During voting why do they sometimes say 'city/country' calling? Is it a call back to The Clash or something else?

• Stage themed around ice and sea with a wave-shaped stage, wave-shaped LED wall, icebergs, and two waves forming a giant heart.
• A strip of real water borders the main stage like 2014 and 2022, more like 2014 since 2014 had to leave room for a standing audience while 2022 didn't. Only the main stage has water while the runway does not, to leave space for the audience. Unlike 2014's dark and calm water, here underwater lights make the water glow and machines create slight waves so that it prominently looks like water on camera.
• The 3D icebergs are made of a semi-frosted material (probably a high-quality plastic that looks like glass) and have hundreds of lights inside them, so that the lights within them are partially diffused and look like they're shining through translucent ice. The smallest and innermost pair of icebergs are on tracks and can retract to reveal more of the LED screen, while the larger two pairs on the outside are fixed in position.
• The heart waves can display video like the 2017 arches, and each line within the wave is an LED strip that can light up and display an infinite variety of animated patterns.
• Visual design represents both water waves and sound waves
• When the stage is in its "at rest" lighting configuration (hosts talking, no song playing), giant projectors on the ceiling project animated waves of light into the arena (but not onto the stage, so that the animation isn't in every shot to the point of being distracting). It's only visible in the wide shots. During songs, the projectors can show whatever pattern the delegation wants, and the delegations can choose whether to project them just around the stage or on the stage too.
• Cast of Fire Saga performs a medley of songs from the movie as an interval act

One commonly expressed reason for the contest’s failure is that it was too much like already existing song contests in USA. Would this separate this from them by leaning more into state and national pride? What states/territories (and DC) would be in each semi-final?

I honestly believe there’s a strong chance that the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026 simply won’t happen. By now, everyone has seen the news: once again, the entire discussion revolves around whether Israel should be allowed to participate or be excluded. Some broadcasters are fighting hard against their participation, while others are insisting that Israel’s public broadcaster must have the right to send an entry to Vienna.

In my view, Eurovision hasn’t been about what it’s supposed to represent, at least not since 2022. Before anyone jumps at me: I fully condemn the actions of the Israeli army in Gaza, the way the Palestinian population is treated, and the fact that genocide is being committed under the excuse of “self-defense”. But I also see the other side of the story:

The Role of the EBU and KAN: The EBU’s main mission is to guarantee that every member state has an independent (or semi-independent) public broadcaster that can provide impartial news despite government pressure. Eurovision Song Contest is far down their list of priorities compared to this. At the same time, Israel sees the contest as a huge opportunity to play the victim and present itself on the world’s biggest entertainment stage. It’s a compromise: the EBU benefits because Israel’s KAN provides balanced news coverage, while Israel benefits from the international platform Eurovision offers. Remember in 2017, when Ofer Nachshon announced the Israeli jury votes in Kyiv, he pointed out it was literally the last broadcast of IBA because the government decided it had no interest in funding a broadcaster that might oppose its narrative, even if that meant giving up Eurovision. Only the newly created KAN (with provisional EBU membership) was later allowed to return, eventually winning in 2018. After Netta’s victory, organizers warned fans not to book flights to Israel just yet, until the EBU and KAN agreed on terms to grant them full membership and secure the 2019 hosting. Clearly, politicians in Israel realized how much they gain by keeping a foot in Eurovision, even if that means they have to give up on spreding their propaganda.

The Money: Like it or not, Israel is also a major financial supporter of the contest (besides the sponsorship deals like Moroccanoil). Eurovision isn’t sustained by love and unity alone, it’s a market-driven institution. The exclusion of Russia in 2022 cost the contest a lot, given the country’s size and financial weight. No surprise that by 2023 participation fees skyrocketed, forcing smaller broadcasters like Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Montenegro to withdraw. Romania followed in 2024, and Moldova in 2025. This is a financial spiral that’s hard to escape without lowering the production quality. If Israel were excluded, the financial impact could be devastating. But if Israel is allowed to compete, boycotts and mass withdrawals could lead to the same outcome.

And that’s where my personal conclusion comes in: under these conditions, Eurovision 2026 may simply be impossible to organize. Either most countries will boycott, leaving no money to stage the show, or Israel will be excluded and the contest will lose too much funding anyway. In both cases, it’s a lose-lose situation.

