COSMÓ is Austria's act for the 2026 ESC

COSMÓ's title „TANZSCHEIN“ was the clear winner of "Vienna Calling – Who sings for Austria?", the ORF live show for the national ESC preliminaries. He will represent Austria at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna and, on May 16, will be competing in the finals of the world's greatest music competition with start number 25.

The alias COSMÓ is a symbol for the artist's open-mindedness and his fascination for the universe. The 19-year-old hopes his music will get ESC audiences to dance, inspire them, and spread a message of love.

COSMÓ: "Dancing is an international language, and everybody can join in one way or another. I want people to get closer together through dancing – true to the ESC slogan ‚United by Music’."

"‚TANZSCHEIN’ translates to a dance licence, like a driver's licence for clubbing. The story behind it is that when I went out clubbing with friends for the first time, I had really high expectations. My mother always told me that people would be dressed really colorful and extravagant, music would be really cool and everyone would be dancing. It sounded really good. But unfortunately, it was more of a disappointment in the end because we went inside and everyone was dressed in black and was just standing around. It was kind of awkward. I thought: We need to change that. We need to focus more on the music, on dancing, on having a good time. And that's what ‚TANZSCHEIN’ is all about. Just letting go and not caring about what people think about you. Just being yourself."

COSMÓ will live out his passion for dancing on the ESC stage

COSMÓ (Benjamin Gedeon, born in Budapest on 18 June 2006) is an Austrian pop artist with Hungarian, German, and Burgenland (Austria) roots. His music is a highly danceable combination of modern German sound and catchy, worldly lyrics. He learned to play the piano at a tender age, later added electric guitar to his repertoire, and taught himself how to produce music on the computer. He began his singing studies at the age of 13, and wrote his first songs.

At the age of 19, he can already look back at several years of stage experience: His interpretation of Frank Sinatra's „Strangers in the Night“ got the thumbs up of all four coaches at the 2021 Blind Auditions for The Voice Kids (season 10). Benjamin chose the team with coach Álvaro Soler and made it to the live finale, where he performed Frank Sinatra's „My Way“. Throughout the summer of 2022, Benjamin Gedeon accompanied his coach Álvaro Soler on parts of his Austria tour. In October 2022, he went on to form a band called „Benjamin Gedeon & The Thumbs“, and began performing at concerts and events with them in 2023.

In 2025, he released his first EP „FROM MY ROOM“, which he had produced on his laptop in his room and recorded with his band. During the same year, Benjamin increasingly delved into German lyrics – which eventually led him to discover his new artistic persona: COSMÓ, which is short for „cosmopolitan“ and a homage to his roots in three different countries. This also led to the creation of his trademark, a painted blue star above his right eye.

„TANZSCHEIN“ was released by the label „töchtersöhne“ on 6 February 2026. On 20 February 2026, COSMÓ's song was one of 12 acts at the Austrian ESC preliminaries show „Vienna Calling - Who sings for Austria?“, where he conquered the hearts of both audience and jury. COSMÓ will be representing Austria at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna in May 2026.

Interview with COSMÓ

Q: Who is COSMÓ?

C: He hasn't been on this planet for a long time. It started a little bit before “Vienna Calling” (this year’s National Selection show) when I came up with a new artist persona. It started last summer when I decided to switch to German because before I was doing English music and I thought: Okay this is like a whole new style, I need a new persona, I need a new name and everything. And that's how COSMÓ was born.

Q: What's the story behind your artist’s name COSMÓ?

C: COSMÓ it short for cosmopolitan and it's because of my heritage. I was born in Budapest, my mother is from Budapest and when I was two years old we moved to Austria to Burgenland. My dad is from Germany. I was raised in Austria and I feel like Austria is my home. But I also have influence from two other countries and I think that's also kind of my way of seeing things in this world. That we're all cosmopolitans and we can see over boundaries.

