Eurovision and JESC news:

Image source: Hana Knizova
Daniel Zizka has released the music video of “CROSSROADS”, the song with which he will represent Czechia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.

Daniel Zizka has been selected by the Czech Broadcaster ČT from 260 submissions, with the entries being reviewed by a combination of experts and a public poll. He is 23 years old and has been described as one of the best new artists in the Czech music industry.
Kryštof Šámal, Head of Delegation for Czechia, commented on how Daniel made an impression during the first listening sessions:

“When Daniel came into the studio and sang his song straight through on the first try with absolute ease, the room fell completely silent. Not because he was loud, but because he was completely focused and confident. The performance was disarming – technically precise, yet full of emotion,” says “It was clear we were watching an artist who knows exactly who he wants to be.”

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Michal Utíkal, Head of Media and Creative Producer for Czechia, described the approach that that Czech delegation is taking to Eurovision this year:

“This year we decided to connect our media outputs with a unifying element. All components from photography and graphic identity to the music video and staging contain a leitmotif that symbolically underlines Daniel’s journey.”
“This year we decided to connect our media outputs with a unifying element.

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Daniel Zizka added:

“Eurovision is a huge platform and a big show. But what I mainly want to bring there is music and emotion. I don’t want to compete hidden behind flashiness and spectacle. I want to stand firmly behind who I am as an artist.”

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The song that Daniel Zizka will perform in Vienna has been written and composed by Viliam Béreš and by Daniel himself. He will perform in the first half of the second semi-final on May 14.

Image source: İTV
The Azerbaijani broadcaster ITV has defended its Eurovision 2026 artist and song selection following criticism after its entry and artist were revealed.
Two days after “Just Go” was revealed as the Azerbaijani song for the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, performed by JIVA, ITV has taken to social media to defend its selection. In a statement on Instagram ITV said that it decided to release a statement to explain in more detail how the selection process worked.
In the statement, ITV explained that three acts made it through to the final shortlist, which included JIVA. That the final decision was made based on the results of a specially formed focus group and expert opinions. And that an important factor in determining their entry was that jury voting will be reintroduced in the semi-finals of Eurovision. As a result, strong live vocals and performance abilities were taken into account.
In addition, the statement addresses claims on social media that the song has been written using artificial intelligence. ITV states that:

These ideas do not reflect the truth. “Just Go” is an original musical work prepared on the basis of a professional creative approach, and behind it are many years of experience, preofessional knowledge and creative work.

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The broadcaster goes on to give its full support to JIVA as the Azerbaijani representative. She will perform in the first half of the second semi-final on May 14.
Source: Ictimai Eurovision

Image Source: Ánne Kátjá Gaup, Dánil Røkke, Elle Norvang / Sámi beassášmárkanat
The twelve acts competing in Sámi Grand Prix 2026 have been revealed ahead of this year’s competition.
The acts and songs competing in Sámi Grand Prix 2026 have been released, with three weeks to go until the final live from Kautokeino. Isalill Kolpus and Ánte Siri have been announced as the hosts of the contest, which will take place on March 28. The winner will
The song contest finalists are:

• Sofia Mienna & OK NIKO – “Gos don leat?”
• Han Helge & Han Håkon – “Ingen andre”
• Caroline J Kuhmunen – “Dorvobáiki”
• Alo Joks – “Mun lean”
• Kalle Urheim – “Duottara bárnne / Tundra’s Son”
• ELLINOR – “Du Dušši”

The joik contest finalists are:

• Sárá Nilut – “Ayla Gáren Audhild”
• Ánte Niillas Bongo – “Nášša álddut”
• Lars-Ánte Kuhmunen – “Nils Issát”
• Per Bueng – “Liv Slotte”
• Biret Risten Sara og Rávná Anti Guttorm – “Heajat”
• Iŋgor Nila – “Mari-Ann

The 2026 contest will mark the fifth edition of the competition which will be aired by NRK of Norway, and will once again be broadcast by SVT of Sweden and Yle of Finland.

What is Sámi Grand Prix?​

Sámi Grand Prix has been held annually since 1990 as part of the Sámi Easter Festival in Kautokeino in Norway.
The region of Sápmi covers northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, and has a population of between 80-100,000 Sámi. To date the most successful nation in the contest is Norway.
Source: NRK

Bzikebi has released “On Replay”, the Georgian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna.

