When is Eurovision 2026? Here's when the competition will begin, who is representing the UK, this year's host country, and more
Here’s when Eurovision 2026 will take place, the UK’s 2026 entry, full list of participating countries and everything you need to know.
It is almost time for Eurovision once again, with the annual song contest set to take place in May.
The UK will be among 35 countries participating in the 70th Eurovision Song Contest, with our 2026 entry Eins, Zwei, Drei. by LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER.
It is shaping up to be a controversial year for the competition, with the European Broadcasting Union facing significant criticism over the decision to allow Israel to take part in the event due to the ongoing war in Gaza.
READ MORE: Eurovision members facing major decision over Israel's future at contest as boycott threats loom
Several countries, including Ireland and Spain, have pulled out of Eurovision 2026, which is due to begin next month.
With just weeks until Eurovision takes place, he’s everything you need to know - including which countries are taking part.
When is Eurovision 2026?
The Eurovision 2026 final will take place on Saturday, May 16.
This will follow two semi-finals which will take place on Tuesday, May 12 and Thursday, May 14, respectively.
When will Eurovision be on TV?
The Eurovision 2026 Grand Final will be broadcast live on the BBC and BBC iPlayer from Saturday, May 16, as will both semi-final events.
The full running orders for the event have yet to be confirmed.
Where is Eurovision 2026?
Following last year’s victory for Austria, the 2026 edition of Eurovision will take place in Vienna, which is one hour ahead of the UK, specifically at the Wiener Stadthalle.
Who will represent the UK at Eurovision 2026?
This year, the UK will be represented by musician LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER.
His song Eins, Zwei, Drei was released back in March, telling the tale about escaping boredom for a world of endless possibilities.
As well as creating music, this year’s representative - whose real name is Sam Battle - is also a Youtuber with more than 700,000 followers on YouTube alone. He previously fronted indie rock band ZIBRA.
As the UK is one of the Big 5 countries - alongside France, Germany, Italy and Spain - our act automatically has a spot in the final due to the large financial contribution made to the competition each year.
Which countries are taking part in Eurovision 2026?
There are 35 countries taking part in Eurovision 2026, including the UK and Austria.
Notably, however, there are five countries which are boycotting Eurovision this year after a decision was made by organisers to allow Israel to compete - including Big 5 country, Spain.
There were calls to exclude Israel from the competition following their 2025 entry, which was seen to be in breach of political neutrality rules. In addition, Israeli government officials ran advertising campaigns to boost support for their entrants in 2024 and 2025.
These are among several cited reasons for countries including Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain to pull out of Eurovision 2026.
It marks the first time that the so-called Big 5 has been incomplete since it was expanded to include Italy in 2011. This will also mark the first time the competition has not been broadcast in Ireland since 1963, Slovenia since 1985 and Spain since 1961.
In addition to these boycotts, a number of previous Eurovision winners - including Nemo who won in 2024 - returned their trophies to the EBU.
Here is the full list of countries participating in Eurovision 2026, and each entrant:
- Albania — Nân by Alis
- Armenia — Paloma Rumba by SIMÓN
- Australia — Eclipse by Delta Goodrem
- Austria — Tanzschien by Cosmó
- Azerbaijan — Just Go by JIVA
- Belgium — Dancing on the Ice by ESSYLA
- Bulgaria — Bangaranga by DARA
- Croatia — Andromeda by LELEK
- Cyprus — JALLA by Antigoni
- Czechia — CROSSROADS by Daniel Zizka
- Denmark — Før Vi Går Hjem by Søren Torpegaard Lund
- Estonia — Too Epic To Be True by Vanilla Ninja
- Finland — Liekinheitin by Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen
- France — Regarde! by Monroe
- Georgia — On Replay by Bzikebi
- Germany — Fire by Sarah Engels
- Greece — Ferto by Akylas
- Israel — Michelle by Noam Bettan
- Italy — Per Sempre Sì by Sal Da Vinci
- Latvia — Ēnā by Atvara
- Lithuania — Sólo Quiero Más by Lion Ceccah
- Luxembourg — Mother Nature by Eva Marija
- Malta — Bella by AIDAN
- Moldova — Viva, Moldova! by Satoshi
- Montenegro — Nova Zora by Tamara Živković
- Norway — YA YA YA by JONAS LOVV
- Poland — Pray by ALICJA
- Portugal — Rosa by Bandidos do Cante
- Romania — Choke Me by Alexandra Căpitănescu
- San Marino — Superstar by SENHIT
- Serbia — Kraj Mene by LAVINA
- Sweden — My System by FELICIA
- Switzerland — Alice by Veronica Fusaro
- Ukraine — Ridnym by LELÉKA
- United Kingdom — Eins, Zwei, Drei by Look Mum No Computer
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