Eurovision Song Contest 2026

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 was the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It consisted of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May and a final on 16 May 2026, held at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and presented by Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski, with Emily Busvine acting as the green room host. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), which staged the event after winning the 2025 contest for Austria with the song "Wasted Love" by JJ.

Broadcasters from thirty-five countries participated in the contest, two fewer than in 2025 and the smallest number of participants since 2003, before the introduction of semi-finals. Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain opted not to participate in protest at Israel's inclusion in the context of the Gaza war, marking the largest number of boycotting countries in the contest's history since 1970, while Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania returned after absences from recent editions.

The winner was Bulgaria with the song "Bangaranga", performed by Dara and written by her with Anne Judith Wik, Cristian Tarcea, and Dimitris Kontopoulos. The song won both the jury vote and televote, the first entry to do so since Portugal in 2017, and gave Bulgaria its first win in the contest. Israel, Romania, Australia, and Italy rounded out the top five, with Romania equaling its best placements from 2005 and 2010 while achieving its highest points total to date. Luxembourg failed to qualify for the final for the first time, leaving Ukraine as the only country to have always progressed from the semi-finals since their introduction in 2004.^[a]

The EBU reported that the contest had a television audience of 131 million viewers in 35 European markets,^[2] a decrease of 35 million viewers from the previous edition and the lowest viewing figures since the 2012 contest, which attracted 103 million viewers.^[3]

The 2026 contest took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the 2025 contest with the song "Wasted Love", performed by JJ. It was the third time that Austria has hosted the contest, having previously done so in 1967 and 2015, both times also in Vienna. The selected venue for the contest was the 16,152-seat Wiener Stadthalle, which had previously hosted the contest in 2015.^[4]

In addition to the main venue, the Rathausplatz was the location of the Eurovision Village, which hosted performances by contest participants and local artists as well as screenings of the live shows for the general public. The Prater Dome nightclub hosted the EuroClub, which organised the official after-parties and private performances by contest participants. The "Turquoise Carpet" event was held on 10 May 2026 at the Burgtheater, with the contestants and their delegations walking across the Eurovision Village at Rathausplatz to be presented before accredited press and fans, before ending at the Vienna City Hall, where the opening ceremony followed.^[5][6]

Following Austria's victory in the 2025 contest, the host broadcaster, Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), held a press conference at which its director, Roland Weißmann, identified the suitability of venues and proximity to airports as the principal criteria in the selection of the host city. ORF's programme director, Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz, observed that no large arenas had been newly built in the country in recent years, but encouraged municipalities with viable proposals to submit bids.^[7]

A number of Austrian cities expressed interest in hosting the 2026 contest within days of the nation's victory in 2025. On 18 May 2025, the mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig, confirmed the city's intention to bid.^[8] The same day, Graz announced that it was examining a potential bid, with mayor Elke Kahr singling out the Stadthalle Graz as a suitable venue.^[9][10] The Schwarzl Freizeit Zentrum, also in Graz, was put forward as a potential venue by its concert manager and operator, Klaus Leutgeb.^[11] Also on 18 May, Innsbruck and Wels confirmed that they would bid, with the Olympiahalle and a new exhibition hall respectively proposed as venues.^[12][13] Oberwart likewise declared its interest in hosting.^[14] On 19 May, the mayor of St. Pölten, Matthias Stadler, proposed the VAZ St. Pölten as a venue.^[15] On 26 May, Ebreichsdorf submitted a proposal to host the contest in a temporary venue.^[16]

ORF launched the bidding process on 2 June 2025 by opening a window for cities and municipalities to declare their interest. Those candidates received the detailed tender documents and were required to submit their bids by 4 July. Ebreichsdorf withdrew from the process on 15 June,^[17] followed by Oberwart on 21 June,^[18] Graz on 27 June,^[19] and Wels on 1 July.^[20] Vienna and Innsbruck were the only cities to submit bids by the deadline.^[21][22] On 20 August, the EBU and ORF announced Vienna as the host city.^[4][23]

