Today, the rehearsals for Eurovision 2026 continue in Vienna. Countries rehearsing on Day 6 include Italy, Germany, France, United Kingdom, and Austria. The final Automatic Qualifier to rehearse is Host Country, Austria with COSMÓ
What did we learn about COSMÓ’s staging?
The info from the first rehearsal was provided by EBU via Reddit, with the description as follows:
From Eins, Zwei, Drei to Tanzschein. This is the most German we’ve heard in the whole time we’ve been in Austria! A week and counting, fact fans.
Our host entry begins with COSMÓ and his crowd of animals lying down on the stage floor. This is the part where Sir David Attenborough would come in and inform us that nighttime has fallen on the Sahara. But COSMÓ has other nocturnal activities in mind… The club awaits!
If you didn’t know it already, Tanzschein has its own dance routine. And it’s that choreo which is placed centre stage during the performance. Whether COSMÓ and his animal friends are doing the dance all in a line or atop the huge climbing frames that are lowered from the arena ceiling onto the stage floor, it’s clear he wants viewers at home to join in. This enthusiasm for movement ties in with the message of the song – if you’re gonna go to the club, you gotta dance!
‘Dance away your inner animal’ are the words we see written on the stage at the start of the performance. COSMÓ is dressed for it too, in black leather trousers, a black rhinestone shirt and a mirrorball-inspired breastplate with matching disco armour running down his left arm. He ends the performance in his happy place; at the club with multi-coloured strobe lights pulsating behind him.
Pictures from yesterday’s rehearsal will be released approximately 24 hours after the rehearsal. We will update this article once it has been released.
Who is COSMÓ?
COSMÓ is the stage name of Benjamin Gedeon, a 19-year-old singer born in Budapest, Hungary. Growing up on the Austrian-Hungarian border, he became invested in music as a child, learning how to play the piano at the age of four. He wrote his first song when he began to take singing lessons at 13. He shot to fame in 2022 when he auditioned on the German version of The Voice Kids, reaching the final under the guidance of Alvaro Soler. After this, he began to lean into various genres, exploring his personal musical style. Ahead of the Austrian national selection, he adopted the moniker ‘COSMÓ’.
COSMÓ will participate at Eurovision 2026 with his entry “Tanzschein” which was co-written by Benjamin himself, alongside Elias Stejskal and Ella Stern.
Austria’s Eurovision Journey
In 1957, Austria made their debut into the Eurovision Song Contest, where Bob Martin represented the landlocked nation with the song “Wohin, kleines Pony?”. At the close of voting, it managed to place 10th overall. Since their debut, Austria has participated 56 times (being in the final 49 times), and – before 2025 – had won the competition on two occasions in 1966 and 2014.
In 2025, Austria selected JJ internally to represent the nation in Basel with “Wasted Love”. Austria successfully qualified for the final, and went on to win the Contest with a total of 436 points. This gave Austria its third win in the Contest, eleven years after their previous victory.
What do you think of “Tanzschein”? Does COSMÓ stand a chance of winning? Let us know your thoughts! Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as we prepare for Eurovision 2026!
News Source: EBU
Photo Credit: ORF