Eurovision Song Contest fans will have to get used to some major changes to the voting system for this year, with one of the biggest revamps being that people in non-competing countries will be able to influence the results.
After Liverpool was awarded hosting duties for 2023 back in the autumn, the time has now come for Merseyside to welcome Eurovision delegations from 37 different countries, as the clock ticks down to the start of the competition.
The contest will get going with the Eurovision semi finals, which like the grand final will be held at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena. Eurovision semi final 1 will kick things off on Tuesday, May 9, before the second semi final on May 11 and the final on May 11.
READ MORE: Eurovision 2023 semi finals countries and running order as contest comes to Liverpool
Fifteen countries will line up for the first semi, with 16 going in the second. Ten from each will advance through to the final, to join 'the big five' - UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy and last year's winners Ukraine, bringing the number of countries in the finale to 26.
And the voting rules for both the semis and the final have undergone some changes this year, which are explained below.
Eurovision 2023 voting rules
Eurovision semi finals
There will be NO jury vote for either of the semi finals, with the result purely based on public votes, from telephone, text, app and online.
Juries will watch and score each semi final, but these will only be used officially should a valid televote not be recorded or possible in an individual country.
Viewers from each of the countries in each will be able to vote, but obviously not for their own country, as well as well as fans three of the already qualified six nations.
There will also be a 'rest of the world' vote online, with those votes carrying the same weight as one participating country.
Eurovision final
As ever, there will be a jury vote for the final, with all 37 countries represented and their scores delivered live by a nominated spokesperson and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 and 12 points awarded.
As fans know, the televote can change everything. That is how Ukraine won last year, after the UK's Sam Ryder came top with the juries. Rest of the world voters will see their scores combined with other countries.
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