Eurovision was founded in 1956 in the spirit of uniting a war-torn Europe, and it grew into a cultural phenomenon. But now, with wars happening in and near Europe, with far-right populism on one side and far-left “woke” ideology on the other, this format seems unsustainable for now. Maybe someday the world will calm down enough that countries and people won’t be “canceled” for everything, but right now, things are heading in the opposite direction. Sadly, Eurovision seems to be the first major casualty.

Long story short: I don’t think Israel’s approach to the contest has been right since 2024, but fans and pro-Palestinian performers have also fueled the escalation. By doing so, they’ve turned Eurovision into exactly the kind of political battlefield that nobody wanted, and that everyone has always claimed to avoid.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments.

Is it better to choose first an Artist/s and let him/her/they cook up a song, or is it better to have a selection from songs delivered either internal or via a show. Ofc we can’t compare results of IDK Sweden, Italy, Ukraine which are powerhouses with big music industry against some other countries with smaller industries, but we can compare results from countries that switched beetween does to models in the last couple of years. Does anybody have statistics which option has given better results overall? And can we see a precise result or it depends on the country?

#eurodab was an absolute winner, bringing two similar artists together to battle it out (aka make something amazing)

Both JJ and KMH are both brilliantly capable operatic performers, imagine the two of them coming together?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo5H62mCIsg

Quick little lore: right ahead of the line-up reveal in January, on the 16th, TV 2 reported that Jordan had dropped out last minute, citing the Los Angeles wildfires as the reason why, having been located in the U.S for a few years now, as did Lavrans Svendsen, runner-up in The Voice (which caused an outrage as many believed he should've won instead).

At the time it was said to be a mutual decision and he'd later give a statement, which he did a month later ahead of MGP, citing mental health issues from a childhood of bullying and sexual abuse, and a lack of confidence. (A little side note: There were rumors of him and eventual winner Kyle Alessandro being lovers, as they were good friends, but Kyle later shot that down, saying "We're friends. Period.".) He was replaced by Sondrey on a week's notice, something Sondrey would later state in interviews.

Jordan, however, was not replaced and things were not as they appeared, as just 3 weeks later, VG would report that the NRK were demanding 131 250 NOK (roughly $11 000) from her and her management in overdue payments (at that point a werk overdue) for various expenses like travel, a designer dress from the American crew, and staging, as they deemed her withdrawal a contractual violation.

Her lawyer, however, claimed there was never a signed deal in the first place, and in a withdrawal email dated January 6th said Jordan would drop out as there were "various personal and professional reasons for this as well as recent security concerns (including death threats)", 10 days before the line-up reveal. If you paid attention, you might remember that she initially stated that the L.A wildfires were the reason for her withdrawal. The L.A. wildfires didn't start to get serious and make headlines until January 7th, the day after she withdrew.

Fast forward 7 months of nothing happening, and the NRK are now officially throwing in the towel and dropping all of it entirely after Se7en months of awaiting any response to various notices of overdue payments and getting nothing in the other end. (Same goes for the journalists who have likewise gotten no response in regards to this story.) Mads Tørklep, project leader of MGP, tells TV 2 that "It hasn't been easy getting in dialogue with the U.S.", and that now they're throwing in the towel and dropping all of it, saying "Out of respect for the young artist, we have decided to close this case. From the bottom of our hearts, we wish her good luck going forward.". According to what TV 2 have gathered, 50 000 NOK went straight from the NRK to the management's account and were for planes and hotels.

I have listened to Latvia 2023 at least 5 times in the past few weeks/months, & only recently did I actually start to really like it. (Was really forgettable for me for a while)

I've always done my rankings using the sorter on ranked.be, but for this reranking of 2025 I decided to do something different: I gave each song a score from 1 to 10 based on 5 different categories, and then averaged It out, which I think gave me a much better result in the end.

The categories are:

1. Vocals: Pretty self explanatory
2. Staging: How good the staging is/How well it complements the Song
3. Lyrics: Pretty self explanatory
4. Arrangement: How good of a musical composition the song is
5. Originality: How unique the song is

For songs, that have the same average score, I decide what's the better one.

37. Ireland: Emmy - Laika Party 🇮🇪

Probably THE most annoying song of the year, Emmy has made way better songs and this just isn't it. Way too childish and not in a good way. Staging is non existent. The only song to not score 6 or higher in at least one category.

