Yesterday (August 14th), the Austrian national broadcaster ORF published a video presenting the anticipated schedule for Eurovision 2026. Soon after its release on ORF’s official Instagram page, the video was removed from the social network. Among the events revealed, the video included the date for the announcement of participating countries, the ticket sale launch, and even the start date for stage construction. But why was the video taken down? More details can be found below.

The Austrian broadcaster’s decision to remove the video triggered significant speculation. One theory is that the contest’s organizers decided to bring forward the announcement of the participating countries for Eurovision 2026 to September, whereas in previous years the official list was only revealed in November or December.

Moving the announcement date earlier may affect both Iceland and Israel, which are embroiled in an ongoing dispute regarding their participation. While Israel continues to resist calls for its removal from the contest, Iceland is considering withdrawing from the event should Israel remain in the competition.

Is the removal of the video due to uncertainty surrounding the final registration deadline for the contest? At present, the Austrian national broadcaster has not issued a clarification regarding its decision to delete the video.

Eurovision 2026 Key Dates

The full schedule, as published in the (now deleted) video:

• August 20th, 2025: Host city reveal

• September 2025: Announcement of participating countries

• December 2025: Ticket sales begin

• January 2026: Semi-final draw and host city dedication ceremony

• February 2026: Filming of country postcards begins

• April 2026: Stage construction starts

• May 2026: Live broadcasts of all three shows (two semi-finals and grand final)

Which City Will Host Eurovision 2026?

According to a local newspaper, Austria’s national broadcaster ORF will announce the host city on August 20th between 07:30 to 08:30 CEST, from the two remaining contenders: Vienna and Innsbruck. After JJ brought victory to Austria with the song “Wasted Love”, several cities expressed interest in hosting the contest, with only these two remaining in the race. Which city will win the honor?

No official confirmation of the Grand Final’s exact date – either May 16th or May 23rd, 2026 – has been provided. “

With Vienna and Innsbruck, we have two strong contenders fully capable of staging the world’s largest televised entertainment event”.

Remarked Roland Weißmann, Director General of ORF, in an official press release. Eurovision executive producer Michael Krön also highlighted the creativity and dedication demonstrated by both cities’ project teams.