TV viewers have gained more power, says the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). They defended the controversial jury system in the Eurovision Song Contest.

– Changes to the voting system in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest give more power to the audience, who decide for themselves which song will advance from the semifinals, the EBU wrote in an email to NTB.

Some people reacted to the fact that Sweden won the song contest even though Finland received more votes from the audience. Background is the points awarded by the expert jury in the participating countries.

NTB has posed several questions to the EBU regarding the criticism, including whether they are considering making changes to the system for next year.

In its response, the EBU wrote that several changes were made before this year’s finale, precisely to give viewers more power. But the broadcasting union did not immediately respond to the criticism.

This year’s changes mean, among other things, it’s just the vote of the crowd to decide who advances from the semifinals. It was also open to the public to vote from countries that broadcast Eurovision, but did not participate themselves.

– Votes from around the world count as one additional country, which actually gives viewers more power in determining the final result. Juries in each of the 37 participating countries decided on more than 49.3 percent of the points awarded, and the popular vote accounted for 50.7 percent, the EBU wrote.

(© NTB)