Changes to voting rules in the Eurovision Song Contest and the problem of bias (2016–2022)

Abstract

The aim of the article is this paper is to trace changes in the voting system of the Eurovision Song Contest. The research process proposes a hypothesis that despite the multiple changes to the voting system of the Eurovision Song Contest, the goal of reducing biased voting has yet to be achieved. The indications of bias during Eurovision and the differences between professional jury voting and televoting are presented. There is also a description of several activities that the main organizer of the Contest undertakes to counter voting irregularities. The author mainly focuses her attention on the years 2016–2019 and 2021–2022 because the most significant changes in voting structures and their apparent stabilization occurred during this period. The article also outlines further changes that were implemented in May 2023. The study used process tracing and comparative perspective as research methods.