Further details have been released for Estonia’s national selection for Eurovision 2026, Eesti Laul 2026. It comes as the submissions window opens for the selection, despite questions over Estonia’s participation next year.
Eesti Laul final to be held on February 14th
In a press release uploaded to their website, Estonia’s broadcaster ERR confirmed Eesti Laul 2026 would be held. However, the organisers did not explicitly say whether the nation would be taking part in Eurovision 2026 with the winning song.
Further details on how the selection will work were also released. Eesti Laul 2026 will remain as a one-night show, following on from the success of the 2025 edition. Twelve acts will compete for the winning spot. The final of the show will also take place on February 14th, joining that of Latvia, Denmark and Spain holding their respective national finals on the same day.
A submissions window has now been officially opened, with interested acts being able to submit their entries to the competition by October 20th. To compete, the song must have been written by at least one Estonian, but performers can be international. On top of this, the cost of taking part with a song in Estonian only will cost €50, while to take part with an English-only or multilingual song will cost €100 until October 17th. From October 18th to the deadline, these costs will rise to €150 and €250 respectively.
Speaking on the publishing of the new rules, Karmel Killandi – editor-in-chief of ERR’s entertainment programs – said:
In ETV’s big anniversary year, we celebrate music in all its shades, from classical to pop. The last winner of Eesti Laul, Tommy Cash, successfully proved that music has no boundaries and made not only Estonia but also the whole of Europe sing and dance along.
We believe that this year’s competition will surprise everyone again, and that is why we are now waiting for authors and artists to boldly present their creations in front of the largest audience.
It comes as ERR has confirmed it still has not made a formal decision regarding participation at Eurovision 2026. Speaking to Kroonike, ERR said it was in conversations with the EBU ahead of the scheduled vote regarding Israel later this year.
Estonia’s Eurovision journey
Estonia has appeared at almost every Eurovision since their debut in 1994. They have won the contest once with Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL in 2001, singing Everybody. Other notable Estonian entrants include 3rd placer Sahlene with Runaway in 2002 and Ines with Once In A Lifetime in 2000, who placed 4th. More recently, their highest-placing entries have been Urban Symphony with Rändajad in 2009 and Ott Lepland with Kuula in 2012, both of which finished in 6th place.
In 2025, Estonia elected to send Tommy Cash through Eesti Laul to the Contest with “Espresso Macchiato”. They successfully qualified for the final and finshed in 3rd place with 356 points. Of these, 258 points came from the televote, while 98 came from the juries.
Are you excited to see what Eesti Laul 2026 will bring? Do you think Estonia will confirm its participation for Eurovision next year? 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: ERR
Photo Credit: Corinne Cumming / EBU
Thomas James