• Read the full interview here

TANZSCHEIN - Dance tutorial

• The TANZSCHEIN moves as download

TANZSCHEIN - Lyrics in English

I’m standing outside the club
Already feeling the rush
So, tell me, are you down
To dance with me?
We step inside
Chasing after ecstasy
But behind the neon glow
Lies an animal-oasis
And there’s a lion
Hitting on a gazelle
Hunger makes him reckless
And he’s creeping up on her
Inside the cage he tears through like a blade
Everybody knows he’s not romantic
He’s not into talking

ey ey
This can’t be happening
They’re making fools of themselves
And I don’t see a single dancer
ey ey
But I’ve got an idea
A concept - yeah, that would work perfectly

You need a dance permit
I gotta be strict
’Cause without a dance permit
You’re not getting in
Do you have a dance permit?
No, this is not a joke
’Cause without a dance permit
You’re not getting in

I close my eyes
And suddenly I’m the owner of the club
And on the blacklist
Are the steroid injectors
And even if they only bark
And don’t bite
That’s the rule around here
Dogs need to stay outside

ey ey
That’s how it could be every day
We’re dancing through the night
And I don’t see any lions
ey ey
Outside someone’s making a fool of themselves
But the bouncer just says, laughing:

You need a dance permit
I gotta be strict
’Cause without a dance permit
You’re not getting in
Do you have a dance permit?
No, this is not a joke
’Cause without a dance permit
You’re not getting in

The gorilla in the corner
Dreams of doing pirouettes
He’s scared of all the stares
His fellows throw at him
I take his hand, yeah
Get out the way
We look into each other’s eyes
And then we begin
ey ey ey ey

You can trust me
ey ey ey ey
Anything is allowed here
ooh
We’ve been hiding long enough

And now they all want a dance permit
They wanna be like us
But without a dance permit
They’ll stay animals
Do you have a dance permit?
No, this is not a joke
’Cause without a dance permit
You’re not getting in

„TANZSCHEIN“: Credits

Song

Text/Music: Ella Stern, Elias Stejskal, Benjamin Gedeon
Producer: Nono Punch Mix / Master: Patrick Kummenecker (mixed by tricky)
Label: töchtersöhne
Publisher: Blue Jay Publishing

Video

Production: www.sonority.rocks
Writer & Director: Philip Filipov, Nicole Tornoreanu
Set Manager: Nicole Tornoreanu
DoP: Michael Vrana
1.AC: Jakob Figl
Gaffer: Clemens Gigler
Unit Manager & Grip: Alexander Haider
MUA: Cameron Lee Felton
Props: Walter Schoiswohl, Eva Leithinger, Janek Mayer
Wardrobe & PA: René Davie Cormaniosi
Outfit COSMÓ: Elias Arakne
Edit: Philip Filipov, Nicole Tornoreanu
Colourist: Michael Vrana
Title graphic: Tobias Köck
Band: Julia Aspan, Sandro Humitsch, Levi Luckart, Raphael Kepplinger
Lion: Benjamin Gedeon
Gazelle: Hanna Niedrist
Gorilla: Michael Skopek
Choreographer: Denise Frischeisen & Franziska Felber

Dancers:
Fabian Lukas Raup
Denise Frischeisen
Franziska Felber
Hera Fontaine
Vanessa Prinz
Lena Furchtlehner
Sophia Balhi

Extras:
Günther Schörkhuber
Alfred Viertelmayr
Karin Lienbacher
Ursula Palmetshofer
Thomas Ruckensteiner
Orsolya Gröbl
Kathrin Keiblinger
Sandra Leonhartsberger-Skarek
Maxima Szabo
Aleksandar Dragic
Emil Knapp
Lelia Sophie
Nora Gedeon
Paul Gahleitner
Tamara Huber
Elisa Neuhuber
Annika Höltke

Media contact: ORF press office

Bernadette Aigner
bernadette.aigner@orf.at

Melanie Stocker
melanie.stocker@orf.at

All ORF ESC press releases:

• Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Austria