journalists and critics, music teachers, creative professionals such as choreographers and stage directors and experienced music industry figures. To reflect the appeal of the Contest with younger audiences, each jury will now include at least two jurors aged 18 – 25. All jurors will have to sign up to a formal declaration to confirm they will vote independently and impartially, will not co-ordinate with other jurors before the Contest, and be mindful of their social media use i.e. not sharing their preferences online before the Contest concludes.

Alongside these enhancements, the EBU will continue to work closely with its voting partner Once to expand the Contest’s advanced security systems, which detect and prevent fraudulent or coordinated voting activity, and strengthen monitoring of suspicious patterns to maintain trust in the results of the audience vote.

Martin Green CBE, Director of the Eurovision Song Contest, had the following to say in an open letter:

“When I wrote to you in May, I said that we would spend the summer looking at the issues raised by our participating broadcasters and fans following our 2025 Contest. Over the past months, that is exactly what we have done. I want to share with you how we’ve acted on the promises we made, shaped by feedback from our Members but also your concerns and your unwavering belief in what the Eurovision Song Contest stands for.

One of the clearest messages we received was the need to strengthen trust in the fairness of the Contest, to ensure it remains a neutral space for the celebration of music and its power to bring us together. In response, we undertook the most extensive review of our voting framework in recent years, consulting widely with Heads of Delegation and many Directors General from participating broadcasters. The result is a series of significant changes for 2026 that reinforce transparency, accountability and neutrality.

Firstly, we have strengthened the rules on song promotion to help protect the Contest against disproportionate, externally driven campaigns. While artists, broadcasters and record companies will, and should, always promote their songs as part of their professional work and engagement with fans, no broadcaster or artist may now directly engage with or support campaigns by third parties – including governments or their agencies – that could distort the vote. We also want to make it crystal clear that proven attempts to unduly influence results will not be tolerated and will be called out. This helps ensure the Eurovision Song Contest remains a space driven by artists, their music, and their fans.

We have reduced the maximum number of votes possible per payment method from 20 to 10. This is an important change which recognises that, although the number of votes previously allowed did not unduly influence the results of previous Contests, there were concerns expressed by participating broadcasters and fans alike. The reduction is designed to encourage more balanced participation, and we will more actively encourage audiences who wish to use the maximum 10 votes allowed to, in the spirit of the competition, show support across several competing songs and artists.

Another important step we have taken is restoring professional juries to the Semi Finals for the first time since 2022, returning to a roughly 50/50 balance between jury and audience votes across all shows. We want to make sure that songs with artistic merit, strong musical foundations and creative ambition have a fair chance to reach the Grand Final alongside those with widespread public support. To help achieve this, we have expanded the range of professions from which jurors can be chosen – which now include music journalists, teachers, choreography and staging specialists, and experienced figures from across the music industry. In addition to widening this pool of expertise, each jury will now have 7 members rather than the previous 5, including at least two jurors aged 18-25, reflecting the Contest’s wide appeal to new generations. To protect the integrity of the competition, all jurors must sign a formal declaration confirming their commitment to vote independently, impartially and not to share their views publicly before the competition concludes.

Alongside these updates, we are enhancing our technical safeguards to protect the Contest from suspicious or coordinated voting activity. Working with our voting partner, Once, we will continue to strengthen the advanced security systems that monitor, detect and prevent fraudulent patterns. Trust in the integrity of the audience vote is vital, and these improvements add another layer of protection for fans, delegations and artists alike.

In May, I said that the Contest must always remain a joyful and unifying space – not because the world is simple, but because this event only works when it brings people together rather than divides them. We have therefore clarified expectations in our Code of Conduct, strengthened our internal review processes for songs, staging and artist profiles, and made accountability clearer for participating broadcasters. We will enforce our rules more consistently to prevent the Contest from being used as a political platform or instrument of any kind. The Eurovision Song Contest belongs to all of us, and it must remain a place where music takes centre stage.

As we look towards Vienna 2026 and the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, we are reminded of how this extraordinary event has endured through decades of profound change. It has grown, adapted, welcomed new broadcasters and inspired millions across the world. But the heart of the Contest – creativity, joy, unity – has always remained constant.

I truly hope that this robust package of measures provides assurance for artists, broadcasters and fans alike. I hope that it respects and strengthens the values of the Contest. Above all I hope it allows for the Contest to acknowledge the sometimes-difficult world in which we live but resist attempts to turn our stage into a place of geopolitical division.

Governments do not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, artists do. Artists backed by public service broadcasters who are not responsible for the decisions and actions of their governments. Artists have always shown those who seek to divide us that a different world is possible. The Eurovision Song Contest will always be a platform for them to do that.

We are, and always will be, United by Music.”

Let us know what you think about the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest – either in the comments below or on our FACEBOOK, BLUESKY, TWITTER, YOUTUBE, INSTAGRAM and TIKTOK pages.

The Eurovision Community, which Eurovision Ireland are a part of, celebrates diversity through music. Please keep your comments respectful. We will not tolerate racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, body-shaming or any other derogatory or hostile language.

Author: Richard Taylor

Source: EBU