Eurovision Announces a Huge Rule Change for 2023: Voting Is Open to the World for the First Time!

Eurovision is going global.

The annual song competition announced some major changes ahead of the 2023 ceremony, and there’s one major rule in particular that’s shaking things up in a huge way.

Organizers are extending voting to the global audience for the first time in its 67 year history and reducing the role of juries, inspired by voting irregularities that affected this year’s competition, via The Guardian.

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The winning song will be picked by viewers across the world, in combination with a jury of music professionals, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced.

Juries will not be involved in how countries are selected for the final, only the votes of viewers.

The changes come after “irregular voting patterns” were identified in national jury votes from six countries in 2022, removing jury votes from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and San Marino.

Martin Österdahl, the Eurovision Song Contest’s executive supervisor, said the rule changes were made to reflect the globalization of the event, which drew a global TV audience of 160 million in 2022.

“Throughout its 67-year history the Eurovision Song Contest has constantly evolved to remain relevant and exciting. These changes acknowledge the immense popularity of the show by giving more power to the audience of the world’s largest live music event,” he said in a statement.

“Everyone watching the show, wherever they live in the world, can cast their votes for their favorite songs. By also involving juries of music professionals in deciding the final result, all the songs in the grand final can be assessed on the broadest possible criteria.”

“Those watching in the rest of the world will be able to vote via a secure online platform using a credit card from their country, and their votes, once added together, will be converted into points that will have the same weight as one participating country in both of the semi-finals and the grand final,” he added.

Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra won this year’s contest with their song “Stefania.” Listen to all the entries!

Liverpool was announced as next year’s host city on behalf of Ukraine, which cannot host amid their ongoing battle with Russia, after Sam Ryder was announced the runner-up in this year’s contest.