The organiser of the Eurovision Song Contest has said it is looking into changes to the rules for 2027, reportedly to discourage voting campaigns that may influence the results.<\/p>\n
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is said to have issued a letter to participating broadcasters, suggesting the vote is moved entirely online, with the public asked to select their top three acts.<\/p>\n
The suggested changes aim to dissuade the public from voting multiple times for one contestant, according to BBC News.<\/p>\n
The current voting system allows viewers to vote up to 10 times per payment method for their favourite act by phone, text message, or online.<\/p>\n
A statement from Eurovision said: “We can confirm that we have begun investigating a move to wholly online audience voting for the Eurovision Song Contest and more details will be announced in the months ahead.”<\/p>\n
In 2025, several broadcasters raised concerns about social media posts on Israeli government accounts encouraging people to vote multiple times, and whether they may have influenced the results of the competition.<\/p>\n
The country was represented by Yuval Raphael with New Day Will Rise.<\/p>\n
Israel won the 2025 public vote, placing second in the competition overall.<\/p>\n
The incident sparked concerns about the Eurovision rules, and the EBU responded in 2026 by reducing the maximum number of votes per payment method from 20 to 10.<\/p>\n
Israel’s Noam Bettan, singing Michelle, was the runner-up in this year’s Eurovision, with Israel placing third in the public vote.<\/p>\n
Israel placed second in the public vote in 2024 and came fifth overall.<\/p>\n
The EBU announced new rules for the 2027 competition earlier this week.<\/p>\n
It said that the winning broadcaster will “automatically be ineligible to host” if their state is involved in an “armed conflict” or “sensitive geopolitical situation”<\/a>.<\/p>\n The UK hosted the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine, which was unable to host due to the Russian invasion.<\/p>\n Leading up to the 2026 Vienna competition, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Iceland, and Slovenia threatened to withdraw unless Israel was excluded over the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n The nations did not compete in the 2026 contest.<\/p>\n The EBU said the recent rule changes were made following feedback from participating broadcasters, adding the new rules would provide greater clarity for artists and production staff.<\/p>\n The organisation also announced several other changes earlier this week.<\/p>\n It stated that from 2027, all artists must also be at least 18 years old, rather than 16, on the day of their first rehearsal.<\/p>\n A requirement for the lead singer or singers to perform the main melody live was also among the new rules.<\/p>\n The 2027 Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Burgas, Bulgaria<\/a>, after singer DARA won this year’s event in Vienna in May with the song Bangaranga. <\/p>\n Source: Press Association<\/p>\n