Who is on the Eurovision 2026 UK jury? Members revealed

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Tonight, 25 countries are competing in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 final, all hoping to win this year’s competition.

The winner will be chosen based on a mix of votes from the public and from expert juries in each country, as is tradition.

Before the big Grand Final, the jury – a panel of experts – gets a preview performance and decides which act stood out the most. Their scores are then announced live on television by each country’s spokesperson. This year, La Voix will be announcing the UK’s votes.

So, who’s on the UK jury this year? Here’s a look at the well-known faces who will help decide the winner of Eurovision.

Who is on the UK jury for Eurovision 2026?

The UK’s jury for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest consists of Anu Omideyi, Tilly Lockey, Raya, Nathan Powell, Dr. Ava Peterson, and Harry Hornsby.

Anu Omideyi leads festivals and choirs, and Tilly Lockey is a social media personality famous for her prosthetic arms. Tilly won the CBBC show Got What It Takes? in 2021.

The judging panel also includes Raya, a singer-songwriter, Nathan Powell, a creative director, and Dr. Ava Peterson, a lecturer at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. Completing the jury is Harry Hornsby, the lead singer of the band The Cases.

I’m so excited to find out the UK jury’s votes tonight! It’s going to be revealed by La Voix, who you probably know from Strictly Come Dancing. She’s hilarious, and I can’t wait to see her announce everything.

Graham Norton will be commentating, and Rylan Clark and Sara Cox will be sharing their thoughts on BBC Radio 2.

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The Eurovision Song Contest has received a lot of criticism for letting Israel participate this year, given the current war happening in Gaza.

Several countries are choosing not to participate in this year’s contest because the organization in charge, the European Broadcasting Union, decided against banning Israel from competing.

As a huge Eurovision fan, I was really glad to hear that at the December 2025 EBU meeting, they decided to try and level the playing field a bit. They’re bringing in new rules to prevent governments or outside groups from unfairly pushing certain songs to sway the vote. It’s great news for a fairer competition! However, they didn’t actually vote on whether Israel would be allowed to participate, so that question is still open.

The European Broadcasting Union announced that most of its members decided another vote on whether to continue with the Eurovision Song Contest wasn’t necessary. They confirmed the 2026 contest will go ahead as scheduled, with extra safety measures added.

After that announcement, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland all stated they would not be competing in Eurovision this year.

Ireland’s public broadcaster, RTÉ, has decided not to participate in this year’s contest due to the tragic loss of life and ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which continues to endanger civilians.

The BBC, the UK broadcaster for the competition, has voiced its support for the EBU’s decision. In a statement, the BBC explained that this is a matter of upholding the competition’s rules and ensuring inclusivity.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 final will take place on Saturday 16 May 2026.

You can find a complete list of Eurovision winners, and see how many times the United Kingdom has been victorious in the competition.

Authors

Phoebe Kowhai BarnesFreelance Writer

Phoebe Kowhai Barnes is a freelance writer specializing in pop culture and entertainment for TopMob. Before that, she was a Senior Assistant Editor at The Tab, where she oversaw their local team. She holds a BA (Hons) degree in English Literature from the University of Nottingham.

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2026-05-17 02:06