Further details of Eurovision Song Contest – Das Deutsche Finale 2026 have been revealed by SWR Program Director Clemens Bratzler in an interview with DWDL.

Speaking with DWDL, the Program Director of Clemens Bratzler, has revealed more details of the German national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. It has been confirmed that Florian Wieder has designed the stage for the German selection. Mr. Wieder has designed multiple Eurovision Song Contest stages, including this year’s in Vienna, Austria.

Mr Bratzler has also explained why the German national final voting will be held across two phases. As previously revealed, in the first round first round, an international jury formed of 20 members from 20 countries competing in the Eurovision Song Contest will vote, and from their votes, the top three will progress to the next phase. He commented:

The public is the kingmaker and ultimately chooses the German entry from the top three. However, we deliberately opted against a parallel jury and public vote because, in the first stage, we wanted a meaningful snapshot of the opinions of international music industry experts from 20 countries. They are to assess the songs based on their potential appeal to European audiences and juries. Analysis of previous years has shown that we have always been successful when the two votes were closely aligned. To win under our system, a song must overcome two hurdles in succession; the results cannot balance each other out. At the same time, we ensure that celebrity or social media reach has less influence, and that the strongest song and the strongest performance are what truly matter. Furthermore, I am convinced that this two-stage process also adds an extra element of suspense. 

The Program Director also revealed that in total 400 songs were proposed to SWR for Eurovision Song Contest – Das Deutsche Finale 2026. These were then narrowed to 60 songs, by a panel of music industry experts. These 60 songs were then reviewed by a panel from across Europe, where the results then helped to determine the nine artists competing to represent Germany in Vienna.

Das Deutsche Finale 2026

Eurovision Song Contest – Das Deutsche Finale 2026 will take place on February 28 live from Berlin. The show will be hosted live from Berlin by Barbara Schöneberger and Hazel Brugger, who hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. The finalists are:

BELA – “Herz” (Heart)
Dreamboys The Band – “Jeanie”
Laura Nahr – “Wonderland”
Malou Lovis – “when I’m with you”
Molly Sue – “Optimist (Ha Ha Ha)”
MYLE – “A OK”
Ragazzki – “Ciao Ragazzki”
Sarah Engels – “Fire”
wavvyboi – “black glitter”

Abor & Tynna represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the song “Baller”. They finished 15th scoring a total of 151 points.

Source: DWDL

Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest+

Germany was one of seven countries to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. The country has taken part in every contest since then, apart from in 1996 when they failed to make it through the qualifying round. To date Germany has won the contest twice. The first time was in 1982 when Nicole sang “Ein Bisschen Frieden” in Harrogate, which later became a global hit. Germany didn’t win again until 2010 when Lena sang “Satellite” in Oslo. She received 9 sets of 12 points, scoring 246 points overall.