Organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest are reportedly considering a major overhaul of the competition’s voting system.
Ahead of the 2027 contest – which has been confirmed to take place in Burgas following Bulgarian singer Dara’s 2026 win – bosses are looking into possible changes.
This includes ways to discourage voting campaigns that could influence the results.
Consequently, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is said to have issued a letter to participating broadcasters, which includes the BBC, suggesting the vote is moved entirely online, with the public forced to select their top three acts.
The suggested changes aim to dissuade the public from voting multiple times for one contestant, according to BBC News.
As it stands, the current voting system allows fans to vote up to 10 times per payment method for their favourite act by phone, text, or online.
In a new statement, a Eurovision spokesperson 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.’
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 outcome.
The country was represented by Yuval Raphael with New Day Will Rise and triumphed in the public vote – placing second in the competition overall.
This sparked concerns about the Eurovision rules, and the EBU responded earlier this year by reducing the maximum number of votes per payment method from 20 to 10.
Israel also placed second in the public vote in 2024 and came fifth overall.
Already this year, the EBU has announced new rules for the 2027 competition.
This week, it was confirmed that the winning broadcaster will now ‘automatically be ineligible to host’ if their state is involved in an ‘armed conflict’ or ‘sensitive geopolitical situation’.
It comes after the UK hosted the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine, which was unable to host due to the Russian invasion.
Leading up to the 2026 Vienna, Austria, competition, controversy was rife, with Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, and Slovenia refusing to participate unless Israel was excluded over the war in Gaza.
Since Israel remained in the contest, those nations did not compete this year.
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.
Other changes introduced by the organisation this week include stating that, from 2027, all artists must be at least 18 years old.
Previously, representatives could be 16 on the day of their first rehearsal.
A requirement for the lead singer or singers to perform the main melody live was also among the new rules.
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