How the Eurovision Song Contest works
The Eurovision Song Contest is an internationally televised songwriting competition, organised by the European Broadcasting Union and featuring participants chosen by EBU member broadcasters representing their countries from across Europe and beyond.
Each Participating Broadcaster has until mid-March to choose a song and an artist to perform it. The song and artist can be selected through a televised national selection show (or shows), an internal process, or via any other means they decide.
Participants then compete at the Eurovision Song Contest, traditionally held in May.
The Contest format comprises three live shows: the First Semi-Final (Tuesday evening), the Second Semi-Final (Thursday evening), and the Grand Final (a Saturday night spectacular).
Participating Broadcasters work hard to prepare acts that will qualify from the show’s Semi-Finals, hoping for a ticket to the Saturday night Grand Final where they will join the so-called ‘Big Five’ broadcasters and Host Broadcaster (usually the broadcaster of the nation than won the previous year).
The ‘Big Five’ are the Participating Broadcasters from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom – the group of countries who via their broadcasters make the biggest financial contribution towards the organisation of the Contest.
There is a comprehensive set of rules concerning participation that has evolved over the decades, but the main ones relating to competing songs and artists are:
- Songs must be original and no more than 3 minutes in length
- Lead vocals must be performed live
- No more than 6 performers can take to the stage during any one performance
In each show, after all songs have been performed, each country will give two sets of points (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12) to their favourite songs; one set is given by a jury of five music industry professionals from that country, and one set given by viewers watching the show in country. Viewers can vote by telephone, SMS and through the official app.
Out of fairness, you cannot vote for your own country.
In the Semi-Finals, only those countries who took part in that specific show, and those in non-participating countries – the “Rest of the World” – can vote (along with 2 or 3 of the ‘Big Five’ who are already in the Grand Final), whereas in the Grand Final, all competing countries and the “Rest of the World” can vote.
At the end of the Grand Final, the song that has received the most points wins the iconic trophy, and is performed once more.
NATIONAL SELECTIONS
Each country is de facto represented by its respective public broadcaster, and it’s at the broadcaster’s sole discretion to determine who will represent their country at the Eurovision Song Contest.
There are three common ways to select a participant for the Eurovision Song Contest:
Televised National Selection
The broadcaster can select their entry by organising their own ‘mini Eurovision’ earlier in the year. For example, Albania uses their well established Festivali i Këngës to pick a participant, Sweden runs its annual Melodifestivalen, and Portugal utilises Festival da Canção.
Internal Selection
The broadcaster can invite submissions or approach record labels and individuals, and run the process without public involvement. This method has worked well in recent years for the United Kingdom (Sam Ryder finishing 2nd in 2022), the Netherlands (Duncan Laurence champion in 2019) and Israel (Netta was victor in 2018).
Mixed Format
The best of both worlds, where, for example, an artist is chosen by the broadcaster, leaving the song choice down to a public vote.
The EBU strongly encourages participating broadcasters to engage the public with the selection of a participant for the Eurovision Song Contest.
SEMI-FINAL ALLOCATION DRAW
As the Contest moves around the globe, so do the Hosting responsibilities, and in January, the Host Broadcaster meets with their predecessor to symbolically mark the passing of the Contest from one Host City to the next.
It’s at this event that the Semi-Final Allocation Draw takes place, which determines which country takes part in which of the two Semi-Finals.
EVENT WEEKS
While most TV viewers are focused on the three live shows, the broadcasts are in fact the climax of two exciting weeks in the Host City.
- All participants rehearse individually on stage twice for each show. Rehearsals begin up to two weeks before the Saturday night Grand Final.
- The Host City normally organises a Eurovision Village to entertain locals and visitors, and to give an extra platform for participants to perform, as well as screening the live shows.
- Each of the three live shows is preceded by Dress Rehearsals. Tickets are sold to the second and third Dress Rehearsals.
- Traditionally, a Welcome Reception and ‘Turquoise Carpet’ Ceremony are held on the Sunday preceding the live shows, for delegations and selected invitees.
On top of official events and engagements, the Host City welcomes tens of thousands of visitors, with City-organised and fan-run events.
FAIRNESS
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is strongly committed to secure the fairness of the Eurovision Song Contest. In order to assure Participating Broadcasters, contestants and the public a fair and valid result the EBU implemented a wide range of measures.
Governance
Participation in the contest is governed by the Eurovision Song Contest Rules. These Rules are established and enforced by the contest’s governing body, the Reference Group, on behalf of all Participating Broadcasters. Embedded within the Rules is a wealth of legacy, some of which dating back several decades. The EBU and the Reference Group are committed to continuously improving the Rules.