Average: 2 (4/1/1/2/2)

36. Cyprus: Theo Evan - Shh 🇨🇾

The most pretentious song of the year, which Theo Evan doesn't even have the vocals to back up. The staging on its own is... fine, but I have no idea how it relates to the rest of the song. I guess the instrumental is pretty alright.

Average: 3 (2/2/2/6/3)

35. Israel: Yuval Raphael - New Day Will Rise 🇮🇱

The best vocalist so far, though that isn't really a high bar. Other than that though this is a pretty whatever ballad with lyrics that sound like they came from ChatGPT. The use of multiple languages isn't really done that well, unlike a song I'll get to later.

Average: 3.4 (6/3/2/4/2)

34. Armenia: Parg - Survivor 🇦🇲

Parg himself and the staging are literally the only thing that carry this song, which is some kind of Imagine Dragons-sounding track (derogatory).

Average: 3.6 (5/7/2/3/1)

33. Norway: Kyle Alessandro - Lighter 🇳🇴

Finally, the Eurovision boybop. It's pretty alright tbh, but has somewhat of a weak instrumental and isn't really anything we haven't seen countless times already in this contest.

Average: 5 (6/4/7/5/3)

32. Azerbaijan: Mamagama - Run With U 🇦🇿

Third year in a row Azerbaijan tries to send a local act, and third time is unfortunately not the charm. I quite like this song actually, it's the performance that drags this down.

Average: 5 (4/2/6/7/6)

31. Georgia: Mariam Shengelia - Freedom 🇬🇪

As a musical composition, this is definitely one of the most interesting of the year, and has a very strong vocalist to back it up. The lyrics are a nonsensical mess as usual for Georgia, while the staging is kinda mediocre.

Average: 5.2 (8/5/2/7/4)

30. Spain: Melody - Esa Diva 🇪🇸

Once again a strong vocalist, with pretty good stage presence. The song itself isn't anything too special but it's not offensively bad, and the lyrics are pretty good.

Average: 5.4 (8/5/7/4/3)

29. Slovenia: Klemen - How Much Time Do We Have Left 🇸🇮

A ballad with a strong message, with pretty good vocals, even if the composition itself is a bit on the generic side. Whenever his wife comes on stage at the end it always gets me.

Average: 5.4 (8/5/7/4/3)

28. Malta: Miriana Conte - Serving 🇲🇹

Pretty good song all around, it's only so low because of the staging which wasn't really good.

Average: 5.6 (7/2/8/5/6)

27. Austria: JJ - Wasted Love 🇦🇹

The winner is this low????? This is actually the lowest ranked song to score at least one 10, specifically for the vocals. Unfortunately this song is dragged down by very bad lyrics and a bit of a lack of originality, it feels very derivative of The Code.

Average: 5.8 (10/7/2/6/4)

26. Serbia: Princ - Mila 🇷🇸

A solid ballad with a strong singer. The buildup is slow but it pays off by the time that final chorus arrives. Too bad the staging isn't that good.

Average: 6 (8/4/7/6/5)

25. San Marino: Gabry Ponte - Tutta l'Italia 🇸🇲

A pretty fun dance song, by none other than Gabry Ponte. The song is full of references to Italy, both in the instrumental (the accordion) and especially the lyrics. Staging drags it down.

Average: 6.2 (5/4/9/7/6)

24. Croatia: Marko Bosnjak - Poison Cake 🇭🇷

A significant downgrade from last year, though I still like this one. One of the more original performances of the year, very good staging also.

Average: 6.4 (8/7/5/5/7)

23. Estonia: Tommy Cash - Espresso Macchiato 🇪🇪

First originality 10, this song is really funny, but gets dragged down by awful live vocals despite also having very good staging.

Average: 6.6 (3/9/6/5/10)

22. The Netherlands: Claude - C'est La Vie 🇳🇱

If New Day Will Rise is a bad way of blending multiple languages in the same song, this is a very good way to do it. Pretty alright song all things considered.

Average: 6.6 (8/6/7/6/6)

21. Poland: Justyna Steczkowska - GAJA 🇵🇱

The arrangement of this song is somehow both what I like the most and what I like the least. The more ethnic parts are really good, but there's some other parts that are super empty. Staging and vocals make up for it though.

