The voting rules have been changed for the ESC in Vienna.Image: APA/APA
ESC
ESC President Martin Green announced in November that the rules for voting at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna would change. Here you will find everything you want to know about it.
May 11, 2026, 7:01 p.mMay 11, 2026, 7:01 p.m
There was a lot of criticism at the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel last year. A large part of it revolved around the influence of the Israeli government, for example with commercials and calls for voting. Now the organizers of the music festival are reacting and changing their rules.
Everything you want to know about the rules and voting.
What has changed?
The new voting system brings three important changes. These are:
- Clearer rules for promotions and advertising campaigns
Government-backed social media campaigns will be more restricted. Intensive promotion of individual contributions by authorities should be prevented. - Fewer votes per person
The maximum number of votes per voting method (SMS, online or call) is reduced from 20 to 10. - Expert juries in the semi-finals
This year, in addition to the audience vote, there will also be a jury vote in the semi-finals for the first time since 2022. As in the final, the ratio of audience and jury votes will be 50:50. In addition, the number of jury members will be increased from 5 to 7.
How do points are awarded at ESC 2026?
At the ESC, citizens of all countries participating in the ESC can vote for their favorite. For the final, this also applies to citizens of the countries that were eliminated in the semi-finals.
This year 35 countries are taking part, each country can distribute 116 points, which includes audience (58 points) and jury votes (58 points). No country is allowed to vote for itself.
Half of the countries’ votes are made up of a jury vote, the other half come from televoting.
The participating countries:
How does the audience agree?
Citizens of a country that takes part in the ESC can either via phone call, on-line or vote via SMS. If a country in question does not take part in the ESC, voting can only be done via the online form. As mentioned above, the number of votes is now limited to 10 votes per voting method.
The rules are the same for both votings: The best act gets 12 points, the second act gets 10 points. From third place onwards, the evaluation takes place in increments of 8 points. Tenth place gets one point, from eleventh place there are no more points.
How does the jury vote?
The voting is the same as for the audience voting: the best act gets 12 points, the second act gets 10 points. From third place onwards, the evaluation takes place in increments of 8 points. Tenth place gets one point, from eleventh place there are no more points.
What happens if there is a tie?
If two songs have the same score, the country that was rated higher by the audience gets the higher score. In this case, the audience vote takes precedence.
If the number of audience votes for the two songs is exactly the same, the song that received the higher jury rating will be ahead. If the jury rating is the same for both songs, the jury will vote by majority decision as to which song is ahead.
Is there a difference between voting in the semi-finals and the final?
Yes, but only to a limited extent. In the semi-finals, the results of the voting are not announced, it is only announced which countries made it to the final.
The “Big Four”, as the largest donors Germany, France, Italy and Great Britain, are automatically qualified for the final.
How can I vote?
Where can I cast my vote?
If your country is taking part in the ESC, you have three options to cast your vote. These are:
If your country does not take part in the ESC, you can only vote online.
When can I cast my vote?
If your country takes part in the ESC, it will look like this:
In the semi-finals, voting begins after all artists have delivered their performance. You then have 20 minutes to cast your vote. You can only vote in the semi-final in which your country is participating.
In the final, voting begins shortly before the first appearance. You can then vote for your favorite up to 40 minutes after all acts end.
If your country does not take part in the ESC, it will look like this:
The voting window opens before each semi-final and remains open until the start of the live show. Voting will then be closed during the performances and reopened after the last song. Then you have another 20 minutes.
It looks similar in the final: The voting window opens online around midnight before the show, closes briefly when the live show begins, and opens again shortly before the first song. It will then remain open throughout the live show, until approximately 40 minutes after the last post.
How often can I vote?
You can cast your vote 10 times per voting method (phone, SMS and online).
How is the jury composed?
Each country has a jury consisting of seven members (last year 5). The jury includes experts from the music industry. Each jury must have at least two members who are between 18 and 25 years old.
The jury members must sign a formal declaration in which they confirm that they will vote independently and impartially. (ome)