[germainebull]

Eurovision has decided to change its voting system after allegations of interference from the Israeli government this year. Israeli singer Yuval Raphael received a huge majority of the public votes but finished runner-up after the jury votes were counted. After that, the final broadcasters such as RTE and RTVE demanded a breakdown of the votes and called for a review of the system to prevent external influence.

The EBU has now reduced the number of votes a person can cast from 20 to 10 in order to ensure balance. Professional juries will also return to the semi-finals and there will be younger jurors to appeal to a new audience. There are also new security safeguards to prevent suspicious voting patterns.

The move comes as countries such as Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia have threatened to pull out if Israel continues to participate. Contest director Martin Green said the integrity and neutrality of the event is essential and no artist or broadcaster will be allowed to collaborate with government campaigns. Fans are waiting to see if the changes will prevent drama at the next edition in Vienna 2026.


Source: news.sky

[Netherrealmer]

Why dont they just ban Israel like how they ban Russia

[germainebull]

I guess it is because they are not as biased against Israel as they are to Russia.

[Netherrealmer]

Spain just left Eurovision. They will not come back unless they will remove Israel from the roster. This is a huge loss because Spain is one of the big five. The big five are the five countries that funds Eurovision. Imagine they chose Israel over a big five country.

[germainebull]

Other nations have also boycotted Eurovision 2026. Great stances for justice!

[Netherrealmer]

Seriously, it's really going to harm the contest now that they lost Spain, especially if Spain is a Big Five. It seemed like Israel wants to become a member of Big Five. When you are one of the Big Five because you fund the contest, you are guaranteed to the Grand Final, regardless of song quality.

[germainebull]

When you are one of the Big Five because you fund the contest, you are guaranteed to the Grand Final, regardless of song quality.
0

This aspect does not sound just.

[Neurosurgeon]

Eurovision updated its rules following controversies involving Israel's participation, addressing political and cultural sensitivities. The changes aim to ensure fairness and inclusivity, impacting future song contest entries and national selections in Europe.

[Angie10]

This past week, I read that there was yet another protest in Finland against Israel participating. This happened during the competition held to select their entry for this year. The winning band said they were seriously considering NOT taking part if Israel was allowed to go ahead. It's hypocritical really, that officials are dying to allow Israel to take part yet they've banned Russia. Double standards

[Netherrealmer]

It's really sad that, you know, we lost Ireland. Ireland is the country with the most Eurovision wins, and we lost Spain, a founding country in Eurovision, and one of the big five. From what I heard now is Israel is trying to take the place of being a big five. If you are part of the big five, you are one of the main countries that funds the song contest. And if you are part of the big five, you're basically automatically placed in the finals.

[Angie10]

It's really sad that, you know, we lost Ireland. Ireland is the country with the most Eurovision wins, and we lost Spain, a founding country in Eurovision, and one of the big five. From what I heard now is Israel is trying to take the place of being a big five. If you are part of the big five, you are one of the main countries that funds the song contest. And if you are part of the big five, you're basically automatically placed in the finals.

Israel is so entitled it's unreal. I'm sorry but I don't even get how as a Middle-Eastern country, Israel is able to participate in an EU country. Somerone please explain that to me. That bit I can't wrap my head around, before we even get to the fact that the Eurovision competition is a lie. It has more to do with politics than musical talent, as far as I'm more concerned.

[Netherrealmer]

Israel has been competing in Eurovision since the 1970s, and you don't need to be a European country to compete in Eurovision. All you need to do is to be a member of the European Broadcasting Union, and Israel is actually a member of it. And actually, Qatar wants to join Eurovision as well. The European Broadcasting Union is not limited to European countries. Some countries in West Asia and some countries in Africa are actually part of the European Broadcasting Union. Australia is not a European Broadcasting Union country, but it's allowed to compete because Eurovision is popular in Australia. Canada is now trying to join Eurovision as well because, you know, the most popular Canadian singer of all time, Celine Dion, won Eurovision before, but she was representing Switzerland instead of Canada.