Significant changes that touch upon the basics of the contest will have to be approved by the EBU’s Television Committee, a higher governing body on behalf of the EBU’s Member Broadcasters.
The Executive Supervisor on behalf of the EBU, who is a permanent member of the Reference Group, ensures that the Rules are being followed on a day-to-day basis and reports any breach of the Rules to the Reference Group.
In particular, the Executive Supervisor oversees the voting procedure that determines the outcome of the Eurovision Song Contest.
A breach of the Rules may result in a formal warning, a financial penalty or a sanction. The highest possible sanction is an exclusion from participation in the contest for a maximum of three consecutive years.
Voting validation and observation
The outcome of the Eurovision Song Contest is determined by a jury of music industry professionals and viewers, each making a 50 percent contribution to the result.
Each jury, as well as each individual jury member, must meet a strict set of criteria regarding professional background, as well as diversity in gender and age. Additionally, judges pledge in writing they will evaluate the entries based on a set of criteria and state that they are not connected to any of the contestants in any way that could affect their ability to vote independently. Judges can only take seat in the jury once every three years.
The juries vote on the basis of the second Dress Rehearsal of each show, which takes place the night before each live show. Each judge should vote independently and no discussion about their vote is permitted. An independent notary oversees the jury gathering, to assure all regulatory procedures are being followed.
Each jury submits their result to the EBU and its official voting partner Digame via a highly secured system, as well as by fax.
Viewers can submit their vote by phone call, SMS or via the official app. They can vote up to 20 times. Voting tariffs are set by each Participating Broadcaster and will be presented on screen during the shows. Exceptions may apply due to differences in national legislation.
All televotes are being processed by the Pan-European Response Platform (PERP), which was developed by the EBU’s official voting partner Once to assure all votes are counted in accordance with the Rules. The entire televoting process is monitored live by some 70 trained professionals from the Voting Control Centre in Cologne, Germany. The setup assures that any attempts to unfairly influence the voting, e.g. via bulk voting are detected and mitigated. The exact methods to prevent and/or detect malicious voting is classified and only known to the EBU Executive Supervisor, the Chairman of the Reference Group, E&Y and Once.
The entire procedure – both jury voting as well as televoting – is overlooked by independent observers of E&Y and by the EBU’s Executive Supervisor, to assure that all results are being interpreted in accordance with the Rules.
The orgnisers behind the contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is organised yearly by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), together with a Host Broadcaster and around 40 Participating Broadcasters.
The Contest is overseen by the Reference Group on behalf of the Participating Broadcasters, and each Participating Broadcaster is represented by a Head of Delegation.
EUROPEAN BROADCASTING UNION (EBU)
Established in 1950 and also known in French as Union Européenne de Radio-télévision (UER), the EBU is the world’s leading alliance of public service media.
The European Broadcasting Union has 112 member organisations in 56 countries and an additional 31 Associates in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas. Members operate nearly 2,000 television, radio and online channels and services, and offer a wealth of content across other platforms.
For the Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU supports and supervises the work of the Host Broadcaster and is the central point of contact of all Participating Broadcasters. Together with its Partners, the EBU is centrally dealing with all matters related to the brand, international marketing activities, rights management, voting, communications and online activities.
You can find out more about the EBU on their website.
EXECUTIVE SUPERVISOR
The Executive Supervisor oversees the preparation and organisation of the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of the EBU. Together with their team, they provide the main point of contact for over 40 participating EBU Members and are in charge of the operation on their behalf, ensuring the Contest is delivered annually by the Host Broadcaster in accordance with the Contest rules.
The current Executive Supervisor is Martin Österdahl, a senior television executive with over 20 years of experience.
Martin was the Executive Producer for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 and 2016 when the Contest was hosted by Swedish EBU Member SVT in Malmö and Stockholm respectively.
REFERENCE GROUP
The Reference Group was established in 1998 and is the executive committee tasked with overseeing the organisation of the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Participating Broadcasters.
As of September 2023, the Reference Group includes:
The Reference Group is established by the EBU Television Committee and its tasks are:
- Approving the development and future format of the Eurovision Song Contest
- Securing the financing of the Eurovision Song Contest
- Modernising the brand and raising awareness of the Eurovision Song Contest
- Overseeing the yearly preparation by the Host Broadcaster
The Reference Group meets four to five times each year on behalf of all Participating Broadcasters, and is required to take decisions in the general interest of the Contest.
