Eurovision Song Contest 2026
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is set to be the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It is scheduled to consist of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May and a final on 16 May 2026, held at in Vienna, Austria, and presented by Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski. It is being organised by the European Broadcasting Union and host broadcaster , which will stage the event after winning the for with the song "Wasted Love" by JJ.
Broadcasters from thirty-five countries will participate in the contest, two fewer than in 2025 and the smallest number of participants since, before the introduction of semi-finals.,, the,, and have opted not to participate in protest against 's inclusion in the context of the Gaza war, marking the largest number of boycotting countries in the contest's history alongside the, while,, and are returning after absences from recent editions.
Location
The 2026 contest will take place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Wasted Love", performed by JJ. It will be the third time that Austria has hosted the contest, having previously done so in and, both times also in Vienna. The selected venue for the contest is the 16,152-seat, which previously hosted the contest in 2015.In addition to the main venue, the will be the location of the Eurovision Village, which hosts performances by contest participants and local artists as well as screenings of the live shows for the general public. The Vienna City Hall will host the EuroClub, which organises the official after-parties and private performances by contest participants, as well as the "Turquoise Carpet" and opening ceremony on 10 May 2026, where the contestants and their delegations will be presented before accredited press and fans. Both locations will repeat the same functions they held in 2015.
Bidding phase
Following 's win for Austria in 2025, its director,, emphasised venue suitability and proximity to airports as key criteria in the selection process for the host city for 2026, while ORF's program director noted the lack of newly built large arenas in recent years but encouraged municipalities with viable plans to submit bids.Several Austrian cities expressed interest in hosting the 2026 contest within days of the 2025 victory. On 18 May 2025, the mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig, confirmed the city's intention to bid. On the same day, Graz stated it was examining a potential bid, with mayor Elke Kahr pointing to as a suitable venue. The, also in Graz, was proposed as a potential venue by its concert manager and operator, Klaus Leutgeb. Also on 18 May, Innsbruck and Wels confirmed they would bid with the and a new exhibition hall, respectively. Oberwart also expressed interest in hosting. On 19 May, Sankt Pölten's mayor Matthias Stadler proposed as a possible venue. On 26 May, Ebreichsdorf presented a proposal to host in a temporary venue.
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 had until 4 July to submit their bids. Ebreichsdorf withdrew from the process on 15 June, followed by Oberwart on 21 June, Graz on 27 June, and Wels on 1 July. Vienna and Innsbruck were the only cities to submit bids by the deadline. On 20 August, the EBU and ORF announced Vienna as the host city.
Key:
Host city
Submitted a bid
| City | Venue | Notes | |
| Ebreichsdorf | Temporary arena | The proposed venue was a temporary arena with a capacity for 20,000 people. Another venue for a public viewing of the final with a capacity of 30,000 would have been set-up. Withdrew from bidding on 15 June. | |
| Graz | Stadthalle Graz | Withdrew from bidding on 27 June. | |
| Graz | Schwarzl Freizeit Zentrum | Withdrew from bidding on 27 June. | |
| Innsbruck ^ | Olympiahalle | Hosted the 1964 Winter Olympics|figure skating] and ice hockey events at both the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympic Games. | |
| Oberwart | Messe Oberwart | Withdrew from bidding on 21 June. | |
| Vienna † | Hosted the. | ||
| Messe Wels | Joint bid, with Wels hosting the contest proper. The venue is under construction and scheduled to be completed in March 2026. Withdrew from bidding on 1 July. |
Participants
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.On 15 December 2025, the EBU announced that broadcasters from 35 countries would participate in the 2026 contest. returns after a three-year absence, returns after a two-year absence, and returns after a one-year absence. On the other hand,,, the,, and, all of which participated in 2025, are boycotting in protest against the inclusion of in the context of the Gaza war. This marks the largest boycott in the contest's history, matching the five countries that sat out of the due to 's four-way tie for the win.
Although there are no returning lead artists as of 2026, Aliona Moon, who previously represented and provided backing vocals for Pasha Parfeni in, will also provide backing vocals for Satoshi. Additionally, Georgia's Bzikebi had previously won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008.
Boycotts due to Israeli participation
The Gaza war has brought Israel's participation in the contest into controversy, with calls for the country to be excluded and demonstrations against its participation at the and 2025 editions. 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. Israel ultimately finished in fifth place in 2024 and second in 2025, in both cases placing within the top two of the public vote, which was partially attributed to advertising campaigns run by Israeli government officials to boost public votes and encourage support for their country's entries. The existence of such campaigns for the 2024 entry was confirmed by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and similar campaigns for the 2025 entry were detailed by Eurovision News Spotlight, a fact-checking and open-source intelligence initiative by the EBU. The 2025 set of advertisements, published by the Israel Government Advertising Agency, received over 68 million total impressions. Several participating broadcasters called for a rework of the televoting system and an independent audit of individual countries' televoting results following the 2025 final.Ahead of the 2026 contest, broadcasters from, the,, and announced their intention to boycott if Israel is allowed to compete, while others indicated their intention to participate dependent on certain conditions being fulfilled by the EBU. 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. A special general assembly session was planned to be held in early November to discuss and vote on Israel's representation in the contest, but it was cancelled following the implementation of a ceasefire deal and peace plan aimed at ending the war. 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. As a result, broadcasters from the four aforementioned countries announced they will go ahead with their boycott, followed by on 10 December, 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. The absence of Spain would also mark the first time that the "Big Five" is incomplete since its expansion with in. The boycott was described by several media outlets as "the biggest crisis in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest". Protesting the decision to permit Israel, Nemo, who won for, returned their trophy to the EBU. Charlie McGettigan, who won for alongside Paul Harrington, later stated that he would do the same.
