Another year over – but can Eurovision go on like this?

17 May 2026, 10:46 by Daragh Brophy, https://www.thejournal.ie/author/daragh-brophy/ · TheJournal.ie

Daragh Brophy reporting from Vienna

IS THIS THE “new normal” for Eurovision?

Last night’s finale played out in a remarkably similar scenario to the voting in the 2025 contest, with Israel scoring solidly in the points from the professional juries, then soaring to the top of the leaderboard during the next round, as the public votes were read out.

This time around, there’s been no sign of the sort of state agency-backed social media campaign that prompted criticism from some national broadcasters last year.

But, as pollsters have explained, whether it’s a national election of the Eurovision final, in a field with multiple options, those with more motivation or more interest in a particular result can have an outsize influence.

For two years in a row now, Eurovision viewers have watched as the Israeli act competes in a split-screen finish.

Some Irish Eurovision superfans we checked in with in recent days said they’d simply stopped watching ahead of this year’s contest.

For many viewers who still tuned in, the final sequence of the show would have made for tough viewing for anyone who finds Israel’s presence at the contest difficult to stomach.

And for a competition that prides itself on promoting values of universality and inclusivity, is it really fair to any of the competitors for producers to preside over a process that sets up such an emotionally charged climax to a globally viewed television event?

Booing could be heard in the TV broadcast as the televote for the Israeli act was read out.

In the press centre, where hundreds of reporters and social media content creators were watching, there was a mix of shouting and boos in the moments before Bulgaria’s DARA was announced as the winner.

The place erupted, then, into deafening cheers – but it was a febrile, messy atmosphere for those few minutes.

What happens next?

The rules were reformed last year following a vote by broadcasters, in the wake of those revelations about the Israeli state agency-backed promotional campaigns.

As well as bringing back the 50-50 split between juries and the public vote at the semi-final stage, the number of votes a person could make “per payment method” was also reduced from 20 to 10.

However, as dedicated Eurovision website ESC Insight discovered, that means it’s still possible to cast a whopping amount of votes in a given time window if you’re motivated to do so.

Martin Green, director of the song contest for organisers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), gave daily press conferences throughout the week here in Vienna – and, in fairness, made plenty of time take on the tricky questions (even if he wasn’t always happy to answer them).

He’s consistently stood over the rule changes introduced ahead of this year’s contest, and repeatedly insisted the contest’s values still hold true.

Interestingly, in his comments throughout the week, he also left the door wide open to Canada joining in with the contest – and said he’d be more than happy to take a phone call from Hungary, who dropped out back in 2019.