How does Eurovision voting work?

By Charlotte McLaughlin, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter

Voting for the Eurovision Song Contest is a blend of polls from countries taking part and the music industry from that country.

Added to this, the rest of the world has been allowed to vote as a block in recent years, and with a long timeframe before the acts sing.

– How do the semi-finals work?

In the semi-finals, only the public from the countries in those separate preliminary bouts on Tuesday and Thursday can vote – including the “big five”, and the previous winner, which includes Switzerland following Nemo’s The Code triumphing at Malmo 2024.

For example, when Sweden, Ukraine, Switzerland and Spain are among those in the first semi-final, they can vote along with the rest of the world, but Ireland, the UK and Israel cannot until the second semi-final.

The five countries France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom contribute the most to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), and are automatically into the final, but can also vote when their act is performing in the semis.

This means the 10 songs with the most points in each semi-final will then enter the final.

– How does final voting work?

Fans from all participating countries can vote over the phone, by text or via the Eurovision app, but people are unable to select their own country’s entry.

The public votes make up 50 per cent of the total vote, with the other half determined by a professional jury in each participating country.

Voting is open just before the first song is performed, and around 40 minutes after the last track is sung.

After viewers have cast their votes, a national spokesperson from the participating countries will be called on to present the points of their professional jury – which range from the maximum “douze points” (12) to one point.

After the presentation of the scores from the juries, the public points from all participating countries will be combined, providing one score for each song.

The country at the top of the scoreboard becomes the 2025 winner, and in the event of a tie it will be decided through the highest scores from the audiences and the non-participating countries.