The juries… should they stay or should they go? It’s a debate we’ve all had countless times with our fellow Eurovision friends. The voting segment, which has changed format multiple times over the years, has always been the topic of heated debates within the fandom. Whether it be all juries, all televote or 50/50, there’s always pro’s and contra’s. 

The voting segment: a history

Niall and I have been planning on having this discussion for a while. And now we finally did (check out the podcast/YouTube video below). Before we get into it however, it might be interesting to dive into the history of Eurovision and see how the voting segment has evolved over the years.

As you all know, the contest first took place about 68 years ago in Switzerland. I know, it feels like we’ve come full circle… Lys Assia won the first ever trophy for Switzerland in Lugano with her song “Refrain”. Back then only 7 countries took part and each of them sent 2 songs. In those days there were no fancy LED’s presenting us with an interactive and animated scoreboard. Nor did the public get to call or text or press a button in an app to vote for their favourite song. 

Each country provided 2 jurors who handed out points to the songs from 1-10. Fun fact: back then juries were allowed to vote for their own country. Can you imagine? The famous “douze points” was only awarded for the first time in 1975! What’s more is that the total amount of points awarded to each country was never made public. The presenter simply announced the winner at the end of the night. So technically you could claim that all other songs finished in a joint second place, and no one could prove otherwise. 

Over the years the voting system changed about 9 times. From splitting a set amount of points amongst several songs, to giving points to their top 3 or top 5 songs. It wasn’t until 1975 that the EBU finally locked in the current system of 1-8, 10 and 12 points. From 1971-1973 there was even a rule stating that each country had to pick 2 jury members. One under 25 years of age and the other over 25 with at least 10 years between them. All in an attempt to make the voting fair. 

Introduction of the televote

In 1997 we saw the show’s very first televoting result. 25 songs competed for the trophy. For 20 countries the points were determined by a panel of 16 jury members (8 members of the public and 8 music professionals). The other 5 countries provided a full televote result. Those 5 countries were Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom. 

For the first time ever in 1998, all countries had to organise a televote to determine their points. A jury vote was allowed only in the event of exceptional circumstances. This system was used all the way up to 2009, with the exception of 2001 and 2002, where countries were allowed to choose between all televote or a 50/50 split as we now have.

Return of the juries

In 2009 that 50/50 split vote was put into place. Tho we still use a similar system to this day, some changes have been made over the years since. First off in 2013, both juries and televoters provided a full ranking of the songs, rather than a top 10. These scores were then added together to make one final ranking.

In 2016 the EBU decided to award the jury and televote points in 2 seperate parts, thereby doubling the total amount of points awarded. The televoting, as we all know, is added per country at the end of the jury vote. First starting from lowest to highest. These days in order of their current ranking. 

The perfect voting system?

Whilst there’s always been dissatisfaction with any voting method, it’s quite clear that the current 50/50 split has caused a lot of irritation amongst the fans. But is there actually a golden system? Is there something the EBU could do to optimise the voting? Or do we just need to settle for the middle ground? The answers to these questions are: no, probably, and yes.

There is definitely no single way the voting will ever be a 100% fair. One could argue that some of our favourites have done badly or just missed out on a victory because of a faulty voting system. But the truth is that so many other factors come into play that might have an effect on the final placement of a song. It might simply be overlooked, it might get a bad running order, or it could just be a really strong year like this year. In which case a 15th place is actually a really good result! 

The EBU made many changes over the years, sometimes to make it more fair, other times to add to the excitement. Some of you will be advocates of removing the juries all together. But just think of all the gems we would’ve missed out on. All those songs that would’ve flopped without them. Think of Gustaph (won’t somebody PLEASE think of Gustaph)!

However I do understand the frustration of some fans when their entry wins the public vote with a massive score and yet fails to win the contest because the juries tanked them. Especially countries that have competed a long time without ever winning. I get it. I would probably also be frustrated if it were my country. Or maybe you’re not so patriotic at all and you just don’t care. As long you can just enjoy the music, which after all is what it’s all about.

You win some, you lose some

So it seems like we might have to settle for that middle ground. There will always be years where our favourites win, and years where they don’t. Sometimes the jury will get the upper hand like this year and last. Other times the televote will cast the final decision like in 2021 and 2022. It’s a simple case of “you win some, you lose some”. 

Whatever your opinion on the matter is, I advise you to take a look at, or listen to, our latest podcast! Which you can find below. Niall and I discuss the current voting system and share our ideas on how it could potentially be optimised, both the jury and the televote. And it may surprise you that we did not constantly see eye to eye. 

But never forget, as Niall says in the video, that what’s even more important than winning, is supporting your favourites after the contest ends! So go get your tickets and go see them live on tour! Stream their music! Buy that merch! It’s not expensive at all…