"Vienna Calling – Who sings for Austria?" with a new act
Anna-Sophie, Bamlak Werner, Cosmó, David Kurt, Frevd, Julia Steen, Kayla Krystin, Lena Schaur, Nikotin, Philip Piller, Reverend Stomp - and now also Sidrit Vokshi. As Tamara Flores has decided to withdraw her participation in „Vienna Calling - Who sings for Austria?“ for personal reasons, 35-year-old Viennese Sidrit Vokshi is now one step closer to his dream of representing Austria at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna on Saturday, May 16, 2026. On Friday, February 20, he will present himself as one of a total of twelve acts at 8:15 PM on ORF 1 and ORF ON during the national preliminary round to the jury and audience, who will jointly decide who will compete for Austria.
The live show will be hosted by Alice Tumler, who was part of the moderation quartet at the 2015 ESC in Vienna, and Cesár Sampson, who came third for Austria at the 2018 Song Contest in Lisbon and acted as a scout for the current selection process together with Eberhard Forcher and Peter Schreiber.
Sidrit Vokshi, 35 years old, Vienna: „When I Smoke“ (Pop Ballad, German)
"The song is about a man who is experiencing great emotional pain because he misses her. Every evening, he goes from one bar to the next to distract himself. When I smoke and have a moment with myself, all the seams I closed in the bar rip open again. The ESC is an amazing event where countries come together to unite the great common denominator of our cultures – music. After many years, I feel that now is the right time to give something back to Austria - after having received so much here."
(December 18, 2025)