Bzikebi has released the official music video for “On Replay”. The song was written by Giga Kukhianidze, who has written multiple Georgian Junior Eurovision entries, including Georgia’s last two winning entries; “Mzeo” and “To My Mom”.

Bzikebi consists of Giorgi Shiolashvili, Mariam Tatulashvili and Mariam Kikuashvili. In 2008, they won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest with “Bzz”, the first song in the contest’s history to be performed in an imaginary language and the first of four victories for Georgia in the contest. After the contest, they released the album “Zabuzei”.

Bzikebi returned to Junior Eurovision in 2022, where they took part in an interval act celebrating 20 years of the contest. They also performed as an interval act at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Tbilisi, where they performed the original song “We Don’t Sleep”.

Bzikebi will perform in the first half of the first semi-final on May 12.

Image source: RTSH
The official music video for “Nân” the Albanian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, has been released this evening.
The official music video for Albania’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 has been released. The video features English language subtitles which share the message of the song clearly to viewers, with Alis also joined by twenty women across the duration of the video.

Alis won Festivali i Këngës 64 and will represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna with “Nân”. He was the favourite of both the jury and public voting at Festivali i Këngës 64.

Image Source: OGAE Romania
The Eurovision Pre-Party in Bucharest is set to be held on April 18 as the venue is announced and tickets go on sale.
The Eurovision Pre-Party Bucharest 2026 is set to be held on April 18 in the Romanian capital. The event will be held at the Arenele Romane. The event will feature acts competing in Eurovision 2026 as well as guest performers from previous editions of the contest. The event is being organised by eMagic in collaboration with TVR, AIMR and OGAE Romania.
Tickets are on sale now for 109 lei (21.4 Euro), and can be purchased here. The organisers commented:

“Bucharest into a meeting point for Eurovision fans from the entire region, but especially into an international promotion platform for this year’s Eurovision winner from Romania. The event aims to bring the artist to the attention of the public and fans from several countries, offering him visibility in a context dedicated to the Eurovision community. At the same time, it is a special opportunity to bring artists closer to the public and to celebrate diversity and passion for music together,”

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The Eurovision PreParty in Bucharest is the first new Eurovision Pre-Party announced since 2024, when Malmohagen was held for the first time. It is also the first new Eurovision Pre-Party being held in Eastern Europe since the Warsaw Pre-Party, which was cancelled after two editions.
The Pre-Party’s being held ahead of Eurovision 2026 are: London

• March 12: Eurovision Party SKG –
  
  Thessaloniki
• March 21: Nordic Eurovision Party –
  
  Oslo
• April 11: Eurovision in Concert –
  
  Amsterdam
• April 17: London Eurovision Festival Fundraiser –
  
  London
• April 18: Eurovision Pre-Party –
  
  Bucharest
• April 19: London Eurovision Party –
  
  London

Der Standard has published the televoting totals from Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich?, the Austrian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.

Following a Freedom of Information Act request, ORF has released the televoting totals that each of the acts received in Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich?, the Austrian national final for Eurovision 2026. The details show that a total of 54,296 votes were cast during the show, with just under 20% of the votes being cast for the eventual winner Cosmó. Voters were able to cast up to 100 votes per phone number as part of the selection.

The televoting breakdown is as follows:

The overall results of the selection were as follows:

Cosmó won Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich? and will represent Austria on home ground in Vienna. He will compete in the Grand Final on May 16. In addition, he will also perform during the second semi-final on May 14.

Image Source: Kjetil Solhøi / NRK
Jonas Lovv has announced his participation in two Eurovision Pre-Party’s ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna, Austria.
The Norwegian representative Jonas Lovv is set to perform at the Nordic Eurovision Party in Oslo, and Eurovision in Concert in Amsterdam. He will perform “Ya ya ya” for audiences across Europe ahead of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria this May.
The Nordic Eurovision Party 2026 will be held on March 21, as it brings together Eurovision stars, veterans of the contest, and other talented artists associated with the Eurovision Song Contest. The acts announced to date are:
Eurovision in Concert 2026 will be held on April 11 in the AFAS Live Arena. After the Netherlands withdrew from the contest in December, the organisers announced that the preparty will still take place. Eurovision in Concert counts as one of the major Eurovision pre-party events. Having first been held in 2009, the event draws thousands of fans to Amsterdam every year.
Jonas Lovv received the maximum amount of points from both the jury and the televote, and will thus represent Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with the entry “Ya ya ya”. Jonas Lovv has been drawn to perform in the second half of the second semi-final, on May 14.

