Suspilne Ukraine, the Ukrainian national broadcaster, has announced that it has received 451 entries for Vidbir 2026 from 392 artists.
Preparations for Eurovision 2026 are in full swing in Ukraine, as the country prepares for its national final. Vidbir 2026 is scheduled to be held in February 2026. The 2026 Ukrainain Eurovision entry and act will be determined via a combined public voting and jury deliberation.
Jamala ( Ukraine 2016 Eurovision winner- Vidbir 2026 Music Producer) says:
I am sincerely grateful that you entrusted me and the Suspilny team to listen to the songs and watch your video applications, video messages, and sometimes even entire messages that you add to your songs. It is a great honor for me, because I feel as if I am performing another important function – as if I am collecting modern folklore. Yes, do not be surprised! You are the folklore of today. Why? Because you sing songs that capture our historical moment, your personal confession. Everything is like in folk songs. So for me it is truly a great honor and responsibility.
Oksana Skybinska ( Ukrainian Head of Delagation/ Head of Special Projects at Suspilne) says:
This year we received 451 unique applications. This number does not include fake and repeated applications. These are real, original applications from various artists – both well-known in the Eurovision environment and young performers not yet known to the general public. It is nice to see many returns from past National Selections. This means that artists have something to convey to the world, and the National Selection is ready to be an open platform for this. We hope that the National Selection will once again discover new musical names and replenish playlists with modern Ukrainian music.
Suspilne will now review all the submitted entries and whittle them down to a longlist of participants which will have to undergo an audition under the supervision of Jamala ( Vidbir 2026 Music Producer).
A total of 9 finalists will be determined by December 15th, whilst the 10th finalist will determined via an online deliberation from the list of longlist participants.
