Bad news for Israel ahead of Eurovision 2027: Judges to influence voting from the semi-finals
The European Broadcasting Union has announced that judges will retain their voting weight during the semi-finals this year. This is expected to pose a challenge for Israel, which consistently performs well in public voting but faces lower scores from professional juries.
Bad news for Israel ahead of Eurovision 2027, which will be held in Burgas, Bulgaria: The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced on Tuesday that judges will once again have a say in the semi-final stage, contrary to the format used until two years ago.
As is well known, Israel has achieved excellent results in the public vote in recent years but has received less favorable scores from the judges — potentially due to the complex political climate following October 7. Last year, the decision to increase the judges' influence was widely perceived as a move to make things more difficult for Israel and to mitigate political tensions surrounding the competition.
Furthermore, the EBU has updated the competition rules for the 2027 event, including clarifications regarding live performance standards and a higher minimum age for participating artists. Under the new changes approved by the governing body, the winning country will no longer automatically earn the right to host the contest if it is at war or in a sensitive security situation.
«If necessary, the European Broadcasting Union is authorized to request an independent security assessment of the region. If it is decided that the winning country cannot host, an alternative host country will be chosen to assume all rights, duties, and obligations related to hosting Eurovision, including organizing, producing, and directing the competition», — the EBU stated.
In addition, rules regarding live singing have been clarified: the lead vocalist must perform the main melody live, and pre-recorded elements cannot replace or assist the vocal performance. The vocalist must be the sole performer of the melody. The EBU explained that the goal is to ensure the audience always hears live vocals. This issue previously arose regarding Israel in 2018, when Netta Barzilai was required to use her looper only as a visual aid, without live sound, to avoid violating the rules.