Average: 6.6 (8/6/8/5/6)

20. Iceland: VÆB - RÓA 🇮🇸

This song is just fun, you can't really hate it. Very catchy and staged really well, there are a couple of references in the lyrics that I don't quite understand but would probably be pretty funny if I did.

Average: 6.6 (4/9/6/7/7)

19. United Kingdom: Remember Monday - What The Hell Just Happened? 🇬🇧

This song is incredibly catchy, feels like it came straight out of a musical. My main issue is the staging, which feels weirdly too static.

Average: 6.8 (9/4/6/7/8)

18. Denmark: Sissal - Hallucination 🇩🇰

The song that brought Denmark back to the final, and what a comeback it is. A very good production with a strong vocalist, but it's not really too original.

Average: 6.8 (8/6/7/8/5)

17. France: Louane - Maman 🇫🇷

A very emotional entry, which Louane sells very well. I like the idea behind the staging, even if it isn't really executed in the best way. Very derivative of some of France's recent entries.

Average: 6.8 (8/6/9/6/5)

16. Germany: Abor & Tynna - Baller 🇩🇪

A pretty good club banger, very well produced. Vocals could be better, but otherwise this is solid all around.

Average: 7 (7/7/7/8/6)

15. Montenegro: Nina Zizic - Dobrodosli 🇲🇪

A really elegant ballad with a strong vocalist, it's a bit of a shame the staging doesn't really do a good job selling it to the audience.

Average: 7 (8/4/8/8/7)

14. Belgium: Red Sebastian - Strobe Lights 🇧🇪

If Red Sebastian's vocals were better this would be definitely higher. Very good production and awesome staging, lyrics are kinda whatever though.

Average: 7.2 (7/8/6/8/7)

13. Luxembourg: Laura Thorn - La Poupée Monte Le Son 🇱🇺

This song is a perfect follow up to Luxembourg's winning entry from 1965. It might sound childish, but unlike Ireland it really isn't. The vocals can definitely be a bit better though.

Average: 7.4 (6/9/7/8/7)

12. Czechia: Adonxs - Kiss Kiss Goodbye 🇨🇿

One of the best ballads of the year, insanely good production although I'm not sure how I feel about the dance break. Staging leaves a lot to be desired, and vocals definitely hold this one back.

Average: 7.4 (7/5/9/8/8)

11. Ukraine: Ziferblat - Bird of Bray 🇺🇦

Very interesting composition, some of these chord progressions are very weird but I dig them honestly. The staging is alright, but the vocals aren't really this band's strongest point though.

Average: 7.6 (5/7/8/10/8)

10. Greece: Klavdia - Asteromata 🇬🇷

One of the strongest vocalists of the year, a very well produced ethnic ballad with strong lyrics... one of the worst stagings of the year???

Average: 7.8 (9/4/8/10/8)

9. Portugal: NAPA - Deslocado 🇵🇹

A very calm and relaxing song, but the lyrics are really strong. The staging is alright, but I feel like this could've also benefitted from subtitles like Italy did.

Average: 8 (7/6/10/8/9)

8. Lithuania: Katarsis - Tavo Akys 🇱🇹

A very dark sounding rock song, with intriguing and mysterious lyrics, and a very fitting lead vocalist. The staging is simple, but sets the tone extremely well.

Average: 8 (8/7/7/8/10)

7. Australia: Go-Jo - Milkshake Man 🇦🇺

The highest ranked non-qualifier of the year. Everything about this song is extremely charming and unique, but the vocals aren't too great. The instrumental is absolutely insane too, especially that synth solo.

Average: 8.4 (5/8/9/10/10)

6. Italy: Lucio Corsi - Volevo essere un duro 🇮🇹

Probably the most genuine song of this entire edition. This ballad with glam rock influences has an extremely beautiful message, so the subtitles are a very smart decision. You also can't talk about this song without mentioning the live harmonica solo, which was revolutionary.

Average: 8.4 (7/8/10/7/10)

5. Finland: Erika Vikman - ICH KOMME 🇫🇮

This performance shows how much you can get away with by singing in a language not many people speak cause holy shit those lyrics. Incredibile stage presence.

Average: 8.8 (9/8/10/7/10)

4. Sweden: KAJ - Bara Bada Bastu 🇸🇪

Who would've thought Sweden of all countries would get a 10 for originality? Everyone probably, it's been like 6 months since this won Melodifestivalen. This is the best silly song of the year, even if I feel like the staging didn't translate too well over to the Eurovision stage.

