The voting in the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final is set to be radically transformed from this year, the European Broadcasting Union said this morning.
A new results sequence will mark the biggest change since the “douze points” system was introduced more than 40 years ago, adding a new level of excitement for hundreds of millions of viewers in Europe and beyond, the EBU said.
Previously, the results of the professional juries and viewers have been presented as a combined result, each accounting for 50 percent of the final score.
From 2016, the professional juries and televoters from each country will each award a separate set of points from 1 to 8, 10 and 12. This now means the top 10 countries in both the jury and televote will receive points.
The new voting format guarantees that the song which is most popular among the public will receive 12 points regardless of how the juries voted
After viewers have cast their votes by telephone, SMS or using the official app, each national spokesperson from the 43 participating countries will be called in to present the points of their professional jury. After the presentation of the scores from the juries, the televoting points from all participating countries will be combined, providing one score for each song.
These televoting results will then be announced by the host, starting with the country receiving the fewest points from the public and ending with the country that received the highest number of points.
For several years, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest has been known well before the end of voting as technically no other act could catch up. This major change, means that winner will only be known in the final minutes of the show.
The new format, discussed since 2012, also increases transparency and was unanimously approved by the Reference Group and the EBU Television Committee, the governing bodies of the Eurovision Song Contest.
“There is more reason than ever to vote in the Eurovision Song Contest. The new voting format guarantees that the song which is most popular among the public will receive 12 points regardless of how the juries voted,” said the EBU’s Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest.
The final of the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Stockholm on May 14.
Malta's representative, Ira Losco, will take part in the first semi final on May 10.