Format

The format of the competition consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. The three shows took place at MTVA studios in Budapest and were hosted by Zsóka Kapócs and Gábor Gundel-Takács. The semi-finals, held on 28 January and 4 February 2012, each featured ten entries with four advancing to the final from each show. The final, held on 11 February 2012, selected the Hungarian entry for Baku from the eight remaining entries.

Voting

Results during each show were determined by each member of the four-member judging panel and votes from the public. During the semi-finals, two rounds of voting determined which entries advanced to the final of the competition. In the first round of voting, each judge assigned scores to each entry ranging from 1 (lowest score) to 10 (highest score) immediately after the artist(s) conclude their performance. The summation of the judges scores determined the final scores for the first round. The top three entries with the highest scores advanced to the final in the first round of voting. In the case of a tie among the entries in the first round of voting, the judging panel would deliberate and determine which entries would advance. In the second round of voting, the remaining entries that did not qualify during the first round faced a public vote via submitting an SMS where the single entry that received the most votes from each semi-final would also advance to the final. In the case of a tie during the second round of voting, the entry which received a higher score during the first round of voting would advance and should a tie still persist, the judging panel would deliberate and determine which entry advanced.

In the final, the eight remaining entries also faced two rounds of voting. In the first round, The top four entries determined exclusively by a public vote qualified to the second round of voting. In the second round, the judges exclusively determined the winning entry by assigning one vote to their preferred entry.

Judges

The judging panel participated in each show by providing feedback to the competing artists and selecting entries to advance in the competition. The panel consisted of:

• Viktor Rakonczai – Composer and member of V.I.P. who represented Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997
• Kati Wolf – Singer who represented Hungary in 2011 in Düsseldorf with "What About My Dreams?"
• Philip Rákay – Programme director
• Jenő Csiszár – Radio anchor

Competing entries

Artists and composers were able to submit their applications and entries for the competition between 1 December 2011 and 30 December 2011.^[3] Artists were permitted to collaborate with international composers.^[4] After the submission deadline had passed, a preselection jury selected twenty entries for the competition. The competing entries were announced during a press conference on 10 January 2012.^[5]

Semi-finals

Two semi-finals took place on 28 January and 4 February 2012. In each semi-final ten entries competed and four entries qualified to the final after two round of voting.^[6] In the first round of voting, three qualifiers were determined by the combination of scores from each judge. In the second round of voting, the remaining seven entries that were not in the initial top three faced a public vote consisting of votes submitted through SMS in order to determine one additional qualifier.

Final

The final took place on 11 February 2012 where the eight entries that qualified from the semi-finals competed. The winner of the competition was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a public vote consisting of votes submitted through SMS determined the top four entries that advanced to the second round. In the second round, the jury determined "Sound of Our Hearts" performed by Compact Disco as the winner. The voting system for the four jurors was different from the method used in the semi-finals. The jurors assigned one vote for their preferred entry and the entry with the highest total scores was selected as the winner.

Points awarded to Hungary

Points awarded to Hungary (Semi-final 1)[11] Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points  Romania 7 points  Albania 6 points  Belgium   Switzerland 5 points  Cyprus  Denmark  Moldova 4 points  Austria  Finland 3 points 2 points  Azerbaijan 1 point

Points awarded to Hungary (Final)[12] Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points  Slovakia 7 points  Romania 6 points 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points  Serbia 1 point  Moldova  Turkey

Points awarded by Hungary

Points awarded by Hungary (Semi-final 1)[11] Score Country 12 points  Finland 10 points  Albania 8 points   Switzerland 7 points  Russia 6 points  Ireland 5 points  Israel 4 points  Iceland 3 points  Romania 2 points  Moldova 1 point  Denmark

Points awarded by Hungary (Final)[12] Score Country 12 points  Sweden 10 points  Germany 8 points  Albania 7 points  Russia 6 points  Iceland 5 points  Italy 4 points  Serbia 3 points  Turkey 2 points  Moldova 1 point  Spain