ORF, the Austrian national broadcaster, has revealed that more than 2,000 singers and dancers have applied for 30 stand-in-jobs at the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna.
The stand in artists will be perfoming on the Eurovision Song Contest stage replacing the competing acts during the technical, camera, light and sound rehearsals in Vienna. These rehearsals take place prior to the arrival of the competing delegations and artists and their respective rehearsals.
ORF’s official press release reads:
The stand-ins take the positions of the individual nations for the camera, lighting, and sound tests. They also have to perform the choreography of each country to refine the technical processes in detail before the actual national delegations arrive for the final weeks of rehearsals.
From the 2,000 artists, ORF invited 650 artists to Vienna for an audition where the dancers had to learn a choreography in 30 minutes and perform it, whilst the singers had to showcase their vocal skills and range from various numbers.
Kaleen (Austria 2024) and Mavin Dietmmann (artistic director at many ESC editions) were in charge of overseeing the audtions.
https://www.tiktok.com/@orf/video/7586710829794446614?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7577450674754831894
ORF is set to announce its final decision regarding the 30 lucky stand in artists by the end of January.
ORF’s press release continues to read:
Of the 2,000 applicants from around the world, 650 were invited to Vienna for auditions. Here, the dancers had to learn a choreography within 30 minutes and perform it. The singers had to demonstrate their range with various numbers. It is not yet known which of the applicants will actually make it into the top 30 chosen for the world’s biggest TV music show. The decision is expected to be announced by the end of January.
