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With the on-season very much… on, we’re bringing you all the main news stories from the world of Eurovision. But sometimes, snippets of news might not be enough for a full report, and that’s why we’ll be bringing you this semi-regular Friday update to remind you of the week that was, and fill in the gaps.
Swiss newspaper Blick claims to know who’s been chosen to host the 70th Eurovision Song Contest. They reported ORF has stuck with the somewhat presenter-heavy threesome approach and signed up TV host and mass-market trinket heiress, Victoria Swarovski, longtime Austrian ‘Voice of Eurovision’ Andi Knoll, and actor Philipp Hochmair. A few days later, Austrian newspaper Der Standard rubbished the claims. According to their ‘reliable’ source, ORF have not yet selected the hosts.
Bulgaria is back, and according to Bulgarian news outlet Fakti, BNT will organise a televised national final to choose their song for Eurovision.
Czechia received 260 submissions for its internal selection. The selected artist and song will represent Czechia in Vienna, and be overlooked for not trying hard enough.
Denmark: DR announced the hosts and strategic focus for Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2026 The 56th edition of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix will be hosted by Sara Bro and Alex Høgh Andersen. DR also unveiled new branding for DMGP. Otherwise, nothing really new. A whole lot of focus group/spreadsheet strategy and the like, but nothing that screamed music.
Estonia: Eesti Laul 2026 revealed its hosts, Karl-Erik Taukar and Korea. We had a word or two to say about the names listed for the upcoming contest – and those words were mostly very good indeed…
Read about the first six participants | Now the next six
Greece received 264 submissions for Ethnikós Telikós 2026. ERT will shortlist 28 songs to compete in two semi-finals.
Portugal: Song submissions for Festival da Canção 2026 closed. Finalist selection, format, and schedule details are being processed. All we know is the winner will be announced very early on a Sunday morning in late February or early March next year.
Ukraine: Suspilne announced receiving a record 451 submissions for the Vidbir 2026 selection. The winner will be chosen in February 2026 and represent Ukraine in Vienna.
Elsewhere, the online Eurovision world came over all unnecessary when the Canadian government added a throwaway line to its 2026 budget statement indicating the availability of funds to consider Canadian (CBC/Radio Canada) involvement in the Eurovision Song Contest. A few days later, spokesperson Martin Green confirmed: ‘The Canadian conversation with CBC is in its very early stages and we look forward to continuing our discussions with them.‘ Because Canada has such a long and respected relationship with the contest… just like Australia… oh, wait!