The Reference Group is composed of the following members :
- The Chairperson
- Three elected members from among the Heads of Delegations
- Two Executive Producers from previous host countries, as well as the Executive Producer of the current Host Broadcaster
- Up to two invited members based on competence and experience
- The EBU Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor
You can read more about the Reference Group on the EBU website.
HOST BROADCASTER
The Eurovision Song Contest is usually organised by the national public broadcaster of the country that won the year before (with some notable exceptions). In 2022 the Host Broadcaster was Rai from Italy.
For the Host Broadcaster, organising the Contest is an unprecedented but exciting challenge which includes working closely with the Host City and appointing a domestic Executive Producer who can oversee and manage operations.
PARTICIPATING BROADCASTERS
The Participating Broadcasters are…. the broadcasters participating in the Eurovision Song Contest of any given year!
The list changes from year to year as broadcasters debut, leave and rejoin the Contest, but it usually comprises around 40 competing delegations.
Participating Broadcasters work hard to prepare acts that will qualify from the show’s Semi-Finals, hoping for a ticket to the Saturday night Grand Final where they will join the so-called ‘Big Five’ broadcasters.
The Big Five are the Participating Broadcasters from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom – the group of countries who via their broadcasters make the biggest financial contribution towards the organisation of the Contest.
HEAD OF DELEGATION (HOD)
Each Participating Broadcaster taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest must appoint a Head of Delegation (HoD). This person is the European Broadcasting Union’s contact point and leader of their country’s delegation at the Contest.
A delegation, managed by the Head of Delegation, also includes a Head of Press (HoP), the artists, songwriters, composers, backing vocalists and, of course, the artist’s entourage. The size of a delegation can vary greatly.
Traditionally, the HoDs meet in March before the Contest to discuss and learn about the upcoming event.The Organisers behind the Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is organised yearly by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), together with a Host Broadcaster and around 40 Participating Broadcasters.
The Contest is overseen by the Reference Group on behalf of the Participating Broadcasters, and each Participating Broadcaster is represented by a Head of Delegation.
EUROPEAN BROADCASTING UNION (EBU)
Established in 1950 and also known in French as Union Européenne de Radio-télévision (UER), the EBU is the world’s leading alliance of public service media.
The European Broadcasting Union has 112 member organisations in 56 countries and an additional 31 Associates in Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas. Members operate nearly 2,000 television, radio and online channels and services, and offer a wealth of content across other platforms.
For the Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU supports and supervises the work of the Host Broadcaster and is the central point of contact of all Participating Broadcasters. Together with its Partners, the EBU is centrally dealing with all matters related to the brand, international marketing activities, rights management, voting, communications and online activities.
You can find out more about the EBU on their website.
EXECUTIVE SUPERVISOR
The Executive Supervisor oversees the preparation and organisation of the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of the EBU. Together with their team, they provide the main point of contact for over 40 participating EBU Members and are in charge of the operation on their behalf, ensuring the Contest is delivered annually by the Host Broadcaster in accordance with the Contest rules.
The current Executive Supervisor is Martin Österdahl, a senior television executive with over 20 years of experience.
Martin was the Executive Producer for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 and 2016 when the Contest was hosted by Swedish EBU Member SVT in Malmö and Stockholm respectively.
REFERENCE GROUP
The Reference Group was established in 1998 and is the executive committee tasked with overseeing the organisation of the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Participating Broadcasters.
The Reference Group is established by the EBU Television Committee and its tasks are:
- Approving the development and future format of the Eurovision Song Contest
- Securing the financing of the Eurovision Song Contest
- Modernising the brand and raising awareness of the Eurovision Song Contest
- Overseeing the yearly preparation by the Host Broadcaster
The Reference Group meets four to five times each year on behalf of all Participating Broadcasters, and is required to take decisions in the general interest of the Contest.
The Reference Group is composed of the following members :
- The Chairperson
- Three elected members from among the Heads of Delegations
- Two Executive Producers from previous host countries, as well as the Executive Producer of the current Host Broadcaster
- Up to two invited members based on competence and experience
- The EBU Eurovision Song Contest Executive Supervisor
You can read more about the Reference Group on the EBU website.
HOST BROADCASTER
The Eurovision Song Contest is usually organised by the national public broadcaster of the country that won the year before (with some notable exceptions). In 2022 the Host Broadcaster was Rai from Italy.
For the Host Broadcaster, organising the Contest is an unprecedented but exciting challenge which includes working closely with the Host City and appointing a domestic Executive Producer who can oversee and manage operations.
PARTICIPATING BROADCASTERS
The Participating Broadcasters are…. the broadcasters participating in the Eurovision Song Contest of any given year!
The list changes from year to year as broadcasters debut, leave and rejoin the Contest, but it usually comprises around 40 competing delegations.
