Rumours had been spreading that Kazakhstan and Canada might make their first appearances at the upcoming contest in Vienna. Executive Supervisor Martin Green has now confirmed that neither country will be part of Eurovision 2026.
The possibility of a debut
Back in November, a federal budget had been tabled by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government, under a section titled Protecting Our National Broadcaster: CBC/Radio-Canada, which had stated that the government would be exploring modernising CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate to strengthen independence, and was working with CBC/Radio-Canada to explore participation in Eurovision.
About Kazakhstan, in a statement on Instagram, it was revealed that the Kazakhstani broadcaster Khabar Agency and the EBU were exploring the possibility for Kazakhstan to debut in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna. According to the post, conversations with the EBU began in June this year, and a final decision will be taken at the beginning of next year.
The deadline for new entries closed in December, so it’s no longer possible for either broadcaster to enter the contest this year, even though both CBC/Radio-Canada and Khabar Agency (Kazakhstan’s broadcaster) are associate members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
All About 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. 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. 35 countries will take part in the competition, the lowest number of competing entries since 2004.
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.
Do you think we are going to see Kazakhstan and Canada at Eurovision one day? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky as we start looking ahead to Eurovision 2026!
News Source: eurovoix
Photo Source: EBU
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