How The Eurovision Song Contest Voting Works In 2024 (or Relevant Year)

Hugo van Dijk

4 min read

Post on May 19, 2025

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The Two Voting Systems: Jury and Televoting

The Eurovision Song Contest utilizes a dual voting system: jury voting and televoting, both contributing equally to the final score. This blend aims to balance expert opinion with popular choice.

Eurovision Jury Voting

• Who are they? Each participating country appoints a national jury composed of five music professionals. These experts are kept anonymous to prevent external influence and ensure impartiality in Eurovision Jury Voting.
• How do they vote? After watching all the performances, each jury member scores each song based on criteria such as vocal performance, song composition, originality, and stage presence. They use a 1-8, 10, and 12 point system, with no ability to give a song zero points.
• Changes in 2024? The EBU (European Broadcasting Union) regularly reviews the voting process. While significant changes for 2024 aren't currently announced, any updates will be reflected on the official Eurovision website.

Eurovision Televoting

• How viewers vote: Viewers in each participating country can vote for their favorite song using various methods like telephone calls, SMS messages, and dedicated Eurovision voting apps. The specific methods vary per country. These methods are crucial for the Eurovision Televoting system.
• Voting period: A specific voting window opens after all performances conclude. This period is carefully controlled to prevent any bias or manipulation within Eurovision Televoting.
• Changes in 2024? The EBU continuously evaluates the effectiveness and security of televoting. Any technological or procedural adjustments are generally announced closer to the event.

Points Allocation and the Eurovision Scoreboard

The Eurovision Points system is the heart of the competition. Both jury and televote scores from each country are tallied separately. These scores are then translated into points, and the results determine the winner.

• Points awarded: The top-scoring song from each country’s jury and televote receives 12 points, followed by 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point respectively for the next highest-scoring songs. This is common to both Jury Voting and Televoting in the Eurovision Points system.
• Breaking ties: In the rare event of a tie, the country with a higher televote score will be placed higher. If this does not resolve the tie, other factors defined by the EBU will be used to establish an order.
• The live reveal: The exciting reveal of the points, country by country, is a key part of the Eurovision scoreboard drama and builds anticipation throughout the show.

Avoiding Bias and Ensuring Fairness in Eurovision Voting

The EBU takes measures to maintain transparency and fairness in Eurovision Voting.

• Preventing manipulation: Rules prevent countries from voting for themselves or their neighboring countries disproportionately. This helps avoid bloc voting and ensures a fairer Eurovision Voting system.
• EBU oversight: The EBU rigorously oversees the entire voting process, using independent auditors and sophisticated systems to detect and prevent any attempts at manipulating the Eurovision Voting process.
• Addressing controversies: Past controversies have led to adjustments to the rules and increased scrutiny of the voting procedures, enhancing the integrity of Eurovision Voting.

A Step-by-Step Guide to How a Vote is Counted

Let's simplify how a single vote contributes to the final Eurovision Vote Counting:

1. You vote: You cast your vote via phone, app, or SMS.
2. Verification: Your vote is verified to ensure it's valid and from your country.
3. Aggregation: Your vote is aggregated with other votes from your country.
4. Points allocation: The aggregated votes determine the points allocated to each song.
5. National Score: This creates the country's individual televote score.
6. Jury Score: The jury's points are added.
7. Overall Score: The televote and jury scores are combined for a total score.
8. Final Ranking: All countries' scores are added, creating the final Eurovision ranking.

[Insert a simple flowchart here illustrating this process]

Conclusion: Mastering the Eurovision Song Contest Voting System

Understanding the Eurovision voting system— encompassing jury voting, televoting, points allocation, and the fairness mechanisms implemented by the EBU— elevates your Eurovision viewing experience. Now that you understand how Eurovision voting works in 2024, get ready to cast your vote (where applicable) and be part of the excitement! Dive deeper into the world of Eurovision voting and learn more about the intricacies of the points system in 2024!