How Jury Voting Works
A complete and updated explanation of how the Eurovision professional jury works under the 2026 rules.
The 2026 Jury Structure
Since 2026, each participating country appoints a 7‑member professional jury, replacing the previous 5‑member format used from 2013 to 2025. The new structure introduces a generational requirement: at least 2 jurors must be between 16 and 25 years old.
This change was introduced to ensure that the jury reflects a broader range of musical tastes, cultural perspectives, and listening habits. Younger jurors bring a more contemporary view, while experienced members maintain professional and technical evaluation standards.
Who Can Be a Juror?
Jurors must be music professionals: singers, composers, producers, vocal coaches, radio hosts, or industry experts. They must:
• Have no connection to any competing act
• Not have served more than 3 times in the last 10 years
• Represent a balance of gender, age, and musical background
• Work independently without discussing rankings with other jurors
The inclusion of younger jurors ensures that modern pop, digital trends, and youth‑driven genres are fairly evaluated.
How Jurors Score Each Performance
Each juror ranks all songs individually using five official criteria:
• Vocal Capacity – pitch, control, power, stability
• Stage Performance – charisma, presence, choreography, camera work
• Composition & Originality – musical structure, creativity, arrangement
• Artistic Impression – emotional impact, authenticity, storytelling
• Overall Quality – how the performance works as a complete package
Each juror produces a full ranking from best to worst. These rankings are then combined to form the country’s official jury ranking.
How Jury Points Are Calculated
Once the combined ranking is produced, the top 10 songs receive points using the Eurovision scoring system:
1–8, 10 and 12 points
These points are announced during the live show by the country’s spokesperson. The jury points represent 50% of the total score in the Grand Final.
Why the Jury Exists
The professional jury was introduced to balance the influence of televoting, which can be affected by diaspora, regional alliances, or viral popularity. The jury ensures:
• Fair evaluation of vocal and musical quality
• Reduced impact of bloc voting
• Recognition of artistic and technical excellence
• A more balanced and unpredictable final result
The 2026 update strengthens this balance by adding younger voices, ensuring that modern genres and contemporary pop trends are not undervalued.
How Jury Voting Impacts the Final Results
Jury voting can dramatically influence the final scoreboard. A song that performs moderately in the televote can rise significantly with strong jury support. Conversely, televote favorites with weaker technical execution may drop if the jury ranks them low.
The combination of jury and televote creates the iconic Eurovision tension: no one knows the winner until the very last points are revealed.