by Rachel Geron Comment Closed




Watch: Tonight at 20:00 CET, the first semi-final of “Eurovizija.LT 2026”, at its end two songs will secure their place in the final. Here is a link to watch the broadcast.

The semi-final of “Eurovizija.LT”, is setting out today! Eight artists will compete tonight for two spots in the final, while a third contestant will receive a chance to take part in a “second chance round” that will be held online later in the season. The results will be determined by a combination of public voting (50%) and jury voting (50%). The first heat will take place at the LRT television studios in Vilnius, hosted by Gabriele Martirosian, Rimvydas Černiauskas, and Eglė Kernagytė.

From now on, the heats will be held weekly, every Saturday, leading up to the final. Lithuania’s entry for Eurovision 2026 will be chosen during the final, which is expected to take place on Friday, February 27th, at the Twinsbet Arena in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

The semi-final will begin at 20:00 and run until 21:40 CET.
To watch the Lithuanian Eurovision national selection semi-final – click here!

And to watch on YouTube, click here!




Tonight’s Contestants

The participants in the first semi-final according to their running order:

  1. Siga – “Noriu Jo“
  2. Valdas Lacko – “Pabandom“
  3. Elizabeth Olshey – “Between“
  4. Noy – “Stand Up“
  5. Rug!le – “Ikona Žemaitė“
  6. Aistė Pilvelytė – “Tarp žvaigždžių tylos“
  7. Thomas G – “One Night Lover“
  8. The Ditties – “Mambo“

Click on the song title to listen!




Among the contestants are several past contestants:

  • Aistė Pilvelytė – She has participated in the Lithuanian Eurovision Song Contest no less than 10 times! In her last participation in 2020 with the song “Unbreakable“, she finished in 5th place with 13 points. In addition, Filvelit has finished in second place no less than 3 times! In the years 2008, 2010, and 2017.
  • Noy – Competed at 2025 and finished in last place at the grand final with 0 points with the song “Just Take Me On a Date“.
  • Valdas Lacko – Didn’t qualify for the final in 2017 with the song “It’s So Unfair“.
  • Elizabeth Olshey – Competed in 2018 with the song “Bejausmis“, didn’t qualify for the final.
  • Thomas G – Competed in 2025 with the song “Highest Goals“, didn’t qualify for the grand final.
  • The Ditties – Failed to qualify in 2025 with their song “Zui Zu Bi“.
  • Siga – Participated with her song “Walking With My Shadow” but didn’t qualify for the final.




Expected Changes in “Eurovizija.LT 2026”

  • The Super Final is Cancelled: The “Super Final” stage, which had been in place for the past two years, will be removed. Instead, there will be a single round of voting during the final, in which the winner will be chosen to represent Lithuania in Vienna.

  • Tiebreak Rule Changed: Another change is the revised tiebreak rule – if there is a tie in scoring, it will be broken by the televotes instead of the juries for choosing the winner.

  • Rescue Round: Every Saturday, two contestants from each semi-final will qualify directly to the final. Additionally, contestants who place third in their semi-final will have another chance to compete in an online “Rescue Round”. The winner of this round, determined by public votes, will earn a spot in the grand final.

  • New Voting Method: This year, Lithuanian viewers will be able to cast their votes through a new dedicated mobile app (online voting), alongside SMS voting. This system replaces traditional phone voting and aims to enhance the audience participation experience.

“Eurovizija.LT 2026” dates:

  • First heat – Saturday, January 24th, 2026, LRT studios, Vilnius.
  • Second heat – Saturday, January 31st, 2026, LRT studios, Vilnius.
  • Third heat – Saturday, February 7th, 2026, LRT studios, Vilnius.
  • Fourth heat – Saturday, February 14th, 2026, LRT studios, Vilnius.
  • Fifth heat – Saturday, February 21st, 2026, LRT studios, Vilnius.
  • Grand Final – Friday, February 27th, 2026, Twinsbet Arena, Vilnius.




Lithuania at Eurovision: Between Struggles and Isolated Successes

Lithuania’s choice to organise 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” (in English: “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”.