The city of Graz has announced today that it will not be entering the Eurovision 2026 Host City Bidding race, thus Graz will not apply to host the competition next year.
Graz will not apply to host ESC 2026 due to the hefty financial expediture that involves in hosting the event. The City of Graz has evaluated all possibilities and held meetings both with the state and federal governments in order to get financial support. The meetings have not been fruitful, the costs of hosting the ESC amount to circa 30 million euros. The costs of hosting the event in 2026 has significantly increased since 2015 when Graz applied to host ESC 2015 due to the long list of requirements to host the event.
Mayor of Graz Elke Kahr says:
A bid within the now known cost framework is not justifiable for Graz, as much as I understand all those who would have liked to have the ESC in our city. A serious bid would only have been possible with financial support from the federal and state governments, for which discussions continued until the very last minute – unfortunately without a positive outcome.
The City of Graz’s official press release reads:
Graz would have been a good setting for the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest. The Styrian capital fulfills all the criteria of a good host. As a city of human rights with a creative scene renowned beyond the country’s borders and an old town that’s part of the UNESCO World Heritage List, Graz would provide a beautiful setting for a globally acclaimed music competition and, at the same time, offer visitors from all over the world an unforgettable on-site experience – especially now, it would also be a strong signal for the city.
Given the city’s strained financial situation, which also necessitated a budget freeze, it was clear from the outset that a bid could only be made if Graz’s costs remained within reasonable limits. This would have required substantial involvement from the state and federal governments. Numerous discussions were held at all levels, but no binding commitments were made. For this reason, Graz will not apply to host the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest. After a comprehensive and thorough review, the costs would amount to EUR 29.35 million (gross). This figure is surprising, as it is far higher than the (inflation-adjusted) figure from 2014, when Graz applied to host the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest. This is due to the significantly increased requirements, which are reflected in a correspondingly long list.
Direct revenue would be virtually impossible for the city. While high sales can be expected in the weeks leading up to the event, neither the revenue from ticket sales nor the effects that can be summarized under the broadly interpreted term “indirect profitability” remain with the municipality. Mayor Elke Kahr : “A bid within the now known cost framework is not justifiable for Graz, as much as I understand all those who would have liked to have the ESC in our city. A serious bid would only have been possible with financial support from the federal and state governments, for which discussions continued until the very last minute – unfortunately without a positive outcome.”
ORF, the Austrian national broadcaster, has set the deadline for Austrian cities/ regions to apply for hosting the event on July 4th. So far Vienna, Innsbruck and Wels & Linz have officially announced that they will be applying to bid to host Eurovision 2026.
The 2026 Host City Bidding Process
Once a city sends an expression of interest to ORF it will receive a detailed application documents. Hence the potential host cities will have until 4 July to send in their potential bids and required documents to ORF.
Austria will have the grand honour of hosting the 2026 Eurovision edition thanks to JJ’s epic victory in Basel last month. Austria and ORF will be organizing the Eurovision Song Contest for the third time.
The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final will be held on either 16 May or 23 May 2026. Hence the provisional dates for ESC 2026 are either: 12, 14, 16 May or 19, 21 and 23 May 2026.
Austrian cities and municipalities have been invited to submit their respective bids and documents with the deadline set on 4 July 2025.
ORF will be unveiling the 2026 Eurovision host city by mid August 2025.