Key:
 †  Host city  ^  Submitted a bid

Eligibility for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active EBU membership capable of receiving the contest via the Eurovision network and broadcasting the contest live nationwide. The EBU issues an invitation to participate in the contest to all active members.^[27]

On 15 December 2025, the EBU announced that broadcasters from 35 countries would participate in the 2026 contest. Bulgaria returned after a three-year absence, Romania returned after a two-year absence, and Moldova returned after a one-year absence.^[28] Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain, all of which participated in 2025, opted not to take part in protest at the inclusion of Israel in the context of the Gaza war, as well as the Israeli government's attempts to influence the results in the previous two editions. This marked the largest boycott in the contest's history since 1970.^[29]

The contest featured two returning artists: Estonia's Vanilla Ninja had previously represented Switzerland in 2005,^[30] and San Marino's Senhit had previously represented the country in 2011 and 2021 (and was set to do so in 2020 before that year's event was cancelled).^[31] In addition, Poland's Alicja was also set to represent the country in 2020;^[32] Aliona Moon, who provided backing vocals for Moldova's Satoshi, had previously represented Moldova in 2013^[33] and provided backing vocals for Pasha Parfeni in 2012;^[34] Georgia's Bzikebi had previously won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 for the country;^[35] and Belgium's Essyla had previously represented the country in Eurovision Choir 2019 as part of the choir Almakalia.^[36]

The Gaza war has rendered Israel's participation in the contest a subject of controversy, prompting calls for the country's exclusion as well as demonstrations against its involvement at both the 2024 and 2025 editions.^[77] Israel's 2024 entry "Hurricane" was also controversial, as an earlier version titled "October Rain" was seen as referencing the 7 October attacks on Israel, a breach of political neutrality rules, which led to it only being accepted by the EBU after a rewrite.^[78] Israeli government officials ran advertising campaigns to boost public votes and encourage support for their country's entries in 2024 and 2025, which was cited as one of the factors leading to Israel finishing in fifth place in 2024 and second in 2025, in both cases placing within the top two of the public vote.^[79][80] The existence of such campaigns for the 2024 entry was confirmed by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs,^[79][81] and similar campaigns for the 2025 entry were detailed by Eurovision News Spotlight, a fact-checking and open-source intelligence initiative by the EBU.^[82][83] The 2025 set of advertisements, published by the Israel Government Advertising Agency, received over 68 million total impressions.^[84] Several participating broadcasters called for a rework of the televoting system and an independent audit of individual countries' televoting results following the 2025 final.^[85][86]

Ahead of the 2026 contest, broadcasters from Ireland,^[87] the Netherlands,^[88] Slovenia,^[89] and Spain^[90] announced their intention to boycott if Israel were allowed to compete, with the latter three also citing the Israeli advertising campaigns in the previous two editions as one of the reasons.^[91] Other broadcasters indicated their intention to participate, dependent on certain conditions being fulfilled by the EBU.^[92] The contest's reference group extended its confirmation deadline, before which broadcasters are able to withdraw applications for the 2026 contest without incurring a financial penalty, from 13 October to mid-December to allow for a wide-ranging consultation with broadcasters on Israeli participation, which was set to be determined at the EBU's general assembly on 4 and 5 December.^[93][94] A special general assembly session was planned to be held in early November to discuss and vote on Israel's representation in the contest,^{[92][95][96][97]} but it was cancelled following the implementation of a ceasefire deal and peace plan aimed at ending the war.^[98][99] The 4 December assembly ultimately voted in favour of adopting a series of amendments to the voting system, bypassing a proposed separate vote on Israel's participation and allowing the country to compete.^{[100][101][102]} As a result, broadcasters from the four aforementioned countries went ahead with their boycott,^{[103][104][105][91]} joined by Iceland on 10 December,^[106] with the Irish, Slovenian and Spanish broadcasters also stating they would not broadcast the contest. This would mark the first time that the event would not be broadcast in Ireland since 1963, in Slovenia since 1985, and in Spain since 1961.^[107] The absence of Spain would also mark the first time that the "Big Five" would be incomplete since its expansion with Italy in 2011. The boycott was described by several media outlets as "the biggest crisis in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest".^[d] Protesting the decision to permit Israel, Nemo, who won for Switzerland in 2024, returned their trophy to the EBU.^[112] Charlie McGettigan, who won for Ireland in 1994 alongside Paul Harrington, later stated that he would return his trophy as well.^[113]

