Image credits: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennet Radical changes in the voting system for the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) 2023. From next year, all countries in the world will be able to vote online, but this isn’t the only change.
The Reference Group also approved that in the semifinals the results will be determined only by the public. As for the jury, it will vote in the final, deciding the result in combination with the global online vote.
With the introduction of online voting, which has been used for several years in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest (JESC), any country in the world will be able to vote: whether it participates or not.
Viewers from non-participating countries will be able to vote on a secure online platform using a credit card from their country. The votes will have the same weight as the competing countries. The audience from the contesting countries will still be able to vote by SMS, phone our ESC app.
Martin Ă–sterdahl, the ESC’s Executive supervisor, spoke about these changes: “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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