The voting in the Eurovision Song Contest is set to be radically transformed in 2016. In previous years 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, adding a new level of excitement for hundreds of millions of viewers in Europe and beyond.
The new system
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, building towards a guaranteed climax.
For those wanting to know how their country has voted, the televoting and jury scores from each participating country will be available after the show on Eurovision.tv.
“This new way of presenting the votes is a big step forward, both to make a better television show as well as a more exciting competition,” said the EBU’s Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest. “There is more reason than ever to vote in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Most popular among the public
The new voting format guarantees that the song which is most popular among the public will receive twelve points regardless of how the juries voted. It is fitting that this change to the Contest’s iconic scoring sequence will be debuted in Stockholm, where the famous “douze points” (12 points) system was introduced in 1975.”
“All competitions are enhanced by creating a dramatic finish” Eurovision Song Contest Producer, Christer Björkman, says. “This was a unanimous decision taken by the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group. It’s about creating TV magic”, he added.
Martin Österdahl, Executive Producer for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest explained, “In previous years the winner has been known for up to 20 minutes before the end of voting and that’s not good TV. This format change will inject a new level of excitement into the finish of the Eurovision Song Contest”.
The Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Stockholm on Saturday 14th May 2016.
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