41 countries in Rotterdam: one was never absent

As you might have noticed, today the participating countries for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest are announced. Exactly the same countries that were already on the list for Rotterdam 2020, will be back in 2021.

We would like to give a shout out to one country in particular: Germany. This country has had an entry at all of the Eurovision Song Contests so far. That means that, including the 2 entries in 1956 and the entry for this years cancelled contest, we will be able to greet the 67th German entry.

Only one time, the German entry did not manage to reach the Eurovision stage. In 1996, the songs first had to go through an audio preselection as only 23 countries could take part. Poor Leon, the singer who was supposed to represent Germany, did not make it to the best 23. An unexpected failure, as the Germans were pretty sure Leon’s “Planet of blue” was going to do very well in the contest. 

Leon, whose real name is Jürgen Göbel, did another attempt to represent his country in 1997, but became 2nd in the national preselection.

But, final or not, there wás a German entry in 1996. Let’s look forward to the 2021 entry, whatever and with whoever it is…

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Eurovision 2026

Weekly Update

It’s Tuesday, January 27, 2026, and time for another Eurovision 2026 weekly update. This week brought two new confirmed entries for Vienna. NF season also moved forward in several countries. We also saw fresh news about Loreen and Eurovision In Concert in Amsterdam. It’s Tuesday, January 27, 2026. Time for another Eurovision 2026 weekly update. Israel and Luxembourg have chosen their acts for Vienna. Bulgaria’s NF moves to the final. San Marino has started its casting shows. Loreen and Eurovision in Concert also made headlines. New Entries 🇮🇱 Israel has picked Noam Bettan for Eurovision 2026. He won the talent show HaKokhav HaBa on January 20 in Neve Ilan. Israel will announce his Eurovision song later. 🇱🇺 Luxembourg selected Eva Marija in the Luxembourg Song Contest. The NF took place on January 24 at Rockhall in Esch-sur-Alzette. Eva Marija won with “Mother Nature”. She will represent Luxembourg in Vienna. National Finals 🇧🇬 Bulgaria opened its NF with a semi-final on January 24 in Sofia. Eight artists qualified for the final: Dara, Innerglow, Kerana & Cosmonauts, Mihaela Marinova, Molec, Mona, Preyah and Roksana. BNT will air the final on January 31 from BNT Studio 1. The show starts at 20:00 CET. A five-member jury and online voting will choose the winning artist. 🇨🇿 Czechia is still waiting to reveal its 2026 artist and song. ČT has said it plans a January announcement, but it has not shared a date yet. Fans have started to guess online, especially with the month almost over. 🇸🇲 San Marino has launched the Dreaming San Marino Song Contest. SMRTV shows the castings from Monday to Saturday at 19:15 on channel 550. The broadcaster says it received over 800 applications from 48 countries. The castings run until February 1. Next, the Stage & Live Academy runs from February 13–15. The San Marino Song Contest final is set for March 6. Other News Loreen teased a new project with projections in Berlin, London and Paris. The visuals show the date February 20. Her official website also shows a countdown that ends at 00:00 CET on February 22. (source: Eurovoix) Eurovision in Concert confirmed its first act for 2026. Tamara Živković will perform “Nova Zora” at AFAS Live in Amsterdam on April 11. The event shared the news on Instagram: Instagram EIC Agenda January 31 Sweden Semifinal 20:00 CET SVT Play January 31 Lithuania Semifinal 20:00 CET LRT and YouTube January 31 Bulgaria Final 20:00 CET BNT January 31 Latvia Semifinal 20:00 CET LTV Next week Next week should bring more national decisions and more confirmed entries. Bulgaria chooses its artist on January 31. San Marino continues its casting shows until February 1. Czechia also still has a few days left for its promised January reveal.

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Eurovision 2026
Martijn

Weekly Update

It’s Tuesday, January 27, 2026, and time for another Eurovision 2026 weekly update. This week brought two new confirmed entries for Vienna. NF season also moved forward in several countries. We also saw fresh news about Loreen and Eurovision In Concert in Amsterdam. It’s Tuesday, January 27, 2026. Time for another Eurovision 2026 weekly update. Israel and Luxembourg have chosen their acts for Vienna. Bulgaria’s NF moves to the final. San Marino has started its casting shows. Loreen and Eurovision in Concert also made headlines. New Entries 🇮🇱 Israel has picked Noam Bettan for Eurovision 2026. He won the talent show HaKokhav HaBa on January 20 in Neve Ilan. Israel will announce his Eurovision song later. 🇱🇺 Luxembourg selected Eva Marija in the Luxembourg Song Contest. The NF took place on January 24 at Rockhall in Esch-sur-Alzette. Eva Marija won with “Mother Nature”. She will represent Luxembourg in Vienna. National Finals 🇧🇬 Bulgaria opened its NF with a semi-final on January 24 in Sofia. Eight artists qualified for the final: Dara, Innerglow, Kerana & Cosmonauts, Mihaela Marinova, Molec, Mona, Preyah and Roksana. BNT will air the final on January 31 from BNT Studio 1. The show starts at 20:00 CET. A five-member jury and online voting will choose the winning artist. 🇨🇿 Czechia is still waiting to reveal its 2026 artist and song. ČT has said it plans a January announcement, but it has not shared a date yet. Fans have started to guess online, especially with the month almost over. 🇸🇲 San Marino has launched the Dreaming San Marino Song Contest. SMRTV shows the castings from Monday to Saturday at 19:15 on channel 550. The broadcaster says it received over 800 applications from 48 countries. The castings run until February 1. Next, the Stage & Live Academy runs from February 13–15. The San Marino Song Contest final is set for March 6. Other News Loreen teased a new project with projections in Berlin, London and Paris. The visuals show the date February 20. Her official website also shows a countdown that ends at 00:00 CET on February 22. (source: Eurovoix) Eurovision in Concert confirmed its first act for 2026. Tamara Živković will perform “Nova Zora” at AFAS Live in Amsterdam on April 11. The event shared the news on Instagram: Instagram EIC Agenda January 31 Sweden Semifinal 20:00 CET SVT Play January 31 Lithuania Semifinal 20:00 CET LRT and YouTube January 31 Bulgaria Final 20:00 CET BNT January 31 Latvia Semifinal 20:00 CET LTV Next week Next week should bring more national decisions and more confirmed entries. Bulgaria chooses its artist on January 31. San Marino continues its casting shows until February 1. Czechia also still has a few days left for its promised January reveal.

Read More »
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