Now that Vienna has been confirmed as the official venue for the Eurovision Song Contest, preparations are underway. Austria will host the ESC in 2026 after JJ won this year’s contest with “Wasted Love.” The music event of the year is in the starting blocks and anticipation is already building! Some initial details have already been confirmed. These include the fact that, for the first time, the preliminary round for the 2026 ESC will be decided by a TV audience and a jury. Would you like to be part of it or even sing yourself? Now is your chance!
Schedule for “Vienna Calling”
Photo: Getty Images
ORF has officially announced the big live show “Vienna Calling – Who will sing for Austria?” as the ESC preliminary round for February 20, 2026. For the first time in ten years , viewers and a jury will once again decide together who will represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest in their own country.
A total of twelve acts will compete against each other with new songs in a prime-time show on ORF 1 tonight. Both the audience and a jury of experts will vote together to decide who will represent Austria in the ESC final on May 16, 2026, in Vienna. Who will represent the host country on Europe’s biggest music stage? The show starts at 8:15 p.m., and you can watch the ESC preliminary round live on TV or via stream on YouTube and ORF ON. Vote for your favorite and join in the excitement as the decision is made: “Who will sing for Austria?”
These are the participants in the ESC preliminary round
This is what the Eurovision Village will look like | Photo: City of Vienna
It starts tonight at 8:15 p.m., and the 12 acts will present their entries with which they want to represent us at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The selection includes both German and English-language songs, and the genres range from rock to Austropop to blues. During the show, three experts will give their opinions on the participants’ performances. They are Swiss musician Luca Hänni, who was himself a candidate in the ESC in 2019, German presenter Elton, and Austrian author Caroline Athanasiadis. They do not form the actual jury, but comment on the acts’ performances.
These are the participants in Vienna Calling:
- Anna-Sophie – Superhuman
- Sidrit Vokshi – Wenn ich rauche
- Kayla Krystin – I brenn
- Reverend Stomp – Mescalero Ranger
- Bamlak Werner – We Are Not Just One Thing
- Philip Piller – Life Is Art
- Nicotine – Immortal
- David Kurt – Pockets Full of Snow
- Julia Steen – JULIA
- FREVD – Riddle
- Lena Schaur – Painted Reality
- Cosmó – TANZSCHEIN
If you want to form an opinion in advance, you can listen to the songs on Spotify or other streaming services. Or you can wait for the show and let yourself be surprised by who will follow in JJ’s footsteps.
