The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 Grand Final is taking place tonight in Vienna, Austria, but there is a voting change to be aware of
Eurovision viewers have been left frustrated after a significant voting change was revealed just moments into the 2026 final. The Eurovision Song Contest has made its comeback to our screens, with this year's event taking place in Vienna following Austrian singer JJ's victory in 2025 when the contest was hosted in Basel.
Tonight marks the 70th song contest with viewers tuning into the Grand Final on BBC One. Once again, 25 nations have graced the stage to perform, with host Graham Norton returning to deliver all the commentary highlights from the evening. Representing the UK is electronic music artist and tech innovator Look Mum No Computer, with his track Eins, Zwei, Drei, hoping to secure the winning title for the home nation.
The popular contest has not been without its controversy in recent weeks, after several countries - including one of the Big Five, Spain - withdrew from the competition in protest following Israel's qualification amidst the country's ongoing military action against Gaza. As the competition unfolds, a major voting change has left fans disgruntled.
Just minutes into the show, Graham announced that viewers will be able to vote up to 10 times, however, there would be a modification to the usual format. Voting would commence immediately, meaning that viewers can express their preferred winner before an act has even performed. Host Graham said: "Tonight the vote will open before the very first song so you can vote for your favourites as soon as you like.
You can vote up to 10 times, for up to 10 countries, but be warned. You need to place all your votes in one go.
", reports the Express. "You can't come back later to cast any unused votes. So make sure you are happy with your decision before you submit and proceed with payment.
" Yet viewers weren't having it, with one person posting on X: "#Eurovision Not sure about this vote anytime. " Another said: "How can you vote before te competition has begun? " A third added: "The fact you can vote for #Eurovision before any song has been performed shows it has nothing to do with the music. " A fourth raged: "#Eurovision I don't like the fact that you can vote BEFORE the performances...
They should open it after... so we can really vote based on the performances... not pre-recorded stuff...
" A fifth stated: "The vote opening at the start of the show still makes no sense to me, just leaves more opportunities for suspicious voting. " This year, voting is also exclusively online, meaning anyone wanting to have their say must do so via Eurovision's official website at esc.vote, with each vote setting punters back 15p. One viewer questioned on social media: "why should it cost yo vote. " Another wrote: "Why does it cost to vote crazy.
" However, one person said: "Im shocked at how cheap #Eurovision voting is this year In the UK its just £0.15 per vote, so £1.50 for 10 votes. I swear it used to be close to £1 per vote? And they made voting online so easy too. How much does it cost to vote from your country? "
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