Vienna announced as host city for Eurovision song contest 2026 | Eurovision

Vienna has been chosen to host the Eurovision tune contest 2026, the world’s largest dwell televised music occasion, Austria’s public broadcaster introduced, with the ultimate set for 16 Might.Austria’s JJ received this 12 months’s competitors, held in Basel in Switzerland, along with his tune Wasted Love, which blends techno beats with operatic vocals – making his house nation the 2026 host.Vienna, which beforehand hosted the glitzy TV extravaganza in 1967 and 2015, edged out Innsbruck, the capital of western Tirol province, to stage subsequent 12 months’s contest, the general public broadcaster ORF introduced on Wednesday.The ultimate of Eurovision’s seventieth version shall be held on the Wiener Stadthalle, Austria’s largest indoor area, with semi-finals set for 12 and 14 Might, Eurovision mentioned.Since its launch in 1955, Eurovision has develop into the final word pop platform, catapulting the Swedish group Abba to worldwide fame, in addition to boosting the likes of Céline Dion, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John.About 166 million viewers in 37 nations watched this 12 months’s contest, with a report 60% of viewers aged 15 to 24 tuning in. The competitors received much more views on Instagram and TikTok.The present has typically drawn controversy, with pro-Palestinian activists staging protests in Switzerland in Might after Eurovision allowed Israel – who was runner-up – to take part within the contest regardless of the devastating Gaza battle.After his win, JJ, whose actual title is Johannes Pietsch, in an interview referred to as for Israel to be excluded from subsequent 12 months’s competitors, sparking a storm of criticism in Austria, a staunch supporter of Israel.JJ, 24, has since sought to defuse the controversy, saying by way of his report label, Warner, that he was “sorry if his feedback had been misinterpreted”.Austria’s far-right Freedom celebration, which got here prime in elections for the primary time final 12 months however did not kind a authorities, has described Eurovision as a “queer, leftwing, woke spectacle” and criticised Vienna for eager to stage it regardless of the excessive prices.Basel put up almost $40m (£30m) to host the competition.Below the slogan “Europe, lets dance?”, Vienna – extra generally identified for classical music and the baroque splendour of its structure – pushed to host the competition, citing its expertise with massive occasions.It additionally touted its “monumental” lodging capacities, its “glorious” transport hyperlinks, and its “cosmopolitanism”, with 2 million folks dwelling within the Austrian capital.The the Wiener Stadthalle hosted Eurovision in 2015, after the earlier 12 months’s version was received by the drag performer Conchita Wurst. Positioned in central Vienna, it opened in 1958 and seats 16,000 folks in its most important corridor.When Vienna final hosted the Eurovision contest, the town put in site visitors lights exhibiting same-sex and heterosexual {couples} as an alternative of a single determine – which proved so in style that authorities determined to maintain them for good.