The Austrian national broadcaster ORF has revealed that Austria’s representative for Eurovision 2026 will be selected at the end of February, unveiling new details about a national selection show to be held for the first time in a decade.
The Austrian national broadcaster, ORF, announced this past Saturday that Austria’s act and song for Eurovision 2026 will be chosen for the first time in ten years through an open national selection, coinciding with preparations to host the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2026. Austria has now confirmed that its national final will take place at the end of February 2026 and will feature both a jury and public vote.
Format Details: Open Call and Combined Jury/Public Voting
According to the Austrian national broadcaster, the selection will be held before a live audience at the end of February 2026 and will feature both jury voting and voting from viewers at home. The broadcaster revealed that approximately ten contestants will compete in the selection show, chosen through an open call for submissions that is accessible to the wider public.
Stefanie Groiss Horowitz, head of content at ORF, stated that the Austrian selection show’s format “will resemble the Eurovision itself,” including both jury and public voting.
Potential Eurovision entries have already begun to take shape, with songwriting camps launched in collaboration with ORF as early as mid-June 2025. The decision to return to a national selection format this year has sparked questions, especially considering that Austria’s two most recent Eurovision victories came after its representatives were chosen through internal selection by an ORF-appointed committee.
Austria at Eurovision 2025
JJ, 23, is the opera singer who represented Austria at Eurovision 2025 with the song “Wasted Love”, after being selected internally by the local national broadcaster ORF. JJ won Eurovision in first place after receiving 436 points in the grand final – 258 from the jury, placing first, and 178 from the public, placing fourth. This included 8 points from the Israeli public and 6 points from the Israeli jury.
JJ’s victory marks Austria’s third win in the history of the contest, following the wins of Udo Jürgens in 1966 (“Merci, Cherie”) and Conchita Wurst in 2014 (“Rise Like a Phoenix”).
Eurovision 2026: The 70th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Austria, following the country’s third historic win with the song “Wasted Love” performed by JJ. This will be the third time the contest is hosted in Austria, after 1967 and 2015.
