Overview
- Vienna will host the 70th contest with semi‑finals on May 12 and 14 and the final on May 16, with ARD and its channel ONE carrying the shows and Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski hosting.
- Five countries — Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland — say they will sit out because Israel will compete, with Noam Bettan performing the song Michelle.
- Reports say Finland and Switzerland have asked the European Broadcasting Union to allow live instruments on stage this year, a long‑standing ban the EBU is viewed as unlikely to relax as Yle and SRF declined to comment.
- Germany’s entry is Sarah Engels with Fire after a televised national final, and new delegation head Tina Sikorski says keeping a public selection under SWR leadership is very likely.
- Former German finalist Michael Schulte says the politics around the event sadden him and urges a focus on the music, offering a modest vote of confidence in Engels’s chances.