The following countries' broadcasters confirmed they would boycott in 2026:

•  Iceland – Although RÚV planned to select its entry for 2026 through its traditional national final Söngvakeppnin, on 8 September 2025, Stefán Jón Hafstein, chairman of RÚV's board of directors, stated that the broadcaster's participation is "uncertain" and would be dependent on whether Israel is allowed to compete.^[114][115] On 26 November, RÚV's board voted to recommend Israel be excluded,^[116] and on 10 December, six days after the assembly vote, it stated that it would boycott the contest but still broadcast the shows.^[106][117]
•  Ireland – On 11 September 2025, RTÉ stated "if the participation of Israel goes ahead" it would not compete, citing the "huge loss of life" as well as targeting of journalists in the Gaza war, and that the broadcaster is waiting until the EBU general assembly in December to make a decision.^[87] On 4 December, following the assembly vote, RTÉ decided to neither compete in nor broadcast the contest.^[103] Eurovision-related programmes still aired during Eurovision week, but regularly scheduled programming continued to be broadcast as normal on RTÉ One and RTÉ2 on the nights of all three shows.^[118][119]
•  Netherlands – Despite initially announcing it would internally select an entry for 2026,^[120] on 12 September 2025, AVROTROS stated: "We can no longer justify Israel's participation with the continued and serious human suffering in Gaza", and cited the Israeli government campaign as interference in the previous edition's outcome.^[88] The broadcaster later stated that it would not change its position for the contest in 2026 even if a ceasefire is reached or the broader Israeli–Palestinian conflict develops otherwise, and would reassess its participation "in subsequent years" dependent on the circumstances at that moment.^[121] On 4 December, following the assembly vote, AVROTROS confirmed its boycott of the event.^[104] Sister broadcasters NOS and NTR were instead tasked by the overarching body NPO to air the contest through NPO 1 and NPO Radio 2, as those broadcasters are required by Dutch law to broadcast and report on "major national and international (cultural) events".^[122]
•  Slovenia – On 4 September 2025, RTVSLO stated that it would decide whether to participate in 2026 after the EBU makes a decision on Israel's future participation and address concerns surrounding the "transparency of the vote" in December.^[123] The broadcaster later stated its "clear position", on 12 September and again on 27 November, that it would not participate if Israel is allowed to compete.^[89][124] On 4 December, following the assembly vote, RTVSLO decided to neither compete in nor broadcasting the contest.^[105] In April 2026, RTVSLO decided to air a slate of programmes named Voices of Palestine from 10 to 20 May, with some of those airing on the nights of the three shows.^[125]
•  Spain – In May 2025, José Pablo López, chairman of RTVE, initially scheduled the selection of the Spanish entry through Benidorm Fest, the national final format in use since 2022.^[126] On 9 September, it was reported that a decision on participation would be made in December, following the EBU general assembly, and that Benidorm Fest would be organised regardless of the decision taken.^[127] On 16 September, RTVE's board of directors passed a proposal for the broadcaster not to participate in nor air the contest if Israel participates.^[90][128] On 9 October, RTVE's head of communications María Eizaguirre stated that the broadcaster's position remained unchanged in light of the recently proposed peace plan;^[129] López reaffirmed this in front of the Joint Parliamentary Control Committee of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate on 27 November.^[130] On 4 December, following the assembly vote, RTVE decided to neither compete in nor broadcast the contest.^[91] Regularly scheduled programming continued on La 1 and La 2 the nights of all three shows. At the start time of the final, RTVE aired a message on La 1 in Spanish and English which read, "The Eurovision Song Contest is a competition, but human rights are not. There is no room for indifference. Peace and justice for Palestine".^[131]

