The Eurovision Song Contest is changing rules around voting and promotion following the controversy caused by Israel’s result at this year’s competition.
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It comes after several countries raised concerns and requested an audit after Israel topped the public vote at the contest back in May. Israel finished second overall once the jury votes were taken into consideration.
Now, it’s been announced that voting and promotion rules have been tweaked ahead of next year’s edition in Vienna. “We’ve listened and we’ve acted,” said Eurovision director Martin Green, per The Hollywood Reporter. “The neutrality and integrity of the Eurovision Song Contest is of paramount importance to the EBU, its members, and all our audiences. It is essential that the fairness of the Contest is always protected.”
Fans will now only be able to cast 10 votes each — down from 20 — and juries will return for the semi-finals for the first time since 2022, meaning there will be a 50-50 split vote between jury and audience votes at the final.
The number of jurors has been increased from five to seven, all of whom will be forced to sign a formal declaration confirming they will vote independently and impartially. Jurors aged 18-25 will also be added to “reflect the appeal” of the contest with younger audiences.
Elsewhere, the EBU is also barring its participating broadcasters and artists from “actively” engaging in, facilitating or contributing 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.”
An investigation by Eurovision News Spotlight – which is operated by the EBU – this year found that the Israeli government agency had paid for ads and used state social media accounts to urge audiences to vote for entrant Yuval Raphael.
“These measures are designed to keep the focus where it belongs — on music, creativity and connection,” Green added. “While we are confident the 2025 Contest delivered a valid and robust result, these changes will help provide stronger safeguards and increase engagement so fans can be sure that every vote counts and every voice is heard.”
“The Eurovision Song Contest must always remain a place where music takes centre stage – and where we continue to stand truly United by Music.”
News of the changes arrives a month after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) postponed a vote on whether Israel should be allowed to perform in next year’s competition. They said that “recent developments in the Middle East” caused it to cancel a virtual meeting to vote on the matter, which was due to take place in November.
It said Israel’s participation would instead be discussed at an in-person meeting next month, though it did not make clear whether a vote would still take place.
Israel’s participation in Eurovision has faced opposition from some other participating countries, including Spain, which became the first of the ‘big five’ to threaten their absence back in September. The Spanish Prime Minister called for the country to be banned from Eurovision back in May.
The ‘big five’ is comprised of the five countries that make the biggest financial contributions to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). These five countries – Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the UK – are granted immediate progression to the Eurovision finals every year regardless of their placing in the previous year’s contest, or without clearing the semi-finals. Should Israel participate in 2026, it will mark Spain and RTVE’s first time sitting out since joining in 1961.
Other countries that have pledged to boycott Eurovision if Israel continues to participate include Ireland, The Netherlands and Slovenia.
Meanwhile, the BBC – the UK’s Eurovision broadcaster – has argued that while it acknowledges concerns raised by Spain and other countries, “Eurovision has never been about politics.”
In a previous comment to NME, Martin Green told us: “The EBU is an association of public service broadcasters, not governments. We remain in constant contact with all participating broadcasters of the Eurovision Song Contest, including RTVE in Spain, and take their concerns seriously.
“Now that the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 has concluded, we will have a broad discussion with all participating broadcasters, to reflect and obtain feedback on all aspects of this year’s event as part of our planning process for the 70th Eurovision Song Contest next year.”
Prior to that, over 70 former Eurovision contestants signed an open letter calling for Israel and national broadcaster KAN to be banned from the 2025 contest. This year’s winner, JJ, has also called for Israel to be banned from the competition in 2026.
Israel’s inclusion in the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest came despite Russia being banned from the contest since 2022 due to its ongoing conflict with Ukraine. In 2024, Ireland’s Eurovision entry Bambie Thug was also forced to change their pro-Palestine message by the competition’s organisers.
Unofficial proposals for a solution so far include suggestions that Israel temporarily withdraw from the competition or perform under a neutral flag, per Ynet Global.
