Coming shortly after Estonia’s ERR announced that it had received 171 submissions in its hunt to find Tommy Cash’s successor, the first acts that will compete in the Eesti Laul 2026 final have now being revealed.
The first 2026 acts
| Artist | Song Name |
| NOËP | Days like this |
| Grete Paia | Taevas jäi üles |
| Marta Pikani | kell kuus |
| Ollie | Slave |
| Uliana Olhyna | rhythm of nature |
| Vanilla Ninja | too epic to be true |
What’s still to come?
- 31st of October – the second batch of names competing will be announced
- Late 2025 – the songs of the above acts are expected to be released
- 14th of February – the final of Eesti Laul will take place
What is Eesti Laul?
For over a decade now Eesti Laul has showcased Estonian talent in a multi-stage format to select Estonia’s Eurovision entrant. Traditionally featuring two semi finals and a final, in recent years the show has been adapted year on year to feature (then subsequently remove) quarter finals, and wild card rounds. The winner is typically decided by a hybrid voting of juries and televotes, with superfinal of usually three acts vying for the chance to represent Estonia.
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 finished in 3rd place with 356 points. Of these, 258 points came from the televote, while 98 came from the juries.
Which acts are you most excited to see in Eesti Laul? 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!
Source: ERR
Photo credit: ERR
Rory Gannon 
Euan T