The Director of the Eurovision Song Contest, Martin Green, has released an open letter to the Contest’s community. His response comes following claims of voter manipulation from Israeli broadcaster KAN.
Director confirms EBU will “look into” televoting issues
In a post uploaded onto the Eurovision.tv website, Green began by congratulating Austria’s JJ for his win in Basel. He added that ORF are now in the early stages of organising next year’s Contest.
He then went on to address concerns regarding the fairness of the televote, which resulted in Israel gaining 297 points. Following the Contest, calls were made from RTVE, RTV SLO, RÚV, AVROTROS and others for transparency surrounding the raw data of the televote. Several countries have already released the full breakdown of their televote, showing irregularities in the number of votes cast.
Speaking on this, Green said:
The ESC voting system includes multiple security layers and a comprehensive set of rules to ensure that a valid result is generated. Our voting partner – Once Germany GmbH – uses redundant systems and multiple platforms to ensure the correct delivery of votes to the central system.
For the Eurovision Song Contest, specially designed systems are used to monitor and prevent fraud. Additionally, more than 60 individuals in Cologne and several others in Vienna and Amsterdam monitor the voting process in each country and maintain direct contact with telecommunication and broadcasting partners globally. All results are verified through an 8-eye principle by the CEO and senior employees of Once, who collectively have over 40 years of voting experience.
Independent compliance monitor EY oversees and authenticates the results. Every decision related to the outcomes is documented and assessed. The entire process, including the result calculation of the platform and the voting results is thoroughly reviewed and verified by EY.
The remarks came amid allegations that Israel had embarked on a major advertising campaign to secure the win in the televote. A report by Eurovision Spotlight confirmed evidence the Israeli government had sponsored mass marketing for the song.
Addressing these concerns, Green added:
All audience voting, be it SMS, call or online shows evidence of the motivation of communities or diasporas around certain contestants. This can be for many reasons including personal attributes, back stories, geographic affiliations and current affairs. Historically the ESC has been as open to this as other singing and music competitions and reality television.
Green went on to say that ahead of a debrief for the Contest next month, the topic surrounding the influence of the televote will be discussed. The Director added that promotion of acts is an integral part of the music industry. However, it should not be used to mobilise diasporas and communities to the detriment of the Contest. These queries will be raised at the Reference Group meeting in June, the Director said.
Number of votes cast to be examined
On top of this, Director Martin said that another issue regarding the number of votes able to be cast should be looked at. Currently, fans can vote up to 20 times for their favourite song. However, many have argued this leaves the Contest susceptible to voting interference and manipulation.
Addressing these concerns, Martin said:
Another example is the number of votes we allow per person – 20 per payment method. This is designed to ensure that audiences of all ages can vote for more than one of their favourite songs and there is no current evidence that it disproportionally effects the final result – but the question has been asked and so we will look at it.
It comes as EBU Media Director Jean Philip De Tender confirmed to RTL Boulevard that organisers were considering reducing the number of votes available to be cast. De Tender explained that 20 votes was set to appeal to families watching the Contest, so everyone could cast a vote. However, the representative said the EBU would “reconsider” the maximum number of votes that could be used.
The story of Eurovision 2025
Switzerland hosted the 69th edition of the competition following Nemo’s historic win at Eurovision 2024 in Malmö. A few weeks after their win, Reto Peritz, and Moritz Stadler, was announced as the Executive Producers, with the other roles revealed in July 2024.
Basel, Bern & Biel/Bienne, Geneva, and Zurich submitted bids to host next year’s competition, with Basel and Geneva being shortlisted as the final two cities. After the shortlist, it was revealed that Basel would host Eurovision 2025, at St. Jakobshalle with the shows taking place on May 13, 15 and 17.
What do you think of the open letter from Director Martin Green? Do you think the EBU will implement any changes? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, and Bluesky for more information about Eurovision 2026!
News Source: EBU
Photo Credit: James Stack / BBC
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