Participating Broadcasters work hard to prepare acts that will qualify from the show’s Semi-Finals, hoping for a ticket to the Saturday night Grand Final where they will join the so-called ‘Big Five’ broadcasters.
The Big Five are the Participating Broadcasters from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom – the group of countries who via their broadcasters make the biggest financial contribution towards the organisation of the Contest.
HEAD OF DELEGATION (HOD)
Each Participating Broadcaster taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest must appoint a Head of Delegation (HoD). This person is the European Broadcasting Union’s contact point and leader of their country’s delegation at the Contest.
A delegation, managed by the Head of Delegation, also includes a Head of Press (HoP), the artists, songwriters, composers, backing vocalists and, of course, the artist’s entourage. The size of a delegation can vary greatly.
Traditionally, the HoDs meet in March before the Contest to discuss and learn about the upcoming event.
Voting at the Eurovision Song Contest
In 2024, a number of changes have been made to the voting system at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Viewers watching around the world, outside those in the participating countries, can now vote for their favourite songs for 24 hours before each Semi-Final and the Grand Final.
Voting in the Grand Final will also now open just before the first song is performed, remain open throughout the performances and for up to 40 minutes after the final song is performed.
All voting is administered by Once, the EBU’s Voting Partner and overseen by E&Y, the Independent Voting Observer.
AUDIENCE VOTING
All viewers in participating and non-participating countries alike can vote using the official Eurovision App or go directly to www.esc.vote.
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.
PROFESSIONAL JURIES
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
VOTING IN THE SEMI-FINALS
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 – Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
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 – France, Italy and Spain.
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 for viewers in non-participating countries – Rest of The World – will open after the end of the transmission of Dress Rehearsal 2 of both Semi Finals, the previous evening, and closes at the beginning of the Live broadcast.
Voting for all viewers watching the Live Show will open after the last song is performed for approximately 15 to 25 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.
VOTING IN 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 for viewers in non-participating countries – Rest of The World – will open after the end of the transmission of Dress Rehearsal 2 of the Grand Final, the previous evening, and close at the beginning of the Live broadcast.
Voting for all viewers will open before the start of the first performance in the live Show and close approximately 25 to 40 minutes after the end of the last performance.
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 10 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.
The cumulative points total for each country in the Grand Final is then added to the scoreboard, country by country, beginning with the country that was ranked last by the Jury and working up the scoreboard to the country that was ranked first.
The country at the top of the scoreboard at the end of this sequence is the winner.
In the event of a tie, after all points are distributed from the Audience and Jury vote, the winner shall be the song which has which has obtained the highest rank from all the National Audiences and the Rest of the World Audience.
PLEASE NOTE: The national Audiences and national Juries cannot vote for the country they represent. The final results Including Audience and Jury results for every participating country and the Rest of The World result will be published on eurovision.tv after the Grand Final.
The Eurovision Song Contest rules
The Eurovision Song Contest has a detailed set of Rules, which have been established by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and are approved by the contest’s governing body, the Reference Group. On this page you can find the public summary of the Rules of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.
This version of the Rules is provided for the public informational purposes only.
EBU CO-PRODUCTION
INTERNATIONAL COPRODUCTION
The Eurovision Song Contest (the “ESC”) is an international coproduction by broadcasting organisations having the status of Members of the EBU, as defined under the EBU Statutes (the “Members”) which is carried out under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union (the “EBU”) as part of the television programme exchange known as Eurovision for the benefit of the Participating Broadcasters and of the Host Broadcaster.
The EBU appoints an Executive Supervisor (hereafter the “ESC Executive Supervisor”) to supervise the organization of the ESC and the production of the Shows as well as to oversee the preparation of the ESC operations throughout the year as further detailed under these Rules.
NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING BROADCASTERS
A maximum of 44 Members shall be allowed to participate (the “Participating Broadcasters”).
Members from a maximum total of 26 countries shall compete in the Final.
There shall be six guaranteed places therein, i.e. one for the producing organization, i.e. the Member which has won the preceding edition (the “Host Broadcaster”), and the five Members from France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom (the “Big 5”). Subject to a decision by the EBU in consultation with the Reference Group, the number of guaranteed places in the Final may be modified depending on circumstances.
Apart from the six broadcasters with guaranteed places, all Participating Broadcasters from a maximum of 38 countries shall compete in one of the Semi-Finals for the remaining places in the Final.
