Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026
| Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) | |||
| Country |  Austria | |||
| Selection process | Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich? | |||
| Selection date | 20 February 2026 | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
Austria is set to be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The Austrian participating broadcaster, Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), will organise the national final Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich? to select its entry for the contest. In addition, ORF will also be the host broadcaster and will stage the event at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, after winning the previous edition with the song "Wasted Love" by JJ.
Background
Prior to the 2026 contest, Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Austria fifty-seven times since its first entry in 1957.[1] It had won the contest on three occasions: in 1966 with the song "Merci, Chérie" performed by Udo Jürgens, in 2014 with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" performed by Conchita Wurst, and in 2025 with the song "Wasted Love" performed by JJ.[1] Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, Austria had featured in only ten finals. Its least successful result had been last place, which it had achieved on eight occasions, most recently in 2012.[1] It had also received nul points on four occasions; in 1962, 1988, 1991, and 2015.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, ORF organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. ORF confirmed its intentions to participate and host the 2026 contest immediately after the 2025 final on 18 May 2025.[2] From 2011 to 2013 as well as in 2015 and 2016, ORF set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Austria, with both the public and a panel of jury members involved in the selection. In 2014 and since 2017, ORF has held an internal selection to choose the artist and song. On 2 August 2025, the broadcaster announced that its entry for the 2026 contest would be selected through a national final.[3]
Before Eurovision
Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich?
Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich? ("Vienna Calling – Who sings for Austria?") will be the national final organised by ORF to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The event will take place on 20 February 2026 at the ORF Center in Vienna.[4] It will be hosted by Alice Tumler and Cesár Sampson and will be broadcast on ORF 1 as well as streamed online via the broadcaster's streaming platform ORF ON and the Eurovision Song Contest's official YouTube channel.[5][6]
Format
Twelve songs will compete in the competition where the winner will be selected by public voting and a 43-member expert jury panel.[7]
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Competing entries
ORF invited all interested artists to submit their songs to the broadcaster between 4 August 2025 and 15 October 2025.[8][9] Music experts Eberhard Forcher and Peter Schreiber (who have both been working together on the selection of the Austrian entries since 2024) also nominated an additional 60 to 70 artists to submit songs and organised a songwriting camp in June 2025 where 18 songs were created for the selection.[10][11] The broadcaster received over 500 submissions at the closing of the deadline, which were reviewed by a team of ORF editors and music professionals consisting of Forcher, Schreiber and Cesár Sampson.[12][13] 30 entries were shortlisted for a live casting round on 22 and 23 November 2025, and the 12 artists and songs selected to compete in the national final were revealed on 15 December 2025.[12][14] On 18 December 2025, Tamara Flores withdrew and was replaced by Sidrit Vokshi.[15]
Key: Entry withdrawn Replacement entry
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Anna-Sophie | "Superhuman" |
|
| Bamlak Werner | "We Are Not Just One Thing" |
|
| Cosmó | "Tanzschein" |
|
| David Kurt | "Pockets Full of Snow" |
|
| Frevd | "Riddle" |
|
| Julia Steen | "Julia" |
|
| Kayla Krystin | "I brenn" |
|
| Lena Schaur | "Painted Reality" |
|
| Nikotin | "Unsterblich" |
|
| Philip Piller | "Das Leben ist Kunst" |
|
| Reverend Stomp | "Mescalero Ranger" |
|
| Sidrit Vokshi | "Wenn ich rauche" |
|
| Tamara Flores | "Chingona" |
|
Final
The final will take place on 20 February 2026. Twelve songs will compete where the combination of votes from a jury panel and a public vote will select the winner.[16] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, a panel consisting of Caroline Athanasiadis, Elton and 2019 Swiss representative Luca Hänni will comment on the songs during the show.[17]
| Draw | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anna-Sophie | "Superhuman" |
| 2 | Sidrit Vokshi | "Wenn ich rauche" |
| 3 | Kayla Krystin | "I brenn" |
| 4 | Reverend Stomp | "Mescalero Ranger" |
| 5 | Bamlak Werner | "We Are Not Just One Thing" |
| 6 | Philip Piller | "Das Leben ist Kunst" |
| 7 | Nikotin | "Unsterblich" |
| 8 | David Kurt | "Pockets Full of Snow" |
| 9 | Julia Steen | "Julia" |
| 10 | Frevd | "Riddle" |
| 11 | Lena Schaur | "Painted Reality" |
| 12 | Cosmó | "Tanzschein" |
References
- ^ a b c "Austria". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ "🇦🇹 ORF confirms it's hosting Eurovision 2026 and begins planning". That Eurovision Site. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ Farren, Neil (2 August 2025). "🇦🇹 Austria: National Selection for Eurovision 2026". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ "Austria: Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich?". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ^ "Volle ESC-Power mit Alice Tumler und Cesár Sampson". tv.ORF.at (in German). Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ "Vorentscheid als völlig offenes Rennen". Eurovision Song Contest 2026 Vienna (in German). Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ^ a b Granger, Anthony (16 February 2026). "🇦🇹 Austria: Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich? Winner to be Chosen by 43 Jurors & Televoting". Eurovoix. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
- ^ "ORF-Show für Österreichs Beitrag im Februar". oe3.ORF.at (in German). 8 November 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ Farren, Neil (8 September 2025). "🇦🇹 Austria: Selects for Eurovision 2026 on February 20". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ "Weit über 400 Einreichungen für den ESC-Vorentscheid „Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich?"". ESC kompakt (in German). 16 October 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ Schreuder, Marco (29 June 2025). "Merci Chérie zu Gast beim Songwriting Camp". Merci, Chérie (in German). Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ a b "Song Contest: Zwölf Acts für Vorausscheidung stehen fest". news.ORF.at (in German). 15 December 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ "ORF präsentiert aktuelle Updates zum 70. Eurovision Song Contest in Wien". der.ORF.at (in German). Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (18 November 2025). "🇦🇹 Austria: Casting Round This Weekend for Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich?". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ "Austria Loses Potential ESC Entrant". vol.at. 18 December 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
- ^ a b "Vorentscheid als völlig offenes Rennen". Eurovision Song Contest 2026 Vienna (in German). Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ^ Conte, Davide (10 February 2026). "🇦🇹 Austria: Panelists for Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich? Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 20 February 2026.