The European Broadcasting Union has announced a series of changes to the rules around voting in the Eurovision Song Contest, ahead of Vienna 2026.
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 organizers.
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.
Martin Green CBE, Director of the Eurovision Song
“We’ve listened and we’ve acted
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.
We are taking clear and decisive steps to ensure the contest remains a celebration of music and unity. The Contest should remain a neutral space and must not be instrumentalized”
Alongside the changes we are announcing today, we will also strengthen enforcement of our existing rules to prevent any misuse of the Contest for example through song lyrics or staging.
And we will work closely with Members to ensure they fully understand and are also accountable for upholding the rules and values that define the Song Contest.”
Here are the key changes announced for 2026:
Clearer Rules on Promotion
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.
Fewer Maximum Votes
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.
50/50 Voting Return for Semi-Finals and Juries Expanded
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.
Enhanced Technical Safeguards
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 added
“These measures are designed to keep the focus where it belongs – on music, creativity and connection,
“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.”
All updates were approved by the Eurovision Song Contest’s Reference Group, the event’s governing body representing all participating broadcasters. Their impact will be monitored and reviewed following the 2026 Contest to inform further improvements.
Members meeting at the EBU’s General Assembly at the beginning of December will be asked to consider this package of measures and safeguards and decide if they are sufficient to meet their concerns without having a vote on participation.
After the General Assembly, the EBU will be working with Members to confirm participation in next year’s Contest.
The full list of participating broadcasters in next year’s competition will then be revealed before Christmas.
In response to today’s rule changes, an RTÉ spokesperson said:
“Clearly events in the Middle East are unfolding day by day. As previously confirmed by the EBU, the issue of participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest has been included on the agenda of the EBU Executive Board’s ordinary Winter General Assembly, which will take place in December.”
The 70th Eurovision Song Contest will be hosted by ORF at the Wiener Stadthalle, in Vienna, Austria, on Tuesday 12, Thursday 14 and Saturday 16 May 2026.
Source: EBU