FORMAT
LIVE PRIME TIME ENTERTAINMENT SHOWS
The ESC is traditionally composed of three live Shows, two Semi-Finals, on Tuesdays and on Thursdays and one Final taking place on Saturdays taking place annually in May, in the country of the Host Broadcaster. The Acts are performed during the Shows in front of a live audience and the Shows are presented on stage, in both English and French, by the international presenters.
The Shows are produced and transmitted live by the Host Broadcaster and are made available over the Eurovision network for live broadcast by the Participating Broadcasters.
Each Show is a state-of-the-art, prime-time entertainment programme, world-class live television production. It consists in a musical competition in which artists entered by the Participating Broadcasters (the “Contestants”) will compete at the ESC by performing on stage live on television, songs (the “Acts”) to represent their respective countries. The Acts are performed one after the other with short sequences (the “Postcards”) in between.
The allocation of the countries to the two Semi-Finals and the position of appearance of the Host Broadcaster in the Final shall be decided by means of draws.
The outcome of the ESC is decided by the votes casted by the National Audiences and by National Juries appointed in the countries of the Participating Broadcasters.
During the Audience Voting window and the time necessary to calculate the results, there shall be so-called “interval acts” produced by the Host Broadcaster (the “Interval Acts”).
The announcement of the results is generally followed from a so-called “Green Room” by the Contestants having entered the ESC.
National commentary by commentators appointed by each of the Participating Broadcasters is added to the international version of the Shows for broadcast in their respective countries.
ENTRIES REQUIREMENTS
SELECTION OF THE SONGS
Each song which competes in the ESC shall be selected through a national selection to be organized by each Participating Broadcaster. The national selection is organized under the sole responsibility of the Participating Broadcaster in question.
SONGS REQUIREMENTS
(i) RELEASE DATE
The songs (lyrics and music compositions) submitted to represent the country of each Participating Broadcaster’s country in the ESC must be original and must not have been released and/or publicly performed in part or in full before 1 September 2023 (the “Release Date”).
In case the song submitted has been made available to the public, for example, but not limited to, on online video platforms, social networks or (semi-) publicly accessible databanks and/or performed publicly, for example but not limited to during concerts, prior to the Release Date the Participating Broadcaster must inform the ESC Executive Supervisor, who shall have authority to evaluate whether the song remains eligible for participation in the Contest.
In particular, the ESC Executive Supervisor shall assess whether such disclosure prior to the Release Date is likely to give to the song an advantage in the Contest vis-à-vis the other participating songs.
The ESC Executive Supervisor shall have authority to authorise or deny participation of a song which may have been available to the public as described above. The ESC Executive Supervisor shall consult the Reference Group in case of doubt.
(ii) DURATION
The maximum duration of each song is three minutes. Any song/performance which is longer shall not be eligible to participate and the Participating Broadcaster may be disqualified in case it fails (i) to submit to the EBU a song complying with the requested duration hereunder by the prescribed deadline or (ii) to (have) perform(ed) on stage, a song complying with the requested duration hereunder.
(iii) LANGUAGE
Each Participating Broadcaster is free to decide the language in which its Contestant(s) will sing.
PERFORMANCES AT THE ESC
(i) PERFORMANCES IN THE SHOWS
The stage performance shall be identical in all second (Jury) Dress Rehearsals and during the live Shows.
(ii) LIVE PERFORMANCES ON STAGE (AND BACKING TRACKS)
All songs shall be performed live on the stage in the Host City at the selected Venue with recorded Backing Tracks.
No on-stage Contestant (whether Lead Singer(s), or dancers) shall be allowed to lip-sync in such a way as to give the impression that they are singing when they actually are not.
No pitch-correction (e.g. Auto-tuning) for live vocals shall be allowed in any case for the live Act performances on stage.
Plugging instruments to play live on stage shall not be allowed. The Host Broadcaster and the ESC Executive Supervisor shall verify respect for this rule.
CONTESTANTS (ELIGIBILTY CRITERIA)
(i) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF CONTESTANTS
Each performance may consist of a maximum of six artists on stage. No live animals shall be allowed on stage.
(ii) AGE OF CONTESTANTS
All Contestants and artists competing in a Semi-Final must be aged at least 16 on the day of the Final. All Contestants and artists competing only in the Final must be aged at least 16 on the day of the Final.
(iii) COUNTRY REPRESENTATION
No Contestant and/or artist may compete for more than one country in the ESC in a given year.