The following countries' broadcasters confirmed they would boycott in 2026:
- Although RÚV initially announced that it would 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. On 26 November, RÚV's board voted to recommend Israel be excluded, and on 10 December, six days after the assembly vote, it announced its boycott of the event.
- 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. On 4 December, following the assembly vote, RTÉ announced its boycott of the event by neither competing in nor broadcasting it.
- Despite initially announcing that it would internally select its entry for 2026, 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. 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. On 4 December, following the assembly vote, AVROTROS announced its boycott of the event.
- 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. 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. On 4 December, following the assembly vote, RTVSLO announced its boycott of the event by neither competing in nor broadcasting it.
- In May 2025, José Pablo López, chairman of RTVE, initially announced that the broadcaster would select its entry through Benidorm Fest, the national final format in use since 2022. 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. 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. On 9 October, RTVE's head of communications stated that the broadcaster's position remained unchanged in light of the recently-proposed peace plan; López reaffirmed this in front of the Joint Parliamentary Control Committee of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate on 27 November. On 4 December, following the assembly vote, RTVE announced its boycott of the event by neither competing in nor broadcasting it.
Aside from external pressure to exclude Israel due to the Gaza war, the country's participation remains in question as legislation which would increase government control over the independence of Israeli media outlets, including the broadcaster IPBC, has been proposed in the Knesset by communications minister Shlomo Karhi. In 2021 and 2022 respectively, the Belarusian and Russian broadcasters had their EBU membership suspended indefinitely for similar reasons, as the independence of member broadcasters is a core value of the EBU. and have since been ineligible to participate in the contest. The Israeli media bill is yet to finalise the legislative procedures.
Other countries
The EBU member broadcasters in,,, and 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, however, the EBU confirmed that the two would not do so in 2026.Production and format
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will be produced by the Austrian national broadcaster ORF. The core team consists 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 all previously held similar or analogous positions for the in Vienna. and Robin Hofwander serve as multi-camera directors, Dorothee Freiberger and Martin Gellner compose the theme music, and Tim Routledge serves as lighting designer.In June 2025, the EBU announced that Martin Österdahl would step down from his role as executive supervisor of the contest, with ESC director Martin Green temporarily assuming Österdahl's duties. On 1 October, Gert Kark was appointed to the contest's reference group, taking Österdahl's vacated spot. A few days later, it was revealed that he would serve in the newly created position of ESC executive producer.
A study by the research institute estimates the budget for the contest to be at, with the Municipal Council and Landtag of Vienna allocating and the EBU contributing an expected.
Voting system
The 2026 contest will see several changes to the voting system. The results of the semi-finals will once again be determined by a combination of jury vote and televote, as they had been from to. The size of national juries, however, is 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 is widened. The maximum number of votes per payment method is reduced from 20 to 10. Voting instructions are updated to "discourage disproportionate promotion campaigns…particularly when undertaken or supported by third parties, including governments or governmental agencies". The rules were amended in the wake of controversy around Israel's result in the 2025 edition.Visual and stage design
The 2026 contest will be represented by a revamped version of the generic logo, designed by the Sheffield-based branding studio Pals, to celebrate the Eurovision Song Contest's 70th anniversary. A new design element named the "Chameleon Heart" was also introduced, consisting of 70 layers of the "Eurovision heart" rendered in 3D. It is intended to be adaptable for future host countries' needs. The stage design for the 2026 contest is devised for the third year in a row by German production designer Florian Wieder, who had previously designed the sets of eight previous contests. It is inspired by the "creative spirit of the Viennese Secession" and based on three leitmotifs: "The Leaf", "The Curved Line", and "The Construct", with the green room directly connected to the stage through a walkway.Postcards
The "postcards" are short video introductions shown on television while the stage is being prepared for the next entry. Produced by Mödling-based Gebhardt Productions and filming since October 2025, the postcards will feature the competing artists "immersed" in various scenic locations across Austria, with a physical postcard made for each.Presenters
Austrian entertainers Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski were announced as the presenters of the 2026 contest on 29 January 2026.Semi-final allocation draw
The draw to determine the participating countries' semi-finals took place on 12 January 2026 at 19:00 CET, at the Vienna City Hall. 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 and the "Big Four" countries – would vote in, be required to broadcast, and perform its entry in a non-competitive capacity. The ceremony was hosted by and Cesár Sampson, 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.| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 |
Contest overview
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final will take place on 12 May 2026 at 21:00 CEST. Fifteen countries will compete in this semi-final. Those countries plus and, as well as non-participating countries under an aggregated "Rest of the World" online vote, will vote in this semi-final.Semi-final 2
The second semi-final will take place on 14 May 2026 at 21:00 CEST. Fifteen countries will compete in this semi-final. Those countries plus, and the, as well as non-participating countries under an aggregated "Rest of the World" online vote, will vote in this semi-final.Final
The final will take place on 16 May 2026 at 21:00 CEST and feature 25 competing countries: the host country Austria, the "Big Four", and the ten best-ranked entries of each of the two semi-finals. All 35 participating countries with jury and televote, as well as non-participating countries under an aggregated "Rest of the World" online vote, will vote in the final.The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra is expected to open the final.
Broadcasts
All participating broadcasters may choose to have on-site or remote commentators providing insight and voting information to their local audience. Although they are required to show the final and semi-final in which their country votes, most broadcasters cover all three shows. Some non-participating broadcasters also air the contest. The Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel provides international live streams with no commentary of all shows.The following are the broadcasters that have confirmed in whole or in part their broadcasting plans and/or commentators: