We’re only a few days since JJ won the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, and already cities are thinking about hosting next year. Austria’s second city Graz is mulling a bid to host the contest.
Graz begins discussions
Another city is potentially putting it’s hat in the ring and making a bid to host, as Graz begins discussions on whether to bid or not. Political groups in the city have stated that they will put forward a motion to explore the prospects of submitting a bid for the contest. With the state government stating that they will be open to discussions with the city.
The potential to host is not without its detractors however, with the KFG and NEOS fractions both voicing their opposition to the city host. With them both citing the huge financial strain it will put on the city. With even politicians more open to hosting have expressed caution when approaching the situation due to the heavy costs associated with hosting.
The city, alongside Innsbruck, narrowly missed out on hosting the 2015 edition of the contest after being shortlisted. Ultimately losing to Vienna.
The Journey to Eurovision 2026
The journey to the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest kicked off immediately following JJ’s win in Basel, when Austria’s ORF accepted the rights to host the 70th edition of the contest. At present the Alpine nation has not addressed its plans for how it intends to host, but cities have already begun discussing their thoughts on hosting or not.
The cities that have expressed wishes to host:
The cities that have ruled out hosting:
Austria’s Eurovision Journey
In 1957, Austria made their debut into the Eurovision Song Contest, where Bob Martin represented the landlocked nation with the song “Wohin, kleines Pony?”. At the close of voting, it managed to place 10th overall. Since their debut, Austria has participated 56 times (being in the final 49 times), and – before 2025 – had won the competition on two occasions in 1966 and 2014.
In 2025, Austria selected JJ internally to represent the nation in Basel with “Wasted Love”. Austria successfully qualified for the final, and went on to win the Contest with a total of 436 points. This gave Austria its third win in the Contest, eleven years after their previous victory.
Do you want Graz to make a bid? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, and Bluesky for more information about Eurovision 2026!
News Source: ORF
Photo Credit: Wikimedia / Scotch Mist
Giwrgos Oiko 