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Latvia’s Eurovision selection show Supernova has received a record 124 entries for its 2026 edition, the broadcaster LSM has confirmed. The figure represents a significant increase on last year, when 96 songs were put forward.
The submission window ran from 1 August to 1 October, and organisers will now begin narrowing the field down to a shortlist of performers for the televised semi-finals and grand final scheduled for February. While the exact number of finalists has yet to be revealed, previous editions have typically featured around 20 acts.
For a relatively small music market, the surge in interest is striking. Broadcasters have long argued that Supernova provides one of the few domestic platforms capable of launching new artists into both the Latvian charts and the wider European consciousness. That reputation has grown in recent years, even if Latvia’s Eurovision fortunes have been mixed, with a string of non-qualifications broken only occasionally by stronger results.
The challenge now lies in how the selection panel manages such a large volume of material. Debate is already swirling among fans about the balance between Latvian-written works and contributions from international songwriting teams, as well as whether more entries in the Latvian language will make it through to the final stages.
Supernova 2026 will also unfold against a fraught backdrop for Eurovision as a whole, with the EBU preparing to vote in November on whether Israel should be excluded from the contest. While Latvia has not taken a public stance on the issue, the decision could affect the tone of this year’s national finals across Europe, placing additional scrutiny on how broadcasters handle transparency and voting.
For LTV, the goal is simple: to select an act that can restore momentum on the Eurovision stage while keeping domestic audiences engaged. Whether the eventual winner can carry that weight remains to be seen, but the sheer number of submissions suggests there is no shortage of ambition among Latvia’s artists.
Source: LTV
