Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Some thoughts -

Portugal, how fortunate for the broadcaster that 1 of the 2 acts who said they'd do ESC won.... anyway the song is a snoozefest.

I actually quite like San Marino. Yes it is dated and cheesy but I don't care.

Sweden as expected. A well produced and staged EDM banger but maybe too souless to challenge for the win. I predict a top 10 finish, maybe top 5 if others underwhelm on the night.

Poland a bit chaotic, will be lucky to qualify.

Only 5 songs to go - Switzerland, Czechia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Unless at least 1 of these has something spectacular it looks like ESC 2026 will be the weakest and most open contest since 2011.

It is rather funny that one of the only two acts in FdC that said they'll go to Vienna won, but I doubt there's anything sinister behind it.

I haven't listened to any song for this year, because ultimately, I'm not bothered about this year, but I'm please that Alicja, who should have been Poland's representative in 2020, is finally getting her Eurovision chance. I've always felt that the EBU should have made broadcasters automatically reselect their 2020 participants for 2021 (assuming they wanted to go, I think Ben Dolic from Germany said he didn't want to try again in 2021), and it was a shame that some countries felt their national finals were so important that they couldn't do that.

My first time commenting on this thread. Your post sums up exactly how I am feeling about the contest this year. I grew up watching Eurovision in the early 90s and feeling that rush of excitement as new countries joined the contest. Like you, seeing something beyond our Irish borders gave me a sense of European identity alongside my own.

Usually, by this point in the year, I’d know every entry by heart, but this time I haven't listened to a single one. It’s a real shame that the actions of one country—whose music I’ve actually enjoyed before—and the disappointing behaviour of the EBU have completely soured the contest for me.

Maybe one day I will listen to the class of 2026 but I cannot see that happening any time soon.

In another video he talks about a writing team, so no, it's not all his own work.

Long interview with Sam Battle / Look Mum look no Computer https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/5f213edc04a43f13795a1c09

So it was his idea to go for Eurovision rather then somebody thinking of him. He went to a Eurovision song writing session with Thomas Nymann and Julie Aagaard and producer Thomas Stengaard around 23 minutes in. Credits/bio here https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2026/uk-eurovision-song-eins-zwei-drei-look-mum-no-computer He said he wrote a Eurovisiony song by himself, which he called too safe. Did they encourage him to write something more upbeat and catchy? They ask about the staging but not the performance…:/

If we're going to say Israel shouldn't be in because they have more in common with America over Europe, then Ireland, the US capital in Europe with hardly any cultural links to Europe is the first out.

One of the few things that linked us culturally with Europe and we've stupidly decided to boycott it.

The Netherlands were one of the founding members of the EBU and won the second edition of the Contest in 1957. We're in the bizarre situation where they have been effectively forced out, while an anachronistic state from the Middle East which didn't join Eurovision until a couple of decades later and who wants to use ESC as a propaganda and whitewashing tool for its war crimes is still in.

I don't know where you live but American flags are decked out across Dublin hotels and pubs particularly in the City Centre.

I hardly ever see European flags sadly.

We're moving closer and closer to America culturally. Eurovision is one of the few things America hasn't got their hands on and we've abandoned it.

Our government is spending our national day in the United States. No other country does this other than perhaps Israel.

But look you have your view and it revolves around mentioning genocide in any post as many here mention, so I can't unbore that line of argument.