EUROVISION fever is gripping the nation once again ahead of this years grand final in Vienna.
Here’s why and how different nations choose who they vote for and how the winner is crowned.
When is Eurovision 2026?
The Eurovision 2026 grand final takes place on Saturday, May 16, at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria.
The two semi-finals took place between May 12-14 at the same venue, with 20 nations eventually qualifying for the grand final.
The United Kingdom are being represented in 2026 by Electronic act Look Mum No Computer.
The show will be shown live on BBC One and iPlayer, with Graham Norton returning to his role as commentator for the showpiece.
Why do some countries vote for each other at Eurovision?
There are a number of different reasons as to why countries vote for each other at Eurovision.
Countries are unable to vote for themselves, but may vote for countries they consider friends.
This may be because the countries are close geographically, or if the nations have historical links, which could be culturally or in political terms.
The contest has been eager to avoid links to politics, with a view to avoiding bias.
The BBC said: “Eurovision organisers have always argued that the competition is apolitical.
“And they have taken steps to try to minimise perceived bias in the past – structuring the contest so that only a certain number of neighbouring countries can compete in the same semi-final, and therefore have a vote on the same night, for example.”
The votes are split between public votes and national juries, often with celebrities from the various countries appearing to confirm where the juries have given their points.
How is the Eurovision winner crowned?
The winner of Eurovision will ultimately be the country that gets the most votes from both the national juries and the public votes.
Last year, Austria won the contest with 436 points, with 258 points coming from national juries, and the further 178 coming from phone votes.
Israel topped the phone votes in terms of point in 2025 with 297 points, but were less successful with the national juries, only picking up 60 points.
The United Kingdom haven’t won Eurovision since 1997, when Katrina and The Waves won with “Love Shine a Light.”
There was a near miss in 2022, with Sam Ryder finishing second in the contest with his song “Spaceman.”
