Lithuanian national broadcaster LRT has confirmed Lithuania’s participation in Eurovision 2026, to be held in Austria. Lithuania is expected to select its entry again through Eurovizija.LT.
The Lithuanian national broadcaster has officially announced that Lithuania will participate in Eurovision 2026, which will be hosted in Austria. Lithuania becomes the 20th country to express interest in joining Eurovision 2026, following Albania, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the host country, Austria.
The national broadcaster confirmed its participation to the Eurovision website ESC Today for the upcoming contest in Austria.
It appears that “Eurovizija.LT” will once again serve as Lithuania’s pre-selection format, marking the third consecutive year that the Lithuanian entry is expected to be chosen through this platform. Additional details about the national selection process will be revealed in due course.
Lithuania’s use of “Eurovizija.LT” has shown both advantages and disadvantages. The country has maintained relatively consistent results compared to previous years, though there has been a slight decline since the adoption of this platform. Silvester Belt finished 14th with the song “Luktelk,” a drop of three places from the previous year, and the following year, Katharsis with “Tavo Akys” dropped two more places, finishing 16th. On the other hand, since adopting this platform, Lithuania has significantly increased its use of the Lithuanian language in the competition, presenting a more authentic national identity.
Lithuania began its Eurovision journey facing considerable challenges, missing the contest six times in its early years (1995-1998, 2000, and 2003). Over 25 participations, Lithuania has never won Eurovision or reached the top five but has placed in the top ten three times: sixth in 2006, eighth in 2021, and ninth in 2016.
An official and final list of participating countries for Eurovision 2026 is expected to be published in October.
Lithuania at Eurovision 2025:
“Tavo akys” (Hebrew: “Your Eyes”) was the song performed by Katarsis, representing Lithuania at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. The song finished sixth in the second semi-final with 103 points, qualified for the final, and ultimately placed 16th with 96 points. This marks Lithuania’s longest streak of consecutive qualifications to the Eurovision final, as the country reached the final for the fifth year in a row.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Lithuania’s 26th participation in the contest. Lithuania debuted in 1994 and achieved its best result in 2006, when LT United finished sixth with “We Are The Winners”.
