ERR, the Estonian national broadcaster, has officially opened the submissions for Eesti Laul 2026 and revealed details about the competition’s format.
Estonia will select its Eurovision 2026 representative through the established national final format, Eesti Laul. The submission window opened today and will remain open until October 20 at noon.
It has been revealed that a total of 12 songs will compete in the Eesti Laul 2026 final, which will be held on February 14. As in previous years, the winner will be determined in two rounds. In the first round, three songs will be selected through a combination of jury voting and televote. In the superfinal, the winner will be chosen solely by televote. The jury for the final will consist of at least seven members, including international music experts actively involved in the making, publishing, or teaching of pop music.
The 12 competing songs will be selected by a jury of experts, including music professionals and ordinary people of various ages. In total, at least 25 members will evaluate the songs blindly, without knowing the names of the writers or artists. The final list of acts performing at Eesti Laul will be announced no later than November 7, with the songs released by December 4 at the latest.
Estonia finished 3rd in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, the country’s best result since the 2002 contest in Tallinn. Tommy Cash performed “Espresso Macchiato” scoring 356 points, including 12 points from the public in Armenia, Croatia, Latvia, Malta and Serbia.
Image source: (Sarah Louise Bennett) EBU | Source: ERR
Estonia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 alongside six other countries. At the contest in Dublin they were represented by Silvi Vrait, who finished second last scoring just 2 points. In 2001 Estonia won the Eurovision Song Contest for the only time to date. They were represented by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL, who performed the song “Everybody” and took a surprise victory in Copenhagen. After the success of the late-90s and early 00s, Estonia failed to qualify for the final from 2004-2008. In 2009 Estonia launched a new selection show, Eesti Laul, and has since qualified for the final on nine out of fourteen attempts.
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Posted by:Tamara Vecic
Tamara is originally from Slovenia but currently lives in The Netherlands. She became a Eurovoix member in February 2025. She has been actively following the Eurovision Song Contest since 2007 and gained interest for national selections in 2018. She closely follows the Balkan music scene and enjoys covering the region in her work.