Eurovision opens Rest of the World online vote, letting global fans cast Grand Final votes

The European Broadcasting Union has opened the Eurovision Song Contest’s Rest of the World online vote ahead of Saturday’s Grand Final, giving viewers in non-participating countries a way to help decide the winner. The official Eurovision voting page was live on May 16 and said visitors from non-participating countries could cast votes online during Eurovision 2026. Eurovision’s official voting guide says the Grand Final is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, at 21:00 CEST in Vienna. It also says viewers outside participating countries can vote online from about midnight before the show, with the window closing briefly when the live broadcast begins and reopening during the program. ### Who can use the Rest of the World vote? The Eurovision website says the option is for viewers in non-participating countries. The voting page adds that users visiting from a non-participating country need a payment card issued in a non-participating country to vote. The EBU’s voting guide draws a clear line between participating and non-participating territories. (vote.eurovision.com) In participating countries, viewers use the on-screen instructions during broadcasts and may vote by phone, SMS or online depending on location. In the Rest of the World, the route is online at esc.vote. ### How many times can a viewer vote? Eurovision’s official voting page says viewers can vote up to 10 times. (eurovision.com) That cap applies to viewers in the Rest of the World as well as audiences in participating countries, according to the official guide. A May 7 report by Eurovoix, citing an EBU Q&A on voting integrity, said telecom operators and service providers enforce voting limits that are typically a maximum of 10 votes per user. (eurovision.com) Eurovoix also reported that the EBU said personal data is not shared across different voting channels, meaning it is not currently feasible to determine whether the same person voted across multiple methods where several channels are available. ### How are those overseas votes counted? The Rest of the World vote is not counted country by country. Instead, the online ballots from eligible non-participating countries are combined into one aggregated result that awards a single set of Eurovision points, according to Eurovision’s published voting framework and results pages. Eurovision’s scoring format uses the familiar 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12-point system for public votes. (eurovoix.com) The official results page for Eurovision 2026 lists televoting from participating countries, online voting from the Rest of the World, and national juries as parts of the contest’s voting structure. ### What happens when the live show starts? (eurovisionworld.com) The official Eurovision guide says the online window for non-participating countries opens at approximately midnight before the Grand Final and closes briefly when the live show begins. It then reopens just before the first competing song is performed. The same guide says Grand Final voting remains open through the live performances and for around 40 minutes after the last competing song has been presented. (eurovisionworld.com) For participating countries, the show follows the same broad Grand Final timetable, but the Rest of the World gets that extra pre-show window. ### How does Eurovision say it checks whether votes are valid? (eurovision.com) The EBU has said payment data is one of the checks used to validate online votes. Eurovoix, citing the EBU’s Q&A, reported that an online vote is considered valid only if the credit card is registered in the country from which the vote is being placed. (eurovision.com) The same EBU explanation, as reported by Eurovoix, said payment methods carry country-of-origin data that is used to attribute votes correctly and prevent users from bypassing national voting restrictions. The Grand Final broadcast is set for 21:00 CEST on Saturday, May 16, and Eurovision’s official guide says the Rest of the World online window will reopen during the show before closing roughly 40 minutes after the final competing song. (eurovoix.com)