Lithuania has officially announced the start of its submittion window for Eurovizija.LT, inviting artists to submit their entries between August 18th and November 11th.
The Lithuanian representative for Eurovision 2026 will once again be chosen through Eurovizija.LT, with the song submission window opening today. Once the submission period closes, a jury panel will convene to select at least 30 songs that will compete across five or six semi-finals. The first semi-final is scheduled for January 17th, 2026. The semi-finals will be held on a weekly basis, every Saturday, leading up to the grand final immediately afterward.
By launching the submission process early, Lithuania positions itself strongly for Eurovision 2026. Since 2022, the country has consistently sent entries that include or entirely in Lithuanian language, showcasing its national culture through music. This strategy has proven successful: Lithuania has qualified for the Eurovision Final several years in a row, usually finishing in the mid-to-upper rankings of the scoreboard.
While many countries remain undecided about their selection methods, Lithuania has demonstrated a relatively stable national pre-selection model. Despite skepticism from some Eurovision fans, the format continues to prove its effectiveness year after year. Lithuania’s unique approach, with representatives almost always performing in the Lithuanian language, also helps the country stand out within the competition. Could this originality and cultural distinctiveness eventually secure Lithuania its first-ever Eurovision victory? Only time will tell.
Lithuania’s Participation in Eurovision 2026 and the Road to Austria
On July 8th, Lithuania confirmed its participation in Eurovision 2026 and officially launched its journey to Austria. As part of this path, the national selection Eurovizija.LT – which had been rebranded ahead of Eurovision 2024 – will once again take place. As of now, the Lithuanian national broadcaster LRT has not yet announced the official opening date for participant registration, but preparations are already underway, and it seems Lithuanian audiences can expect quite a few surprises this year.
Lithuania at Eurovision: Between Struggles and Isolated Successes
Lithuania’s choice to organize Eurovizija.LT as its national selection has produced mixed outcomes in the main contest. On one hand, Lithuania has remained relatively consistent in its placements; on the other, recent years have shown a decline in results. Silvester Belt finished in 14th place at Eurovision 2024 with “Luktelk”, a drop of three spots compared to the previous year. A year later, the band Katharsis with “Tavo Akys” placed 16th, another two-spot decline. Nevertheless, since adopting this format, Lithuania has seen an increase in songs performed in Lithuanian, presenting its culture more authentically and uniquely on the Eurovision stage.
Lithuania’s Eurovision journey has not been without setbacks – the country skipped the competition six times (1995–1998, 2000, and 2003). Though it has never won nor reached the top five, Lithuania achieved three top-ten finishes: 6th in 2006, 8th in 2021, and 9th in 2016. Over the course of its 25 participations, Lithuania managed to establish itself as a steady, reliable contender, even if not a frontrunner at the very top of the scoreboard.
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”.