The EBU member broadcasters in Andorra,^[132][133] Bosnia and Herzegovina,^[134] North Macedonia,^[135] and Slovakia^[136] confirmed non-participation prior to the announcement of the participants list by the EBU. Associate member broadcasters in Canada and Kazakhstan expressed interest in debuting in the contest,^{[137][138][139][140]} however, the EBU confirmed that the two would not do so in 2026.^[141]

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 was produced by the Austrian national broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). The core team consisted of Michael Krön as executive producer, Stefan Zechner as show producer, Daniel Hack as head of production, Christine Tichy as technical manager, Roman Horacek as head of communications, Iris Keutter as marketing manager, Oliver Lingens as event manager, Christina Lassnig as executive assistant, Christina Heinzle-Conrad as secretary-general, and Martin Szerencsi as legal advisor. Zechner, Tichy, Horacek, Keutter, Lingens, and Szerencsi had previously held similar or analogous positions for the 2015 contest in Vienna.^[142] Michael Kögler and Robin Hofwander served as multi-camera directors, Dorothee Freiberger and Martin Gellner composed the theme music, and Tim Routledge served as lighting designer.^[143]

In June 2025, Martin Österdahl stepped down from his role as the contest's executive supervisor, with ESC director Martin Green temporarily assuming Österdahl's duties.^[144] On 1 October, Gert Kark was appointed to the contest's reference group, taking Österdahl's vacated spot.^[145] A few days later, it was revealed that he would serve in the newly created position of ESC executive producer.^[146]

A study by the research institute EcoAustria estimated the budget for the contest to be at €36 million, with the Municipal Council and Landtag of Vienna allocating €22.6 million and the EBU contributing an expected €5 million.^[147][6]

The 2026 contest introduced several changes to the voting system. The results of the semi-finals were once again to be determined by a combination of jury vote and televote, as they had been from 2010 to 2022.^[e] The size of national juries, however, was increased from five to seven members, with two jurors required to be between the ages of 18 and 25, and the range of eligible professional backgrounds was broadened. The maximum number of votes per payment method was reduced from 20 to 10. Voting instructions were updated so as to "discourage disproportionate promotion campaigns...particularly when undertaken or supported by third parties, including governments or governmental agencies".^[148] The rules were amended in the wake of the controversy surrounding Israel's result in the 2025 edition.^[149]

The 2026 contest featured a revamped version of the generic logo, designed by the Sheffield-based branding studio Pals to mark the contest's 70th anniversary. A new design element, entitled the "Chameleon Heart", was also introduced. It consists of seventy layers of the "Eurovision heart" rendered in 3D, and is intended to be adaptable to the requirements of future host countries.^[150][151] The stage design was devised, for the third consecutive year, by the German production designer Florian Wieder, who had previously created the sets for eight earlier contests. It drew inspiration from the "creative spirit of the Viennese Secession" and was based upon three leitmotifs: "The Leaf", "The Curved Line" and "The Construct", with the green room connected directly to the stage by means of a walkway.^[143] The design of the green room was inspired by Viennese coffee houses.^[152] As with the previous edition, a mascot named "Auri" was created for the contest.^[153]

The "postcards" were short introductory video sequences broadcast on television while the stage was being prepared for the next entry. Produced by the Mödling-based company Gebhardt Productions and filmed between October 2025 and April 2026, the postcards depicted the competing artists "immersed", by means of projection and chroma keying, in a variety of scenic locations across Austria. A physical postcard was produced for each.^[154] The following locations were used for each participating country:^[155]

