Loren Tarner at Ijan Jangs
BBC culture
The Eurovision Song Contest organizer is changing voting and promotion rules after controversy surrounding Israel's performance at this year's contest.
Some countries expressed concern after Israel won first place in the audience vote at the contest in May.
The Israeli representative ultimately took second place after the jury voted.
In the future, viewers will be able to cast 10 votes per performer/performers, instead of 20, and the jury will also vote in both semi-finals of the evening, not just in the final, as before.
The organizers will prohibit competitors and broadcasters from participating in promotional campaigns by third parties, including governments.
Last year, there were reports that an Israeli government agency paid for advertisements and used state social media accounts to encourage people to vote for an Israeli representative.
Eurovision director Martin Green said that after this year's contest there had been "a lot of feedback from members and fans", saying they wanted Eurovision to "take a good look at the rules".
"There was a little bit of fear about some inappropriate promotions, especially from third parties, perhaps governments, that are disproportionate to the natural promotions you should see during the competition," he said.
He stressed that he "will not single out any participating broadcasters", but that the changes, triggered by numerous promotional campaigns in recent years, especially by some third parties, "were contrary" to the spirit of the competition.
Due to the war in the Gaza Strip, some countries opposed Israel's participation in Eurovision.
Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands have said they will consider boycotting next year's competition if Israel participates.
While Green did not directly address Israel's participation, he said he hoped the measures would "assured people that the competition remains impartial and neutral."
"We are taking clear and decisive steps to ensure that the competition remains a celebration of music and unity."
"The competition should remain neutral and must not be instrumentalized," he said.
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What are the new rules?
- Disproportionate promotional campaigns will be “discouraged... particularly when they are conducted or supported by third parties, such as governments or government agencies.”
- The organizers said that broadcasters and artists would not be allowed to "actively engage in, facilitate or contribute to third-party promotional campaigns that could influence the outcome of the vote."
- The number of votes cast by viewers will be reduced from 20 to 10 per person, which, according to Green, would mean that people could still distribute their votes "across many participants."
- After this year's competition, a Belgian MP said that allowing 20 votes was "a system that encourages manipulation."
- The jury, which has so far only voted in the grand final, will in future also vote in the semi-finals to "make sure we ensure the quality and diversity of the music," Green said, "as well as respecting what the audience wants."
- Organizers will improve technical monitoring to "detect and prevent manipulative or coordinated voting activities and enhance monitoring of suspicious patterns."
Boycott threats
Israel's participation was supposed to be voted on in November., but the European Broadcasting Union, the organizers of the annual competition, canceled it due to "recent developments in the Middle East," where a ceasefire is in effect in the Gaza Strip.
It was then announced that Israel's participation would be discussed at a meeting in December.
It is not yet certain that a vote on Israel's participation will be held then.
Green said the competition is about broadcasters and their artists, not governments, and that it is important to "keep geopolitics out of the picture."
Austrian national broadcaster ORF, which will host the 2026 contest in Vienna, previously urged countries not to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest.
When asked if there would still be a vote on Israel, Green replied: "We sincerely hope that this package of measures will provide our members with the reassurance they need to ensure that Eurovision remains a neutral and impartial space."
Israel won second place in the Eurovision Song Contest in May this year.
This year's Eurovision Song Contest final it was dramatic.
Singer Yuval Rafael, who survived a Hamas attack to the south of Israel on October 7, 2023, she received the highest combined number of audience votes.
However, the jury's votes were tallied, resulting in Austrian singer Jay-Jay being declared the winner with the song "Wasted Love".
The final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest will be held on May 16th.
The semi-finals will be held earlier that week at the same venue, in Wiener Stadthalle.
It will be the third time in the history of the competition that Vienna will host the event.
The Austrian capital last hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015.
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