Four more cities in Austria have shared whether they intend to bid to host the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
Wels and Oberwart have both expressed their hopes to bid for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, but have a limited chance of making it to the shortlist. Wels wishes to bid with a new exhibition hall which replaces the existing Messe Wels. The city is located near Linz and is the eighth largest in Austria.
Oberwart also wishes to bring the Eurovision Song Contest to its doorstep. The city also bid to host Eurovision in 2025, with Mayor Georg Rosner telling ORF that it believes it meets the prerequisites to host. Oberwart is home to just over 7,500 people, but its venue is not suitable to host the competition.
Two cities have already ruled themselves out of contention for 2026. Klagenfurt has acknowledged that it lacks a potential venue to host the contest, Wörthersee Stadium would require a roof adding to be suitable to host. While Salzburg states it does not have the availability at the Salzburg Arena to host, and believes its venue would be too small to host.
The following cities and towns have stated they are examining or will bid to host Eurovision 2026:
Eurovision 2026
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is set to be held in Austria following the victory of JJ with “Wasted Love”. Austria won the Eurovision Song Contest for a third time, having won the 1966 and 2014 editions of the competition. In the coming weeks, discussions will take place with potential host cities across Austria.
Image source: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU | Source: ORF, ORF, ORF, ORF
Austria debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957. Bob Martin represented the country on their debut but finished in the last place scoring just 3 points. Austria has won the contest three times, the first being in 1966 when Udo Jürgens performed “Merci, Cherie”. It was 48 years later when Austria won again when Conchita Wurst performed “Rise Like a Phoenix”, scoring a total of 290 points. Austria’s third win came in 2025, when JJ sang “Wasted Love” and was awarded with 436 points.
