Eurovision Televote Under Fire: Slovenia Wants Receipts – All of Them
It seems the glitter hasn’t quite settled after the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. While broadcasters toast to record-breaking viewing figures, RTV Slovenija has chosen a rather less festive route: requesting a forensic audit of the public vote. Yes, forensic. Like in crime dramas.
In an open letter addressed to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Ksenija Horvat, director of TV Slovenia, demanded full disclosure of televoting procedures for the past three contests – namely 2023, 2024, and 2025 – citing «obvious statistical irregularities» that would make even a dodgy Excel spreadsheet blush.
Horvat also joined a growing chorus of broadcasters questioning the integrity of the Eurovision televote. Slovenia now officially wants a deep dive into the phone vote tallies – and, unlike most contestants, they’re not willing to settle for 12 points from the usual suspects.
“The results presented raise serious questions about whether viewers’ preferences are being accurately reflected,” Horvat stated. She emphasised that public broadcasters are accountable to citizens – the very same citizens who are paying, in good faith, to vote for their favourites. And if the process isn’t transparent, that faith might well turn into a riot. Or, at the very least, an angry email.
The EBU, for its part, has insisted all is above board – while offering limited data and a polite smile. But that hasn’t mollified RTV Slovenija, which is now calling for independent forensic experts to verify the televote’s integrity. No pressure.
Slovenia isn’t alone in its suspicions. Other national broadcasters have quietly (and not-so-quietly) raised similar alarms. Meanwhile, the EBU continues to juggle transparency with the protection of so-called «commercial confidentiality» – a phrase that increasingly feels like Eurovision’s version of «national security».
The question remains: can Europe’s most glittery song contest survive a credibility crisis? Or will the votes, like certain sequined costumes, start to unravel at the seams?
Source: RTVSLO
