The city of Graz has officially decided not to bid for hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, citing budget limitations and venue constraints.
Too costly for Graz
Graz’s city government revealed that hosting ESC 2026 would cost approximately €29.35 million gross. With no confirmed financial support from the state, federal government, or sponsors, those funds would need to be fully covered by the city, making a bid financially unfeasible.
Venue capacity issue
The city’s lead spokesperson, Mayor Elke Kahr, explained that despite Graz having cultural appeal, including its UNESCO-listed Old Town and vibrant creative scene, the local Messe exhibition hall only holds around 4,000 spectators, far below the 10,000-seat minimum required by EBU and ORF.
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 formally addressed its hosting plans. Those are expected to come in July. However, cities across Austria have already begun discussing their thoughts on hosting or not.
The cities that have expressed a wish to host:
- Vienna
- Innsbruck
- Wels and Linz (joint bid)
- St. Pölten
The cities that have ruled out hosting:
Do you believe smaller Austrian cities should still aim to host Eurovision, or is size as important as budget? 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: steiermark.orf.at
Photo Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU