Austria: Eurovision 2026 National Selection To Be Held On February 20

Last August, it was revealed that Austria will select its Eurovision 2026 entry via a national selection, for the first time since 2016.

Now, ORF is ready to reveal more details regarding its selection for Eurovision 2026: “Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich”

“Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich” – The Regulation

The submission window will close on October 15th, 2025.
The final will be held on Friday, February 20th, 2026.
12 artists will compete in the national final.
The results will be based on a combination of jury vote and public vote.
There’s no language restriction.
Performers must be at least 16 years old.
The songs must be original, and mustn’t be released before September 1st, 2025.
The maximal song duration is 3 minutes.
No more than 6 people will be allowed on stage.
The songs must be performed with live with instrumented combined in the playback.
Songs created with AI will be banned.
The full rules can be found here

ORF Program Director Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz commented:

“The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna is the largest event to be held in Austria next year. Our stated goal is to involve and inspire the entire country. Now that the question of where the Eurovision Song Contest will take place has been clarified, it’s time to decide who will represent Austria. We want to make this decision together with our audience – everyone can have their say, and all artists can apply to participate starting now.”