Austria reveals its 12 finalists for “Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich?” – and the race for Eurovision 2026 just got interesting
Austria has dropped its long-awaited lineup for Vienna Calling – Wer singt für Österreich?, the national final that will decide who gets the very casual, zero-pressure job of representing the host country at Eurovision 2026. After more than 500 submissions from every corner of Austria, the ORF team has narrowed the field to twelve acts who will fight for the golden ticket on 20 February.
It’s the first Austrian national final since 2016, and naturally expectations are sky-high. Hosting Eurovision tends to do that to you.
The 12 acts competing in Vienna Calling
Straight from the Ö3-Wecker announcement, here are the names Austria is pinning its hopes on:
- Anna-Sophie – “Superhuman”
- Bamlak Werner – “We Are Not Just One Thing”
- Cosmó – “Tanzschein”
- David Kurt – “Pockets Full of Snow”
- Frevd – “Riddle”
- Julia Steen – “Julia”
- Kayla Krystin – “I brenn”
- Lena Schaur – “Painted Reality”
- Nikotin – “Unsterblich”
- Philip Piller – “Das Leben ist Kunst”
- Reverend Stomp – “Mescalero Ranger”
- Tamara Flores – “Chingona”
Only one song, Tamara Flores’ Chingona, has actually been released. The rest remain under lock and key while the artists finish polishing things. ORF says the final mix is still in progress for eleven entries, meaning the hype train is already overheating.
What we know so far
- Two groups, ten solo artists
- A strong showing from up-and-coming talent
- A handful of familiar faces from Austrian TV competitions
- Songs split roughly half German, half English
- Cosmó is the baby of the bunch at 19
- Acts hail from Vienna, Tirol, Kärnten and Steiermark
ORF’s programme director Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz said the final twelve represent Austria’s “bold, colourful and diverse” music scene. Translation: be ready for anything.
A national final with expectations
Because Austria is hosting the 70th Eurovision Song Contest, the stakes for Vienna Calling are particularly intense. A mediocre song is not an option. A safe song is not an option. A boring song is absolutely not an option.
The show will be hosted by a Eurovision-flavoured duo:
Alice Tumler, part of the ESC 2015 team, and Cesár Sampson, who famously delivered Austria a third place finish in 2018. They were also involved in scouting this year’s contenders, so they’ll be watching their protégés very closely.
What happens next
The live final will take place on 20 February at 20:15 on ORF 1, where public voting and a jury will both have their say. One of these twelve acts will earn the right to stand on home soil next May in Vienna and try not to collapse under the pressure of 200 million viewers.
No big deal.
Source: ORF