VOTING
OUTCOME OF THE ESC
The outcome of the ESC is determined by votes which are cast by
I) IN THE COUNTRIES OF THE PARTICIPATING BROADCASTERS
- the national audiences of the Participating Broadcasters (the “National Audience”) in both Semi-Finals and the Grand-Final through centralised televoting (the “Televoting”) and where feasible or mandatory, through paid online voting (the “paid online voting)” – When referred collectively hereafter, the televoting and the paid online voting shall be referred to as the “National Audience Voting”
- the Jurors of the National Juries appointed by each Participating Broadcaster in each participating country (Grand-Final only), and
II) OUTSIDE THE COUNTRIES OF THE PARTICIPATING BROADCASTERS (THE “REST OF THE WORLD” OR “ROW“)
- the international audience outside of the countries of the Participating Broadcasters (the “RoW Audience“), in both Semi-Finals and the Grand-Final through centralised paid online voting (the “RoW Voting”).
When referred collectively hereafter, the National Audience Voting and the RoW Voting shall be referred to as the “Audience Voting”.
The National Audience Voting is compulsory in all the countries of the Participating Broadcasters. Each Participating Broadcaster shall cooperate with the Voting Partner appointed by the EBU for the National Audience Voting and the national jury voting so as to ensure a central control and verification of the results.
All Participating Broadcasters are obliged to follow the agreed rules in relation to the voting which shall be laid down in the Official Voting Instructions which shall be an integral part of these Rules (to be distributed separately).
AUDIENCE VOTING– VOTES OF NATIONAL AUDIENCES AND RoW AUDIENCE
(i) IMPLEMENTATION
NATIONAL AUDIENCE VOTING
In the Semi-Final: All Participating Broadcasters presenting a song in a Semi-Final are obliged to implement the National Audience Voting system for that Semi-Final. The six Participating Broadcasters with guaranteed places in the Final shall also implement the National Audience Voting system for the Semi-Final which they are required to broadcast.
In the Final: All Participating Broadcasters are obliged to implement the National Audience Voting system for the Final in their respective countries.
REST OF THE WORLD AUDIENCE VOTING
The principle of the RoW voting is to collect all votes cast in the countries outside the countries of the Participating Broadcasters and to combine the votes of the RoW Audience as one additional country.
(ii) MODALITIES
IN THE COUNTRIES OF THE PARTICIPATING BROADCASTERS: NATIONAL AUDIENCE VOTING
MEANS OF NATIONAL AUDIENCE VOTING: Viewers in the countries of the Participating Broadcasters are invited to vote for their favourite songs by means of televoting (votes of the National Audiences by telephone and SMS, including the ESC App) and in certain countries, where such method is agreed upon between the Voting Partner and the Participating Broadcaster concerned, via paid online voting.
NO VOTING FOR ITS OWN COUNTRY: Voters must be excluded from voting for the song of their own country of residence, and this must be made known to them.
IN THE REST OF THE WORLD: ROW VOTING
MEANS OF RoW VOTING: In the Rest of the World, the audience in the RoW is invited to vote through a dedicated website operated by the Voting Partner under the supervision of the EBU. The RoW Audience is eligible to vote for all songs in each Show.
VOTING RESTRICTIONS: Audiences from Participating Broadcasters shall not be eligible to vote in the RoW voting.
The countries in which the RoW voting shall be implemented and performed shall be decided by the EBU and subject to applicable restrictions that may exist in some countries.
III) AWARD OF THE POINTS
WITH RESPECT TO NATIONAL AUDIENCE VOTING, IN EACH COUNTRY, the song which has received the highest number of votes shall be ranked first, the song which has received the second highest number of votes shall be ranked second, and so on until the last song.
In both Semi-Finals and in the Grand-Final, only the ten best ranked songs in the Audience will be considered and the results of the National Audiences in each country shall be determined as follows:
- 12 points shall be allocated to the song having obtained the best rank from the National Audiences;
- 10 points to the song having obtained the second-best rank from the National Audiences,
- 8 points to the song having obtained the third-best rank from the National Audiences,
- 7 points to the next,
- and so on, down to 1 point for the song having obtained the tenth-best rank from the National Audiences.
WITH RESPECT TO THE ROW VOTING, all the votes cast by the RoW Audience from the non-participating countries will be counted together and shall award a total of 58 points, (i.e it will count as one single participating country). The points will be attributed using the same manner as the one used for the National Audience Voting, (i.e. from 1 to 8, 10, and 12 points),
VOTES OF NATIONAL JURIES
(i) IMPLEMENTATION
In addition to the National Audience Voting, in each participating country, there shall be a National Jury to be appointed by that country’s Participating Broadcaster, unless decided otherwise by the Reference Group, to vote in the Semi-Finals and in the Final. The Reference Group may decide to change the jury voting set-up.
National Juries shall vote in all the countries of the Participating Broadcasters and in all cases.