Image Source: TVR
Alexandra Căpitănescu, the Romanian representative for Eurovision 2026, is the latest artist to be announced for the London Eurovision Party 2026.
The representative of Romania, Alexandra Căpitănescu, is the latest artist to be confirmed for the London Eurovision Party 2026 at HERE at the Outernet. She will perform her song “Choke Me”. This is the first pre-party performance announced for the Romanian representative to date.
She joins a lineup featuring Eurovision 2026 contestants, as well as former participants from previous years. The Eurovision 2026 artists announced so far are:

• 
  Alis (Albania)
• 
  Cosmó (Austria)
• 
  Essyla (Belgium)
• 
  DARA (Bulgaria)
• 
  Søren Torpegaard Lund (Denmark)
• 
  Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen (Finland)
• 
  Atvara (Latvia)
• 
  Lion Ceccah (Lithuania)
• 
  Eva Marija (Luxembourg)
• 
  Aidan (Malta)
• 
  Satoshi (Moldova)
• 
  Tamara Živković (Montenegro)
• 
  Alexandra Căpitănescu (Romania)
• 
  Senhit (San Marino)
• 
  Leléka (Ukraine)

The special guests announced so far are:

• 
  Sissal (Denmark 2025)
• 
  Aliona Moon (Moldova 2013)

Further artists will be announced at a later date.
The London Eurovision Party will take place on April 19 at HERE at Outernet. Tickets for the event are currently on sale here.
The London Eurovision Party was first held in 2008 and is the oldest Eurovision pre-party event in Europe. The 2025 edition was held at HERE at Outernet for the third time. A total of 21 artists from Eurovision 2025 performed at the event. They were also joined by several artists from past Eurovision contests.

Image Source: Olympiaworld Innsbruck/diviz
Der Standard has released new details of the bid that Innsbruck made to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, which narrowly missed out on winning.
Through a Freedom of Information request, Der Standard has gained access to the bidding documentation that Innsbruck provided to ORF for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Reporting from the Austrian newspaper now gives a clearer idea of how Innsbruck had hoped to host the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Image Source: Olympiaworld Innsbruck/diviz
As part of its bid, Innsbruck intended to use two venues within the city to host different elements of the competition. Olympiahalle would have been the venue for the contest itself, with the Green Room located in a separate hall next to the venue, where the public would also have been able to watch the contest. This would have allowed up to 15,000 people to watch each of the live shows in one of the two venues.
Image Source: Olympiaworld Innsbruck/diviz
On top of this, the Tivoli Stadium would have been open for a public viewing event similar to that which was organised by Basel for the 2025 contest. A rendering of the Tivoli shows a giant box with screens in the middle of the stadium, following Basel’s approach at St. Jakob-Park. The Tivoli Stadium could have held up to 17,000 fans.
In terms of the experience that fans and delegations would have experienced in Innsbruck. The city proposed a free cultural program that would have included activities such as craft beer and gin tasting, a glacier hike, or a ride through the ice channel in Igls.
Innsbruck budgeted 3.7 million Euros for the venues, 2 million Euros for the press centre, production and backstage areas, and 4 million Euros on security and technology. A further 1 million euros each would be spent on additional pblic transport, the Eurovision Village and project management for the contest.

Image Source: RTS
Serbia has selected its representative for Eurovision Young Musicians 2026, with Jana Jakovljević set to compete in Yerevan this June.
Violinist Jana Jakovljević will represent Serbia at Eurovision Young Musicians 2026 having won the countries national selection last weekend. Jana Jakovljević was one of eight musicians to compete in the Serbian selection which was held at Kolarčevo National University, with the winner chosen by a jury formed of Nataša Veljković, Ana Kaličanin Radivojević, Srboljub Dinić and Nataša Veljković.
The finalists in the Serbian selection were:

• Nina Rakočević – Violinist
• Uroš Adamović – Violinist – Joint third
• Jana Jakovljević – Violinist – First
• Petar Blagojević – Clarinist
• Iva Vujanić – Flautist
• Kristina Vasić – Saxophonist – Second
• Petra Spasojević – Pianist
• David Božić – Pianist – Joint third

