🇮🇱 In memoriam: Shmulik Bilu

Shmulik Bilu sadly passed away at 31 December 2023, at the age of 71 following a lengthy illness. He was a member of ‘Milk and Honey’, the group that famously represented Israel in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest with their winning song ‘Hallelujah’. 

In his early years, Bilu was part of the Armored Corps band and took part in the 1969 show ‘Just a Tanker’. He joined ‘Milk and Honey’ in 1979, a band formed specifically for the Song and Chorus Festival, where their rendition of ‘Hallelujah’, penned by Shimrit Orr and Kobi Oshrat, earned them first place. This victory came a year after Izhar Cohen’s success, ensuring their participation in the subsequent European competition. The group also included Yehuda Tamir, Reuven Gvirtz, and lead singer Gali Atari.

Bilu later shifted his focus to working in various productions.

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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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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.

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