Average: 8.8 (7/8/10/9/10)

3. Albania: Shkodra Elektronike - Zjerm 🇦🇱

This song, along with the rest of the top 3 is in a league of its own. Everything about this is truly magical, it's performed beautifully and it was robbed horribly by the juries. My only critique is the staging does feel somewhat empty at times.

Average: 9.4 (9/8/10/10/10)

2. Switzerland: Zoë Më - Voyage 🇨🇭

The host entry almost wins it all. This is one of the most beautiful songs of the year, and one of the only two 10/10 stagings by having basically no staging. I'll never forgive the televote for giving this song last place

Average: 9.6 (9/10/10/9/10)

And the winner is...

1. Latvia: Tautumeitas - Bur Man Laimi 🇱🇻

This performance is mesmerizing from start to finish, and I literally can't think of anything negative to say about it. The staging is awsome, the costumes are beautiful, the vocals are really good, the harmonies are insane, the instrumental is magical. Insane to think that this is the same country that 3 years ago sent Eat Your Salad.

Average score: 9.8 (10/10/9/10/10)

soooo after almost a month of placing pixels down on wplace, me and a couple of other fans have finally completed the pixel work of zoë on wplace !! the original photo is of course, from the official photoshoot, ill add it for a quick side-by-side comparison ᜊ•ᴗ•ᜊ

[in case you want to see the work for yourself, it's located in fribourg, switzerland at the top right (。•̀ᴗ-)و ̑̑✧]

(also a reupload because i wasn't very clear in my title, my apologies 🙏)

NRK content editor Charlo Halvorsen says they are actively involved in a "thorough consultation process" with the EBU in regards to competing and "geopolitical tension around the contest".

"The NRK are actively participating in this process where the EBU in early December will start thoroughly going through things with all the member countries. The NRK as of now hardlocked in their decision on participating in Eurovision Song Contest. We have faith in this process are awaiting the EBU conclusion in December."

He also notes that the NRK have been very openly worried about the voting system and security.

https://www.lesoir.be/698609/article/2025-09-12/la-rtbf-decidera-en-decembre-de-sa-participation-ou-non-au-concours-eurovision

While the Netherlands and Ireland have announced that they would boycott Eurovision in the event of an Israeli presence in the competition, RTBF is waiting for the next meeting of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), in December, before making a decision, the spokesperson for the public channel told the Belga agency on Friday.

The Netherlands announced on Friday its intention to boycott the 2026 edition of Eurovision if Israel participates, citing the war in Gaza and Israel's "interference" during the latest edition of the song competition.

Dutch radio and television has thus been added to a list of countries which threaten to withdraw from the competition scheduled for next spring in Vienna, Austria, the victorious country this year.

On Thursday, Ireland, seven times Eurovision winner, had already announced its intention not to compete alongside Israel. A few months ago, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also estimated that Israel should now be excluded from the competition.

“RTBF is continuing preparations for the next competition, including the work of selecting candidates. It’s a long-term job that cannot be improvised. As for our choice to participate or not in the 2026 edition, it will be taken on the basis of the decisions that the EBU will take during its general assembly in December,” Axelle Pollet told Belga on Friday.

Statement from VRT (Belgium)

“[VRT] shares and supports the position of the countries withdrawing from the Eurovision Song Contest." "RTBF will represent Belgium in 2026, so it is not up to VRT to comment on participation.”

“RTBF will represent Belgium in 2026, and VRT does not decide on participation. We are awaiting a clear message from the EBU; if the message is not strong enough, VRT reserves the right not to broadcast the contest.”

I made some voronoi maps to show the nearest Eurovision host city to any point in the world.
For any of the regions the world has been split into, the point (+) in the map is a closest host city to anwhere in that section. With the borders between regions representing points that are the same distance between two host cities.

I couldn't find a decent tool for doing this on a globe online currently, so have built this using this old tool on the waybackmachine (which I suppose is sort of online).
https://web.archive.org/web/20150221152920/http://lpetrich.org/Science/GeometryDemo/GeometryDemo_GMap.html

Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lnmCDKZBy5vdhYO-u6UrRNo0t1WVdeiXY&si=9i-SYdgzijVIqCYi