midnightsun
Veteran
I have just listened to a relatively recent NDR podcast (October 2020) on the German jury and the way of voting. It might differ in other countries but I think it will be similar.
It all starts with a jury casting:
Markus Pingel, the NDR’s entertainment-editor, is looking for music professionals of different ages and gender, either managers of big music labels or artists, who have a good standing with the (German) audience. Their job is not only to vote but preferably also to perform at the NDR Eurovision countdown show in Hamburg (tv show shortly before the grand final) because they will stay there for some days anyway.
So, in order to get the voting done, they all have to travel to the NDR jury room in Hamburg on the days of the jury finals.
Pingel is describing the voting room as a cozy living room with a big flat tv and a high quality sound system, comfy couches and chairs and pleasant light. He wants the jurors to feel comfortable so they will take the process of voting seriously.
He is then explaining the EBU criteria of voting to them and stresses that their result is really important because it is worth 50 percent of the points Germany will be giving.
Then they are going to watch the performances and they are allowed to talk to each other about the songs. However, a notary is attending (the same room) who is monitoring the situation and taking care nobody is influencing another juror.
After the final, each jury member is sitting in their own corners apart from the others and has to write down their raking by hand on a paper, hidden from the other members.
After that, the jury chairman goes to a computer and enters all the rankings of all jurors, watched by Pingel and the notary.
In the meanwhile, the other jury members have to wait.
After the procedure the computer is calculating the result.
Sometimes it happens two or more songs receive the same amount of points.
In this case they will go back to the jury and decide by hand signals which song will be placed higher than the other.
After that, the final score-list will be mailed to a company in Cologne which is also cross checking the results. The jury has to keep on waiting again. Only when the results are confirmed again, their job is done.
You can listen to the podcast (in German) here:
https://www.ndr.de/ndrblue/Wie-arbeitet-eine-deutsche-ESC-Jury,audio771706.html
It all starts with a jury casting:
Markus Pingel, the NDR’s entertainment-editor, is looking for music professionals of different ages and gender, either managers of big music labels or artists, who have a good standing with the (German) audience. Their job is not only to vote but preferably also to perform at the NDR Eurovision countdown show in Hamburg (tv show shortly before the grand final) because they will stay there for some days anyway.
So, in order to get the voting done, they all have to travel to the NDR jury room in Hamburg on the days of the jury finals.
Pingel is describing the voting room as a cozy living room with a big flat tv and a high quality sound system, comfy couches and chairs and pleasant light. He wants the jurors to feel comfortable so they will take the process of voting seriously.
He is then explaining the EBU criteria of voting to them and stresses that their result is really important because it is worth 50 percent of the points Germany will be giving.
Then they are going to watch the performances and they are allowed to talk to each other about the songs. However, a notary is attending (the same room) who is monitoring the situation and taking care nobody is influencing another juror.
After the final, each jury member is sitting in their own corners apart from the others and has to write down their raking by hand on a paper, hidden from the other members.
After that, the jury chairman goes to a computer and enters all the rankings of all jurors, watched by Pingel and the notary.
In the meanwhile, the other jury members have to wait.
After the procedure the computer is calculating the result.
Sometimes it happens two or more songs receive the same amount of points.
In this case they will go back to the jury and decide by hand signals which song will be placed higher than the other.
After that, the final score-list will be mailed to a company in Cologne which is also cross checking the results. The jury has to keep on waiting again. Only when the results are confirmed again, their job is done.
You can listen to the podcast (in German) here:
https://www.ndr.de/ndrblue/Wie-arbeitet-eine-deutsche-ESC-Jury,audio771706.html