🇦🇹 Vienna Deputy Mayor calls for businesses to open during public holiday in week of Eurovision 2026

Vienna’s Deputy Mayor Bettina Emmerling has urged businesses should remain open during the entire Eurovision week from 12th May to 16th May, despite the dates coinciding with a public holiday on 14th May for Ascension Day.

Eurovision helping businesses

There is an estimated €57 million economic boost for Vienna that will come from Eurovision 2026, and this will, in turn, help businesses grow within the area. Basel, for example, enjoyed a 95% hotel occupancy rate, totalling about 50,000 overnight stays, and an estimated 60 million Swiss Francs were brought back into the Swiss economy due to Eurovision 2025.

This is not the first time that Vienna has been urging businesses to stay open due to events, since they had done the same in 2008 for the European Football Championship. There is also a debate about shops staying open on Sunday for the Eurovision weekend, with this being supported by Vienna’s deputy mayor; however, this is still up for debate and with current rules, businesses would stay closed between Thursday,14th May, and Sunday, 17th May. 

The story of Eurovision 2026 so far

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. The bidding process started in June, with interested cities having until July 4 to submit their bid book. Innsbruck and Vienna were shortlisted, with the latter winning the right to host next year’s contest.

As for the organisation of the competition, the ‘core team‘ was revealed in June 2025, with further details about next year’s competition to be revealed in due course. The shows will take place on May 12th, 14th and 16th.

What do you think of businesses staying open later for Eurovision 2026? Do you think the city will put on a great show? 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: Vienna.Info