Vienna is the Host City for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026
It is now official: Vienna is the host city for the 70th Eurovision Song Contest. On August 20, 2025, ORF Director General Roland Weißmann announced on the „Ö3-Wecker“ that the decision has been made in favor of the federal capital, and the world's largest TV entertainment event will take place in Vienna in May 2026.
ORF Director General Roland Weißmann:
“Both cities presented compelling concepts. I thank the officials in Vienna and Innsbruck for making this decision truly difficult for us. After thorough review and based on a unanimous jury decision, ORF concluded that Vienna’s proposal was the most attractive — not only in terms of infrastructure and logistics, but also economically. I would like to expressly thank the City of Innsbruck for its bid, which was submitted with great commitment and an impressive concept for hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. After all, the Eurovision Song Contest is much more than just an event in one city — it’s a celebration for all of Austria, one that we will all be proud of.”
“In Vienna, we can be proud that our city has been chosen by the European Broadcasting Union and ORF as the most suitable host city for one of the biggest events in the world. We presented a convincing overall package with enormous accommodation capacity, excellent infrastructure, and a wealth of experience in hosting international events. Furthermore, we placed great emphasis on offering numerous ESC events in public spaces that can be attended free of charge and without any obligation to consume. As Mayor of Vienna, it is particularly important to me that cultural events are accessible to everyone, regardless of the size of their wallet. Innsbruck also deserves congratulations — even though it didn’t work out this time — for competing against Vienna with such passion until the very end. Nevertheless, as Vienna’s mayor, I am of course delighted that Vienna has prevailed and that Austria will once again represent itself to the world next year. I am convinced we will have a wonderful May together,” said Vienna’s Mayor Michael Ludwig.
Vienna scores with infrastructure, logistics, and event location
The event location is the heart of the Eurovision Song Contest, and the Wiener Stadthalle, with a capacity of up to 16,000 visitors in Hall D, is the largest indoor venue in the country. The complex offers optimal conditions and the flexibility required to host an event of ESC’s scale. The guaranteed availability of a sufficient number of hotels of various categories in the host city is a key factor for ESC, given the many international guests. Vienna was able to meet — and even exceed — the required capacity of 3,000 hotel rooms within a maximum of 30 minutes by public transport from the venue.
Many infrastructure elements needed for ESC are already included in Vienna’s offer and do not need to be newly created or purchased. Thanks to existing facilities, Vienna’s proposal includes services that will reduce ORF’s financial burden — for example, the possibility to house all necessary rooms within existing buildings at the event location. The maximum budget allocated by the City of Vienna for ESC 2026 is 22,6 million euros.
ESC Director Martin Green (EBU):
“The EBU is delighted that Vienna has been selected as the host city for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Vienna’s reputation as one of the most musical cities in the world and its location in the heart of Europe make it the perfect host for the 70th Eurovision Song Contest. The Wiener Stadthalle was already a fantastic venue for the 60th contest in 2015, and we are very much looking forward to welcoming delegations, artists, and fans there next May, when the world’s largest live music event celebrates 70 glorious years of the motto ‘United by Music.’ Together with host broadcaster ORF and the City of Vienna, we will create a spectacular music festival that will resonate across the globe.”
ORF ESC Executive Producer Michael Krön:
“Choosing the host city for the Eurovision Song Contest was an intense and demanding process, giving us the opportunity to decide between two strong concepts. Together with the City of Vienna, we will work with full commitment to deliver a Song Contest that will excite all of Europe and include Innsbruck as well as the whole of Austria.”
Two semifinals and one grand final show
Fans from Austria, Europe, and around the world should mark three key dates in their calendars for 2026: The first semi-final will take place on May 12, the second on May 14, and the grand final on May 16 in Vienna. Thousands of fans from many different countries are expected, along with more than 1,000 media representatives who will travel to Austria for the world’s biggest entertainment event.
ORF Programme Director Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz:
“For us, the decision for Vienna also marks the unofficial starting signal for the creative concept of the shows. We will, of course, comprehensively cover the Eurovision Song Contest across all our programmes. ORF will provide the world’s largest TV entertainment event with a worthy setting — from the national pre-selection and three extraordinary shows to multimedia coverage across all our channels.”
Tourism, international visibility, local value creation, and long-term image gain for ESC host cities
The experiences of previous host cities impressively demonstrate that the respective host city benefits significantly in economic terms – for example through tourism, international visibility, local value creation, and long-term image gains.
Using the example of Liverpool 2023, where the Eurovision Song Contest was accompanied by extensive studies, the positive effects a host city can achieve from staging the ESC can be quantified: The 2023 Song Contest and its related events attracted a total of 473,000 visitors. During this period, the ESC generated approximately 55 million pounds in additional revenue for the Liverpool region.
Basel was also able to draw a first positive conclusion immediately after the final: More than 500,000 people attended events at St. Jakobshalle, the Opening Ceremony, and locations such as the Eurovision Village and Eurovision Square. Hotel occupancy around the time of the final was at 95 percent. In total, around 50,000 overnight stays were recorded.
Vienna Tourist Board CEO Norbert Kettner:
"With Vienna and the Eurovision Song Contest, we are bringing together what belongs together: the cosmopolitan capital of music and the biggest music show in the world. In 2026, Vienna and Europe will once again be ‘United by Music’. We look forward to continuing our proven partnership with ORF and the EBU, and we are working with great energy to build on the huge success of 2015 in the coming year. Vienna offers the ideal conditions for this: over 80,000 hotel beds, excellent connections by air and rail, and a well-tested event infrastructure. This gives ORF the freedom to focus entirely on what really matters – delivering an unforgettable show."
(August 20, 2025)
Contact: ORF press office
- Roman Horacek - roman.horacek@orf.at