Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026
| Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (Suspline) | |||
| Country | Ukraine | |||
| Selection process | Vidbir 2026 | |||
| Selection date | TBD February 2026 | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
Ukraine is set to be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, which will be held in Vienna, Austria. The Ukrainian participating broadcaster, the Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (Suspline), will select its entrant through a national final.
Background
Prior to the 2025 contest, the National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) until 2016, and Suspilne since 2017, had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Ukraine 19 times since NTU's first entry in 2003.[1] It had won the contest on three occasions: in 2004 with the song "Wild Dances" performed by Ruslana, in 2016 with "1944" by Jamala, and in 2022 with the song "Stefania" performed by Kalush Orchestra. It had been the runner-up in the contest on two occasions: in 2007 with the song "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" performed by Verka Serduchka and in 2008 with the song "Shady Lady" performed by Ani Lorak. Following the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Ukraine had managed to qualify to final in every contest it participated in thus far. Its least successful result had been 24th place, which was achieved in 2017 with the song "Time" performed by O.Torvald. In 2025, "Bird of Pray" performed by Ziferblat placed ninth.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, Suspilne organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. Suspilne confirmed its intentions to participate at the 2026 contest on 25 August 2025.[2] In the past, the broadcaster had alternated between both internal selections and national finals in order to select its entry. Between 2022 and 2024, Suspilne had set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision, with both the public and a panel of jury members involved in the selection. The method is expected to be continued to select its 2026 entry.[3]
Before Eurovision
On 3 December 2025, Suspline announced nine out of ten finalists to Vidbir 2026. The finalists announced were Jerry Heil, Laud, Leléka, Molodi, Monokate, Mr. Vel, ShchuckaRyba, The Elliens, and Valeriya Force, with the tenth expected to be announced on January 15. The artists who can make it to Vidbir are Anstay, Karyotype, Khayat, Mon Fia, OKS, Marta Adamchuk.
Vidbir 2026 is expected to take place in February 2026.[4]
References
- ^ "Ukraine Country Profile". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- ^ Farren, Neil (2025-08-25). "🇺🇦 Ukraine: Eurovision 2026 Participation Confirmed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2025-12-19.
- ^ "Ukraine: Vidbir 2026". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 2025-12-19.
- ^ "Ukraine: First nine artists for Vidbir 2026 announced". Eurovisionworld. 2025-12-03. Retrieved 2025-12-19.