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Luxembourg’s 2026 selection process is a glorious blend of optimism and bureaucracy, as only they can manage. The rules are simple enough for anyone with Google Translate: be a Luxembourgish citizen, have lived there for three years (not spent it at the airport bar), or have a “proven cultural tie.” This year, 70% of contestants qualify via nationality, 25% by residency, and a plucky 5% via tenuous musical connections to the Grand Duchy. But let’s be honest, the ratio of actual Luxembourgers still remains lower than the number of EU officials who claim to live there for tax purposes.
So, eventually, they lined up 58 hopefuls with 83 songs. Auditions at Rockhal are the order of the day, and multilingual chaos reigns supreme: English dominates because of course it does, but there’s also French, Luxembourgish, German, Spanish, and even Portuguese fighting for airtime.
As for the jury? Forget local personalities—RTL’s rounded up a Eurovision Justice League: Melodifestivalen’s finest, Iceland’s pickers, some rotund French songwriter, Elsie Bay (who can’t seem to leave), and yes, that Dr Eurovision bloke. If anyone can sniff out accidental bangers or spot a faltering falsetto, it’s these folks. If you impress this lot, you’re probably ready for anything—except, perhaps, finishing top 10 on a Saturday night.
The finalists will be let out into captivity from October 30th and the actual magic all unfolds at that same Rockhal, Esch-sur-Alzette, on January 24th, 2026 — a venue that could do double duty as a pop temple and an acceptable place for your mum’s line dancing group. We’ll be across it like… well…. we always are!