The contest was presented by the Austrian entertainers Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski,^[156] while FM4 presenter Emily Busvine hosted the green room.^[157] The "Turquoise Carpet" and opening ceremony events were hosted by Tina Ritschl and Philipp Maschl.^[158]

The draw to determine the participating countries' semi-finals took place on 12 January 2026 at 19:00 CET, at the Vienna City Hall.^[159][160] The thirty semi-finalists were divided over five pots, based on historical voting patterns, with the purpose of reducing the chance of "bloc voting" and increasing suspense in the semi-finals. The draw also determined which semi-final each of the five automatic qualifiers – host country Austria and the "Big Four" countries (France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom) – would vote in, be required to broadcast, and perform its entry in a non-competitive capacity.^[161][162] The ceremony was hosted by Alexandra Wachter and Cesár Sampson,^[163] and was preceded by the passing of a "friendship gift" from Conradin Cramer, the president of the Basel-Stadt government representing the previous host city Basel, to Michael Ludwig, the mayor and governor of Vienna.^[164][165]

The first semi-final took place on 12 May 2026 at 21:00 CEST. Fifteen countries competed in this semi-final. Those countries plus Germany and Italy, as well as non-participating countries under an aggregated "Rest of the World" online vote, voted in this semi-final.^[166] The running order (R/O) was determined by the contest producers and made public on 2 April. In addition to the competing entries, Italy and Germany performed their entries during the show, appearing on stage after the entries from Georgia and Israel, respectively.^[167] Israel was awarded the most points in the semi-final, and qualified for the final alongside, in order of points total, Poland, Finland, Moldova, Serbia, Croatia, Greece, Lithuania, Sweden, and Belgium. The countries that failed to reach the final were Estonia, Portugal, Montenegro, San Marino, and Georgia.^[168]

This semi-final was opened by Vicky Leandros performing her entry for Luxembourg in 1967, "L'amour est bleu", backed by a 70-member choir. The interval acts were "Welcome to the Funfair", a performance by the acrobatic show group Zurcaroh centering on the history of the Bohemian Prater, Austria's oldest amusement park; and "Opposites", a musical number performed by presenters Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski which highlights "how to distinguish Austria from Australia", with an appearance by Go-Jo, who had represented Australia in 2025.^[f]

The second semi-final took place on 14 May 2026 at 21:00 CEST. Fifteen countries competed in this semi-final.^[28] Those countries plus Austria, France and the United Kingdom, as well as non-participating countries under an aggregated "Rest of the World" online vote, voted in this semi-final.^[166] The running order (R/O) was determined by the contest producers and made public on 2 April. In addition to the competing entries, France, Austria, and the United Kingdom performed their entries during the show, appearing on stage after the entries from Czechia, Cyprus, and Ukraine, respectively.^[167] Bulgaria was awarded the most points in the semi-final, and qualified for the final alongside, in order of points total, Romania, Australia, Norway, Denmark, Ukraine, Albania, Malta, Czechia, and Cyprus. The countries that failed to reach the final were Switzerland, Luxembourg, Latvia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.^[175]

This semi-final was opened by a pre-recorded segment in which the presenters Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski performed the 2025 winning song "Wasted Love" in a "self-deprecating" manner, while the interval acts included the presenters performing "I'm So Excited" and JJ performing his new single "Unknown".^[g]

The final took place on 16 May 2026 at 21:00 CEST and featured 25 competing countries. All 35 participating countries with jury and televote, as well as non-participating countries under an aggregated "Rest of the World" online vote, voted in the final.^[28] The running order (R/O) of the host nation was determined by a random draw on 17 March during the annual meeting of heads of the participating delegations,^[179] while the running order for the remaining finalists was determined by the contest producers following the second semi-final.^[180]

