What Eurovision Director Martin Green's open letter to fans says
- aussievision
- 19 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Alongside the rule changes announced yesterday by the EBU, Eurovision Director Martin Green CBE also penned an open letter to fans.
This was the second time he'd done this, after a similar letter at the end of May.
The full letter is available on the Eurovision website, but a summary of what he said in relation to each rule change is below.
His promise to look into issues
Martin addressed that there were issues to review and that they'd spent the summer reviewing these.
"Over the past months, that is [looking into these issues, is] exactly what we have done. I want to share with you how we’ve acted on the promises we made, shaped by feedback from our Members but also your concerns and your unwavering belief in what the Eurovision Song Contest stands for."
Strongest message EBU heard
"One of the clearest messages we received was the need to strengthen trust in the fairness of the Contest, to ensure it remains a neutral space for the celebration of music and its power to bring us together.
"In response, they reviewed the voting, consulted with broadcasters and delegations and made the changes for."
Addressing the promotion rule change
"Firstly, we have strengthened the rules on song promotion to help protect the Contest against disproportionate, externally driven campaigns. While artists, broadcasters and record companies will, and should, always promote their songs as part of their professional work and engagement with fans, no broadcaster or artist may now directly engage with or support campaigns by third parties - including governments or their agencies - that could distort the vote."
The reason for the change in maximum number of votes
"We have reduced the maximum number of votes possible per payment method from 20 to 10. This is an important change which recognizes that, although the number of votes previously allowed did not unduly influence the results of previous Contests, there were concerns expressed by participating broadcasters and fans alike.
"The reduction is designed to encourage more balanced participation, and we will more actively encourage audiences who wish to use the maximum 10 votes allowed to, in the spirit of the competition, show support across several competing songs and artists."
Return of jury to the semi-finals.
"Another important step we have taken is restoring professional juries to the Semi Finals for the first time since 2022, returning to a roughly 50/50 balance between jury and audience votes across all shows.
"We want to make sure that songs with artistic merit, strong musical foundations and creative ambition have a fair chance to reach the Grand Final alongside those with widespread public support."
Jury expansion
They have allowed the criteria of jury members to expand to include music journalists, teachers and others (though many of these have already been included previously). Martin explains why.
"In addition to widening this pool of expertise, each jury will now have 7 members rather than the previous 5, including at least two jurors aged 18-25, reflecting the Contest’s wide appeal to new generations.
"To protect the integrity of the competition, all jurors must sign a formal declaration confirming their commitment to vote independently, impartially and not to share their views publicly before the competition concludes."
Reducing coordinated voting
"We are enhancing our technical safeguards to protect the Contest from suspicious or coordinated voting activity. Working with our voting partner, Once, we will continue to strengthen the advanced security systems that monitor, detect and prevent fraudulent patterns.
"Trust in the integrity of the audience vote is vital, and these improvements add another layer of protection for fans, delegations and artists alike."
Other changes made:
They have, according to Martin's letter also:
Clarified expectations in our Code of Conduct,
Strengthened our internal review processes for songs, staging and artist profiles, and
Made accountability clearer for participating broadcasters.
"We will enforce our rules more consistently to prevent the Contest from being used as a political platform or instrument of any kind. The Eurovision Song Contest belongs to all of us, and it must remain a place where music takes centre stage."
His final message
"I truly hope that this robust package of measures provides assurance for artists, broadcasters and fans alike. I hope that it respects and strengthens the values of the Contest. Above all I hope it allows for the Contest to acknowledge the sometimes-difficult world in which we live but resist attempts to turn our stage into a place of geopolitical division."
Do you support these changes?
Yes, these needed changing
It's a good start but more needs to happen
Yes for some, no for others
Unsure