Eurovision's voting system has come under intense scrutiny after Israel's second-place finish in this year's contest, with multiple broadcasters demanding an investigation into potential manipulation.
Spain's RTVE and Belgium's VRT have formally raised concerns with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) following Israel's dominant performance in the public vote, despite receiving minimal support from professional juries.
The controversy has sparked calls for a complete overhaul of the voting system, with several countries threatening to withdraw from future competitions unless changes are implemented.
The EBU has defended its system as "the most advanced in the world" while promising to address concerns.
Yuval Raphael performed in the Eurovision final on SaturdayGETTYIsrael's contestant Yuval Raphael received a staggering 357 points to finish second, dominating the public vote despite minimal jury support.
Both Spain and Belgium's televoters awarded Israel the maximum 12 points, while their professional juries gave the country zero points.
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Austria's JJ ultimately claimed victory at the 2025 contest with the song "Wasted Love" GETTYThis discrepancy prompted RTVE to call for an audit, stating that "several countries will also submit the same request, as they believe that the current military conflicts influenced the televoting".
VRT has joined these concerns, with Slovenia, Iceland, Portugal, Ireland, the Netherlands and Finland are also backing the drive for new rules.
Critics have highlighted that the current Eurovision voting system allows individuals to vote up to 20 times from a single device, which they claim makes it vulnerable to manipulation.
Flemish parliamentarian Katia Segers of VRT voiced her concern: "A system in which everyone can cast up to 20 votes is a system that encourages manipulation. Whether this manipulation occurred in our country and all other participating and non-participating countries must be investigated."
Belgium has reportedly threatened to withdraw from next year's contest "unless the voting system at the contest changes".
Finland's public broadcaster Yle has also called for the EBU to consider updating rules on multiple voting.
The EBU has firmly defended its voting system, with Eurovision director Martin Green stating it is "the most advanced in the world and each country's result is checked and verified by a huge team of people to exclude any suspicious or irregular voting patterns".
In a statement, the EBU said: "An independent compliance monitor reviews both jury and public vote data to ensure we have a valid result."
Eurovision 2025: The results went to the wire between Israel and Austria
BBC
The organisation confirmed it has been in contact with RTVE and other broadcasters since Saturday's final and will "have a broad discussion with participating broadcasters" as part of planning for next year's 70th Eurovision Song Contest.
The EBU's voting partner Once has "confirmed that a valid vote was recorded in all countries".
Israel's participation in Eurovision has been controversial amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival on October 7, faced protesters attempting to storm the stage during her performance in Basel.
Spanish broadcaster RTVE displayed a black screen with text reading: "When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and Justice for Palestine" before the final.
Eurovision 2025: Israel were sitting low down the leaderboard before the public vote
BBC
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for Israel to be banned, claiming the EBU has a "double standard" by allowing Israel to participate while Russia remains excluded following its invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, UK fans expressed dismay after their entry Remember Monday scored "nul points" in the public vote, finishing 19th overall.
