Following requests from Songfestival.be, Flemish broadcaster VRT has released some figures related to the voting in Belgium in the last three contests. Similarly to RTVE’s figures released earlier, these do not include a full breakdown of how many votes each country got, but does split the figures by medium of voting.
A growing online vote and a rise in numbers
The figures are split in two categories: texts (SMS) and online votes. In 2023, the online vote was not yet implemented in Belgium, but it was added in complement to the traditional methods of televoting in 2024, and kept in 2025.
We have also added, for each show where voting occurred, the corresponding TV audience, which does not follow the same patterns.
| Show | SMS votes | Online votes | Total | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi 2023 | 21,629 | 21,629 | 1,296,481 | |
| Final 2023 | 129,932 | 129,932 | 1,634,092 | |
| Semi 2024 | 9,826 | 32,572 | 42,398 | 1,350,975 |
| Final 2024 | 92,690 | 107,924 | 200,614 | 1,175,589 |
| Semi 2025 | 13,224 | 12,573 | 25,797 | 1,180,253 |
| Final 2025 | 96,275 | 124,279 | 220,554 | 952,634 |
We have resumed these figures in the graphic below, which shows a disconnect between the number of votes and the number of people watching the actual shows in Belgium.
The conclusions drawn from these figures, when compared with those of Spain’s RTVE for this year, show an interesting pattern:
- The number of votes cast in the final is much bigger than it is in the semi-final
- The number of online votes is bigger than the number of traditional televotes
However, Spain and Belgium find themselves in different positions, especially in 2025: Spain’s audience was almost five times higher for the Final than for the semi-final, a natural rise for an automatic qualifier. Belgium, in comparison, failed to qualify in 2024 and 2025, meaning that less people were watching the final. Despite this, the number of votes remained higher (multiplied by 5 in 2023, and by 9 in 2024).
It also appears that the number of votes in the final have increased each year. Competing factors could influence this numbers, making it rise or fall:
- Belgium’s non participation in these last two finals and the subsequent drop in TV audience would logically reduce the number of votes
- The opening of the voting window at the beginning of the Grand Final would logically allow more votes to come in
- The introduction of the online vote would logically make it easier to vote, hence allowing more votes to come in
It is not impossible that this combination of factors did help with the rise of the number of votes. A rise in viewers’ engagement, as the Eurovision brand gets more popular on social media every year, can also explain how a smaller audience can vote more. But we would need similar data from other countries, with similar and different audience variations, to determine whether this rise is normal.
The advertisement campaign run by some countries, and the geopolitical situation, especially surrounding Israel, may also explain the rise in votes. The Belgian audience gave Israel their top points both in 2024 and 2025, after the introduction of the online vote. Before that, it had barely given any points to the country except in 2018.
A call for more transparency — and a threat to withdraw
VRT has also asked the EBU for more transparency regarding the voting process, but fell short of asking for a full audit, unlike RTVE.
We have no indication that the counting of the televotes wasn’t carried out correctly, but we are asking for complete transparency on the part of the EBU. The question is above all whether the current system guarantees a fair reflection of the opinion of viewers and listeners
Yasmine Van der Borght, vrt’S spOKESWOMAN
The Flemish broadcaster wants to engage in discussions and debate over the voting system and the general standards of the contest, and has not been afraid to suggest a withdrawal from the contest, although the current agreements with the EBU means the next Belgian participation will come from French-speaking broadcaster RTBF, with VRT coming back for 2027.
We at the VRT note that the Eurovision Song Contest as it is currently organised has become less and less a unifying and apolitical event. It is increasingly at odds with its original standards and values and with the standards and values of public broadcasting.
Yasmine Van der Borght, vrt’S spOKESWOMAN
[…]
At many levels, the VRT collaborates well with the EBU. However, without serious answers with regard to our concerns about the Eurovision Song Contest we will question our future participation.
These concerns are close to those of other broadcasters, such as AVROTROS in The Netherlands, or RTVE, which have cast doubts over the legitimacy of the voting this year, suggesting that votes were cast with political intent and not to award artistic/musical success or talent.
What do you think about these votes? Do you think the rising numbers are normal and explainable by the factors laid out earlier in the articles? What kind of changes and debates can be done to make the voting fairer and closer to the original, apolitical intent? Tell us more in the comments below, or on social media at @escxtra!
