The EBU has released further information regarding the voting system at the forthcoming 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool with the implementation and introduction of several changes.
A number of changes have been introduced to the voting system for the Eurovsion 2023 edition:
- For the very first time Eurovision fans from non participating countries throughout the globe will be able to vote for their favourite act via www.esc.vote
- Fans worldwide will be able cast to their votes along with the viewers in the competing countries and will determine the results of the contest
- Changes will be implemented in the way the qualifiers will be determined in the Semi-finals.
- The voting will be administered by Digame and overseen E&Y, the Independent Voting Observer
The EBU has released the following information regarding the voting system at Eurovision 2023:
How will the audience vote?
For the very first time viewers watching in eligible countries not participating in this year’s competition will also be able to vote in each Semi-Final and the Grand Final.
All viewers in participating and non-participating countries alike can vote using the official Eurovision App or go directly to www.esc.vote – the new voting hub for the Eurovision Song Contest. Both App and website will provide the correct voting method for all eligible countries automatically.
In addition those watching in the participating countries can vote by telephone and/or SMS. Relevant numbers will be displayed on screen by each participating broadcaster and on www.esc.vote.
How will the Professional Juries work?
A Professional Jury is appointed by the broadcaster in each of the 37 countries taking part in the competition.
Each Jury consists of 5 members (including a chairperson) with a solid musical/artistic background and relevant professional experience (with proven track record) that justifies their appointment (such as singer, musician, composer, author of lyrics, professional in the TV/radio entertainment field, music critic/expert, dancer, or choreographer).
Each juror shall rank all the competing songs in each show from their least favourite to favourite based on the following criteria:
– composition and originality of the song,
– quality of the performance on stage,
– vocal capacity of the performer(s),
– overall impression of the act.The ranks allocated to the individual songs by each Juror are converted into a specific score value from 12 downwards decreasing exponentially; the sum of all score values within a national Jury determines the final national jury ranking. The Top 10 songs with the highest ranks are awarded 1 – 8, 10, and 12 points.
Juries from the participating countries in Semi-Final 1 and Semi-Final 2 (as well as the pre-qualified countries voting in each of the Semi-Finals) will cast their votes, but their votes will not count towards the result of the Semi-Finals unless a valid audience vote has not been recorded or an aggregated substitute result cannot be used.
The votes from Juries from all 37 participating countries will however be counted in the Grand Final.
How will the voting in the Semi-finals work?
In a change to recent years, only viewers at home will determine the outcome of the two Semi-Finals of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Viewers in the 15 countries taking part in Semi-Final 1 are eligible to vote alongside three of the countries pre-qualified for the Grand Final – France, Germany, and Italy.
Viewers in the 16 countries taking part in Semi-Final 2 are eligible to vote alongside three of the other countries pre-qualified for the Grand Final – Spain, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
Those watching in the participating countries can vote using the official Eurovision Song Contest app, or by telephone and/or SMS. Relevant numbers will be displayed on screen by each participating broadcaster.
Those watching in any other eligible non-participating country can vote via a secure online platform – www.esc.vote
Voting will open after the last song is performed for approximately 15 minutes.
When the vote closes the Top 10 most popular songs in each participating country will be allocated points from 1 to 8, 10 and 12 points.
The 10 songs that have received the most votes from the “Rest Of The World” will be allocated points using the same scale and have the weight of one additional voting country.
The Audience in each participating country will award a total of 58 points (1 – 8, 10 and 12)
The Audience voting online from non-participating countries will also award a total of 58 points (1 – 8, 10 and 12)
In the event that a valid national audience vote cannot be recorded in a participating country the points allocated from that country will be determined using an aggregated result which shall be calculated automatically on the basis of the results of a pre-selected group of countries.
In the unlikely event that an aggregated result is not available, it will be replaced by the results of the National Jury of the country concerned.
When all the points from the Audience are added together the 10 countries with the highest number of points will qualify for the Grand Final.
These countries will be announced in a random order decided by Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest at the end of the live broadcast.
The number of points each qualifying country has received in their respective Semi-Final will be published after the Grand Final on eurovision.tv.
How will the voting work at the Grand Final?
Viewers in all 37 countries taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 can vote for the 26 songs in the Grand Final (10 qualifiers from Semi-Final 1 and 2 and THE 6 pre-qualified countries)
Those watching in the participating countries can vote using the official Eurovision Song Contest app, or by telephone and/or SMS. Relevant numbers will be displayed on screen by each participating broadcaster.
Those watching in any other eligible non-participating country can vote via a secure online platform – www.esc.vote
Voting will open after the last song is performed for approximately 40 minutes.
When the vote closes the Top 10 most popular songs in each participating country will be allocated points from 1 to 8, 10 and 12 points.
The 10 songs that have received the most votes from the “Rest Of The World” will be allocated points using the same scale and have the weight of one additional voting country.
The Audience in each participating country will award a total of 58 points (1 – 8, 10 and 12). 37 countries x 58 points = 2,146 points from the national audiences of the participating countries.
The Audience voting online from non-participating countries (Rest of The World) will also award a total of 58 points (1 – 8, 10 and 12).
The total number of points that will be distributed from the Audience will be 2,204 (37 participating countries + 1 Rest of the World “country”).
The Jury in each of the 37 participating countries will also award a total of 58 points (1 – 8, 10 and 12)
Each Jury will watch and cast their votes based on Dress Rehearsal 2 which will take place in the evening of Friday 12 May.
The total number of points that will be distributed by the 37 national Juries will be 2,146.
In the event that a valid national audience vote cannot be recorded in a participating country the points allocated from that country will be determined using an aggregated result which shall be calculated automatically on the basis of the results of a pre-selected group of countries.
In the unlikely event that an aggregated result is not available, it will be replaced by the results of the National Jury of the country concerned.
If a valid Jury result is not recorded in any of the participating countries, the result of the respective national Audience shall be doubled.
At the end of the televoting window, the results of each National Jury will be presented live one by one by a spokesperson in each participating country and appear on a scoreboard.
During this time, the EBU, its Voting Partner and Independent Voting Observer will count and verify the audience results.
After all the Jury points are given, the combined total points from the Audiences of the participating countries and the Rest of the World are presented.
Source: EBU/eurovision.tv
Photo credit: EBU