In the Semi-Final: All Participating Broadcasters having a Contestant in a Semi-Final shall ensure that a National Jury votes in that Semi-Final. The six Participating Broadcasters with guaranteed places in the Final shall also appoint a National Jury to vote in the Semi-Final which they are required to broadcast.
In the Final: All Participating Broadcasters shall appoint a National Jury to vote in the Final (even if their song is not selected for the Final).
Implementation of the compulsory National Audience Voting shall not exempt any Participating Broadcaster from appointing a National Jury.
(ii) MODALITIES
The National Juries shall not be allowed to vote for the song of their own country.
When voting, Jury Members shall use all their professional skill and experience without favoring any Contestant on the account of their nationality, gender or likeliness and shall be free from bias, external influence foreign perspectives or pressure (including but not limited to betting odds or public opinions). The sole reference for their judgment must be the performance of the Acts during the second (Jury) Dress Rehearsals of the respective Shows.
(iii) AWARD OF THE POINTS
With respect to the National Jury, the National Jurors shall rank first their favourite song, second, their second favourite song, third, their third favourite song, and so on until their least favourite song which shall be ranked last.
Abstentions are not allowed, except that the song representing the country of the Participating Broadcaster which has appointed the National Jury shall be excluded from the vote.
It is not allowed to award the same rank to two different songs.
In both Semi-Finals and in the Grand-Final, only the ten best inal ranked songs by the National Jury will be considered; the results of the National Jury in each country shall be determined as follows:
- 12 points shall be allocated to the song having obtained the best rank from the National Jury;
- 10 points to the song having obtained the second-best rank from the National Jury,
- 8 points to the song having obtained the third-best rank from the National Jury,
- 7 points to the next,
- and so on, down to 1 point for the song having obtained the tenth-best rank from the National Jury.
RESULTS
In the Semi Finals, subject to the Reference Group approval, only the points of Audiences which have voted in the respective Semi-Finals shall be used to calculate the official result of each Semi-Final.
In the Final; the points of the National Audiences and of the National Juries shall be combined according to a ratio which is determined by the EBU, subject to the Reference Group approval, to calculate the official result of the Final.
For example, if the ratio is 50-50, the points of the National Jury carry the same weight as the points of the National Audiences.
PRESENTATION AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE RESULTS
The results shall be announced once all songs have been performed, after the Audience Voting window is closed and the results have been calculated.
IN THE SEMI FINALS
In the Semi-Finals, the international presenters shall announce the names of the countries which have qualified from the Semi-Finals for the Final.
IN THE FINAL
The results of the National Juries in each country are announced in turn by the spokesperson of each Participating Broadcaster, clearly and distinctly in English or in French, stating the name of the country concerned and the points allocated by its National Jury.
The Audience Voting results are announced by the International Presenters.
The Audience Voting points from all participating countries are combined with the points of the National Juries, providing one combined score for each song.
At the end of the process, the International Presenters shall announce the winner(s).
The Contestants, song writer(s) and Participating Broadcaster of the winning song(s) in the Final shall receive the ESC Trophy, and the transmission of the Final shall end with a further performance of the winning song(s).
WINNERS
The respective winners of the Semi-Finals shall be the 10 song(s) in each Semi-Final which, according to all information made available to the EBU by the Voting Partner, has/have obtained the highest number of points once the results of the National Audiences have been added at the time of announcement of the results.
The winner(s) of the Final shall be the song(s) which, according to all information made available to the EBU by the Voting Partner, has/have obtained the highest combined number of points once the results of the National Audiences and of the National Juries have been added at the time of announcement of the results.
ESC TITLE AND VALUES
ESC TITLE
The main title of the Shows is the “Eurovision Song Contest”, followed by the year during which it takes place.
It shall be used by all broadcasters, although they may instead use a translation into their national language, subject to the approval of the EBU. If the translation is approved, the main title need not be used. Broadcasters are also permitted to include a minor title under the main title, using the name by which the ESC has been known in recent years in their respective countries.
NON-POLITICAL EVENT
The ESC is a non-political event. All Participating Broadcasters, including the Host Broadcaster, shall be responsible to ensure that all necessary measures are undertaken within in their respective Delegations and teams to safeguard the interests and the integrity of the ESC and to make sure that the ESC shall in no case be politicized and/or instrumentalized and/or otherwise brought into disrepute in any way.
VALUES AND INTEGRITY
“EBU Values”: Universality, Independence, Excellence, Diversity, Accountability and Innovation.
“ESC Values”: Universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity and proud tradition of celebrating diversity through music
The Participating Broadcasters shall at all times respect the EBU and the ESC Values and take all steps to protect the integrity of the ESC and of the Shows.