Eurovision Young Musicians 2026 will take place on June 6 in Yerevan, this is the first time that Eurovision Young Musicians has been hosted by Armenia, and the third time Yerevan has hosted a Eurovision competition.
The participating countries and their representatives are:

• 
  Armenia: AMPTV
• 
  Belgium: RTBF – Simon Nakhimovitch
• 
  Cyprus: CyBC – Iakovos Kedaritis
• 
  Czechia: ČT
• 
  Germany: WDR
• 
  Latvia: LSM – Sonja Misiņa
• 
  Poland: TVP – Selects on April 14
• 
  Portugal: RTP – Beatriz Li Rosão
• 
  Serbia: RTS – Jana Jakovljević
• 
  Sweden: SVT – Edward Ahlbeck Glader
• 
  Switzerland: SRF – Manoush Toth

Image Source: Wikimedia
The Serbian public broadcaster RTS has reported that the venue for Eurovision Young Musicians 2026 will be the Yerevan Opera Theatre.
In an article on the Serbian national selection for Eurovision Young Musicians 2026, RTS has stated that the Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre will be the venue for this years contest. The Armenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre which is also known as the Yerevan Opera Threate and the Alexander Spendiaryan National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, was opened in 1933 and features two concert halls, one capable of holding 1,400 people and another for 1,200 people.
The Opera Theatre has hosted numerous well known international musicians, dancers and opera performers. It also has links to the Eurovision Song Contest having been the venue for the Armenian national final in 2010. The venue has not yet been confirmed by the host broadcaster AMPTV or the European Broadcasting Union.
Eurovision Young Musicians 2026 will take place on June 6 in Yerevan, this is the first time that Eurovision Young Musicians has been hosted by Armenia, and the third time Yerevan has hosted a Eurovision competition.
The participating countries and their representatives are:

• 
  Armenia: AMPTV
• 
  Belgium: RTBF – Simon Nakhimovitch
• 
  Cyprus: CyBC – Iakovos Kedaritis
• 
  Czechia: ČT
• 
  Germany: WDR
• 
  Latvia: LSM – Sonja Misiņa
• 
  Poland: TVP – Selects on April 14
• 
  Portugal: RTP – Beatriz Li Rosão
• 
  Serbia: RTS – Jana Jakovljević
• 
  Sweden: SVT – Edward Ahlbeck Glader
• 
  Switzerland: SRF – Manoush Toth

Image Source: London Eurovision Party

Four more of the acts that are set to compete in the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, have been announced as performing at the London Eurovision Party 2026.

Akylas (Greece), Sarah Engels (Germany), Lelek (Croatia) and Veronica Fusaro (Switzerland) have all been announced as performing at the London Eurovision Party 2026 on April 19 at HERE at the Outernet. The artists bring the number of confirmed Eurovision 2026 participants taking to the staging in London to twenty.

They join a lineup featuring Eurovision 2026 contestants, as well as former participants from previous years. The Eurovision 2026 artists announced so far are:

• 
  Alis (Albania)
• 
  Cosmó (Austria)
• 
  Essyla (Belgium)
• 
  DARA (Bulgaria)
• 
  Lelek (Croatia)
• 
  Søren Torpegaard Lund (Denmark)
• 
  Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen (Finland)
• 
  Sarah Engels (Germany)
• 
  Akylas (Greece)
• 
  Atvara (Latvia)
• 
  Lion Ceccah (Lithuania)
• 
  Eva Marija (Luxembourg)
• 
  Aidan (Malta)
• 
  Satoshi (Moldova)
• 
  Tamara Živković (Montenegro)
• 
  Jonas Lovv (Norway)
• 
  Alexandra Căpitănescu (Romania)
• 
  Senhit (San Marino)
• 
  Veronica Fusaro (Switzerland)
• 
  Leléka (Ukraine)

The special guests announced so far are:

• 
  Sissal (Denmark 2025)
• 
  Aliona Moon (Moldova 2013)

Further artists will be announced at a later date.

The London Eurovision Party will take place on April 19 at HERE at Outernet. Tickets for the event are currently on sale here.

The London Eurovision Party was first held in 2008 and is the oldest Eurovision pre-party event in Europe. The 2025 edition was held at HERE at Outernet for the third time. A total of 21 artists from Eurovision 2025 performed at the event. They were also joined by several artists from past Eurovision contests.

Source: London Eurovision Party