ORF, the Austrian national broadcaster, has unveiled the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 Core Team.
Thunder and lightning, it’s getting exciting! ORF and Austria have kicked off preparations for Eurovision 2026 and working from strength to strength to showcase and organize an extraordinary show come May.
ORF’s General Director Roland Weissmann says:
With the 2026 Song Contest, ORF has taken on a mega-project, for which we have just under a year to implement it. The existing expertise and Eurovision experience at ORF are invaluable. I am delighted that we have been able to assemble a team of experts who – under the leadership of Executive Producer Michael Krön – will make Eurovision 2026 an unforgettable event that all of Austria will be proud of.
Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz (ORF Program Director) says:
We will make the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 an event of the highest international standard, both on and off air, for the whole family, and showcase our country at its best. I’m excited about this challenge and wish Michael Krön and his entire team all the best.
Michael Krön (ESC 2026 Executive Producer) says:
It is a great honor and pleasure for me to be the Executive Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Austria. Of course, I am aware that this is one of the biggest and most challenging tasks in the media business. I am confident that as a team, with the combined strength of ORF, we will organize an ESC that will make Austria proud and impress the world.
The Eurovision 2026 Core Team
ORF has unveiled the ESC 2026 Core Team:
- Michael Kron – ESC 2026 Executive Producer
- Stefan Zechner– ESC 2026 TV Show Producer
- Daniel Hack– ESC 2026 Head of Production
- Roman Horacek – ESC 2026 Head of Communications
- Christine Tichy– ESC 2026 Core Team Technical Manager
- Martin Szerenci- ESC 2026 Legal Advisor
- Iris Kreutter– ESC 2026 Marketing Manager
- Christina Lassnig – ESC 2026 Executive Assistant
- Oliver Lingens – ESC 2026 Event Manager
- Christina Heinzle-Conrad – ESC 2026 General Secretary
There are many familiar faces when it comes to the Eurovision Song Contest as many of the appointed ESC 2026 CORE Team members have great experience when it comes to hosting the event as they were part of the ESC 2015 Core Team:
- Stefan Zechner has been the Austrian Head of Delegation since 2011 and was the show producer at ESC 2015 in Vienna.
- Roman Horacek has been the Austrian Head of Media at the ESC since 2005 and was the Head of Communications at ESC 2015 in Vienna.
- Iris Kreutter has been part of the Austrian delegation for many years and served as the Marketing Manager at ESC 2015 in Vienna.
The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final is scheduled to be held either on 16 or 23 May. The official dates are yet to be confirmed.
