Ukraine’s national broadcaster reveals the first nine finalists for the Vidbir 2026 grand final. One additional contestant, selected by the Ukrainian public, will join the lineup.
Last Monday (November 24), 15 contestants for Vidbir 2026 were revealed. Today, Ukraine’s national broadcaster, Suspilne, announced the nine finalists for the competition and provided details on how the entry for Eurovision 2026 will be chosen. The grand final is scheduled for February 2026, with the winner, who will represent Ukraine in Vienna, determined by a 50% public vote and 50% jury vote to maintain Ukraine’s perfect 100% qualification record to the Eurovision grand final.
The nine artists selected for the Vidbir grand final:
- Jerry Heil
- LAUD
- LELÉKA
- MOLODI
- Monokate
- Mr. Vel
- The Elliens
- Valeriya Force
- ShchukaRyba
Familiar Faces Among the Finalists:
- Jerry Heil – Ukraine’s 2024 Eurovision representative alongside Alyona Alyona with the song “Teresa & Maria”, finishing third in the grand final. Jerry also competed in Vidbir in 2023 and 2020.
- Monokate – Ukraine’s representative at Eurovision 2020 and 2021 as part of the band Go_A, which placed fifth in 2021.
- Olena Usenko – Member of The Elliens, Ukraine’s Junior Eurovision entrant with “Vazhil”, placing sixth.
- LAUD – Competed in the 2018 preselection with “Waiting”, finishing fourth.
- MOLODI – Competed in the 2025 preselection with “My Sea”, finishing second.
The Preselection Contestants up for the Vote are:
- ANSTAY
- Karyotype
- KHAYAT
- MON FIA
- OKS
- Marta Adamchuk
Familiar names among the yet to be selected contestants:
- KHAYAT – Competed in the 2025 Ukrainian preselection with “Honor” (fourth place) and in 2020 with “Call for Love” (second place).
- Karyotype – Competed in the 2024 Ukrainian preselection with “Sadness”, failing to qualify for the final.
- MON FIA – Competed in the 2025 preselection with “Dive Inside”, which did not advance to the final.
First results of Eurovision fans:
“Eurovision fans are the most loyal audience of the contest. Thanks to their love, it has existed for so long. They know and feel Eurovision well, and later vote actively for the winner in the national final and the international competition. That’s why we need to know their opinion at the listening stage. At the same time, we cautioned that all songs are still in preparation, so the arrangement, lyrics, and performance will undergo improvements before the preselection final.”
Ukraine at Eurovision 2025
“Bird of Pray” is the name of the song that was performed by Ziferblat, representing Ukraine in Eurovision 2025. Ukraine qualified for the final from the first semi-final of the contest and finished 9th overall with 218 points. Ukraine finished 6th in tele-votes and 14th in jury votes.
The Ukrainian result is their worst one since 2018.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Ukraine’s 21st participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Ukraine joined the competition in 2003 and has won it three times. Ukraine’s last victory was in Eurovision 2022 with the song “Stefania” performed by Kalush Orchestra.
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A writer and content creator in the field of Eurovision, a commentator with extensive expertise in the modern era of the contest. Adiel’s vast knowledge and familiarity with Eurovision are reflected in every article, ensuring professional and up-to-date content. He closely follows song releases and various Eurovision pre-events. Adiel has a fondness for cultures and new languages, which he discovered through his love of Eurovision. In his writing, he places great emphasis on professional commentary and a diversity of opinions.