A notable technical issue occurred midway through Czechia's performance, with the screen showing stripes and the image freezing for a few seconds. The Czech delegation subsequently filed a request for a repeat performance, but the EBU described the incident as a minor technical problem and therefore did not permit a rerun.^[181]

Bulgaria won the contest with the song "Bangaranga", performed by Dara and written by her along with Anne Judith Wik, Cristian Tarcea, and Dimitris Kontopoulos. Bulgaria won both the jury vote and televote, the first entry to do so since Portugal in 2017, finishing with 516 points. It was the country's first win in the contest following 14 prior participations.^[182] Israel, Romania, Australia, Italy, Finland, Denmark, Moldova, Ukraine, and Greece completed the top ten; by finishing third, Romania received its highest points total in history and equalled its best placements from 2005 and 2010.^[183] Belgium, Lithuania, Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom occupied the bottom five positions, with Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom receiving no points from the televote.^[184]

The final was opened by the flag parade, introducing all twenty-five finalists, accompanied by JJ performing the Queen of the Night aria, his new single "Unknown", and his winning song in 2025, "Wasted Love", backed by the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under the conduction of Martin Gellner. The interval acts included former participants Erika Vikman (Finland 2025), Lordi (Finland 2006), Max Mutzke (Germany 2004), Alexander Rybak (Norway 2009 and 2018), Kristian Kostov (Bulgaria 2017), Verka Serduchka (Ukraine 2007), Miriana Conte (Malta 2025), and Ruslana (Ukraine 2004) performing a medley of past entries to celebrate the contest's seventieth anniversary;^[h] Parov Stelar performing his new single "Black Lilies" with vocals by Elena Karafizi and Lee Anduze; and Cesár Sampson (Austria 2018) performing "Vienna".^[i]

"Bangaranga" was the only entry of the 2026 contest to enter the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. US, at numbers 90 and 38, respectively, on the charts dated 30 May 2026.^[191]

The 12-point score from each country's national jury was revealed by the spokespersons in the following order:^{[192][193][194][195]}

The ten qualifiers from the first semi-final were determined by televoting (50%) and seven-member juries (50%). All fifteen countries competing in the first semi-final voted, alongside Germany and Italy, and the aggregated Rest of the World vote. The ten qualifying countries were announced in a random order, with the full results being published after the final.

Below is a summary of all 12 points received in the first semi-final. In the jury vote, Poland received the maximum score of 12 points from five countries, Finland received 12 points from four countries, Belgium and Israel received 12 points from three countries, while Greece and Serbia were each awarded one set of 12 points. In the public vote, Israel received the maximum score of 12 points from five countries, Moldova and Serbia received 12 points from four countries (plus the aggregated Rest of the World vote for Moldova). Finland received two sets of 12 points, while Croatia and Estonia were each awarded one set of 12 points.^[168]

The ten qualifiers from the second semi-final were determined by televoting (50%) and seven-member juries (50%). All fifteen countries competing in the second semi-final voted, alongside Austria, France, and the United Kingdom, plus the aggregated Rest of the World vote. The ten qualifying countries were revealed in no particular order, with the full results being published after the final.

Below is a summary of all 12 points received in the second semi-final. In the jury vote, Norway received the maximum score of 12 points from four countries, Czechia and Malta received 12 points from three countries, Albania and Australia received 12 points from two countries, while Armenia, Bulgaria, Denmark, and Romania were each awarded one set of 12 points. In the public vote, Bulgaria received the maximum score of 12 points from eight countries, plus the aggregated rest of the world vote. Albania, Cyprus, Denmark, and Romania each received two sets of 12 points, while Norway and Ukraine were each awarded one set of 12 points.^[175]

The results of the final were determined by televoting and jury voting in all thirty-five participating countries, plus the Rest of the World aggregate public vote. The jury points of each respective country were shown on screen, with the 12-point score revealed by the country's spokesperson. Following the completion of the jury vote, the televoting points were aggregated by the contest hosts in ascending order, starting from the country that received the fewest points from the jury.