Tonight at 21:00 CET, the Grand Final of Eurovision 2026 will be broadcast live from Vienna and will feature a dramatic change in the way the winner is revealed. Here are all the details about the new and intriguing system.
Tonight (Saturday, May 16th) at 21:00 CET, the Grand Final of Eurovision 2026 will broadcast live from Vienna, Austria. During yesterday’s jury show rehearsal, a major change was unveiled regarding the way the winning country will be announced. After years in which the decisive moment relied on a simple split screen and the hosts reading out the final results, Eurovision’s production team has decided to refresh one of the most dramatic moments of the evening.
The new format, presented publicly for the first time during last night’s jury rehearsal in which Noam Betan delivered what many described as his strongest performance so far will dramatically change the visual presentation of the televote reveal. During the decisive voting sequence, only two artists will appear on screen in a split-screen format: the country currently leading the scoreboard and the country that won the jury vote.
Next to the leading act, viewers will see the country’s heart symbol alongside its total number of points. Meanwhile, next to the act in second place, the country heart will appear together with the number of jury points already awarded. Beneath the jury winner, an additional figure will indicate exactly how many points are still required to win the contest overall.
As the televote points are revealed, the heart symbol and graphics of the second-place country will gradually rise on screen, visually demonstrating whether the jury winner is getting closer to overtaking the current leader. This allows viewers to immediately understand whether the jury favorite is about to complete a dramatic comeback victory — or whether the public vote will crown a completely different winner at the very last moment.
Below is a demonstration of the new announcement format taken from last night’s jury rehearsal, featuring fictional results:
Kazanan açıklanma anı değişti.Son ülke açıklanırken puanı açıklanmayacak. Onun yerine kalp sistemi geldi. Ortada bulunan çubukta son ülke eğer diğer ülkenin kalp seviyesine yükselebilirse ve geçerse kazanacak. Seviyenin altında kalırsa kazanamayacak. pic.twitter.com/46jRaFoWK6
— FOCUS Eurovision (@focusturkey) May 15, 2026
The new system is designed to increase suspense and drama during the closing moments of the Grand Final, especially following criticism in recent years that the voting reveal had become too predictable or overly technical with viewers could calculate the likely winner simply by tracking the remaining available points. Eurovision producers now hope the new graphical approach will make the final reveal more exciting, more accessible, and far more television-friendly for millions of viewers around the world.
Where and How to Watch the Grand Final of the Eurovision
The live broadcast can be watched from almost every EBU member, and from the official Eurovision Song Contest channel:
The Official Running Order for the Grand Final:
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Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund – “Før vi går hjem” (in English: “Before we go home”)
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United Kingdom: Look Mum No Computer – “Eins Zwei Drei” (in English: “One Two Three”)
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Finland: Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – “Liekinheitin” (in English: “Flamethrower”)
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Lithuania: Lion Ceccah – “Sólo quiero más” (in English: “I only want more”)
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Italy: Sal Da Vinci – “Per Sempre Si” (in English: “Forever Yes”)
Eurovision 2026: the 70th edition of the contest will take place in Vienna, Austria, on May 12th, 14th, and 16th, 2026. The Wiener Stadthalle arena, which will host the event, is expected to accommodate around 16,000 spectators per show. The contest returns to Austria following the nation’s third historic win with the song “Wasted Love”, performed by JJ. It will be Austria’s third time hosting Eurovision, after previous editions held in the country in 1967 and 2015.