They shall ensure that no contestant, delegation or country is discriminated and/or ridiculed in any manner.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
OWNERSHIP
The EBU is in exclusive control of all centralized marketing and exploitation of the ESC on a worldwide basis.
DISTRIBUTION LICENSING
Without prejudice to the other rules in this Section, all broadcasting and other rights to the Shows and the ESC are exclusively owned by the EBU, to be managed centrally by the EBU on behalf of the Participating Broadcasters. The EBU shall be responsible for coordinating all sales of the Shows (including any ESC content produced by the EBU), in whole or in part, to non-participating broadcasters from countries where rights remain available and to third parties.
THE SHOWS
Radio: All Members which are radio organisations shall be granted, free of charge (except for the usual rights payments to national collecting societies), for their territory, the right to broadcast on a linear basis the Shows (live or deferred), in whole or in part, an unlimited number of times until the next ESC, (the celebrity act may have to be excluded for deferred broadcasts taking place 30 days after the Final, if so notified by the EBU). In addition, they are entitled to make available on a non-linear basis until the next ESC audio extracts from the Shows on their fully owned website, as long as no more than 30 seconds per song are used.
Members which are radio organisations but which are not part of a Participating Broadcaster’s organization and which are located in the country of a Participating Broadcaster which includes both a radio and a television service shall be entitled to broadcast the Shows only if they have obtained the prior written authorization of the Participating Broadcaster in that country.
Radio organizations (other than Members) from countries where rights remain available, may acquire the right to broadcast the Shows on their territory from the EBU.
Television and online platforms: Television broadcasters and media organisations from countries where rights remain available may acquire from the EBU the right to broadcast or otherwise transmit the Shows on their territory on a linear and/or non linear basis. In countries where rights remain available, non-participating EBU Members shall have a first option, to be exercised within a deadline set by the EBU, to purchase the Shows for their territory. Depending on the facilities available, non-participating broadcasters from countries where rights remain available may also request the right to send a commentator, and/or a production team, to the ESC.
EXTRACTS
The EBU shall be entitled to grant licences with respect to any extracts from the Shows, and/or from the Dress Rehearsals and/or from the ESC Content produced by the EBU to third parties for inclusion in any audiovisual works or media products or services.
ESC LOGO AND ARTWORK
No commercial or non-commercial entity shall use the logo or other distinctive elements of the ESC or the Shows without the prior written permission of the EBU.
REPORTING ACCESS RULES
Specific Reporting Access Rules for non-rightsholders are made available separately by the EBU in advance of the ESC and shall be published on Eurovision.tv.
FINAL PROVISIONS
PREVAILING VERSION
These Rules are drafted in English and French. In the event of any inconsistencies between the two versions, the English version shall prevail.
This document is intended to inform the public on the rules applicable to the Eurovision Song Contest. It is not binding upon the EBU and/or the Participating Broadcasters.
How to vote for your favourite songs
YOU CAN VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE EUROVISION SONG VIA THE APP, PHONE AND SMS (VIA DETAILS ON SCREEN), AND ESC.VOTE.
VOTING FROM PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES
Viewers are able to cast their votes via the official Eurovision Song Contest app (or by following instructions on screen) during the live Semi-Finals and Grand Final. The app is available for your iOS, Android or Windows device, and if you vote via the app you will receive a special video message from your favourite artists.
In addition, those watching in 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.
You can only vote in the Semi-Final your country takes part in, or the Semi-Final assigned to your country if you’re watching from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom or Sweden. You can vote up to 20 times for the countries you want to vote for.
VOTING FROM NON-PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES
Viewers watching in eligible countries not participating in the Contest are able to vote in each Semi-Final and the Grand Final.
All viewers in non-participating countries 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.
WHEN TO VOTE
Participating Countries
At the Grand Final, voting will open just before the first song is performed, and will remain open until approximately 25 and 40 minutes after the last song has been presented. In the Semi-Finals, voting will open after the last song has been performed, and will stay open for approximately 15 to 25 minutes.
Non-Participating Countries
Viewers in the Rest of The World will have nearly 24 hours to vote for their favourite songs, split across two voting windows.
Online voting will open for the Rest of The World at approximately midnight on the day of each Semi-Final and Grand Final, and will initially stay open until the live shows begin.
At the Grand Final, voting for the Rest of the World opens again just before the first song is performed, and will remain open until approximately 25 and 40 minutes after the last song has been presented. In the Semi-Finals, voting will open again after the last song has been performed, and will stay open for approximately 15 to 25 minutes.
