Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026
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Estonia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with the song "Too Epic to Be True", written by Sven Lõhmus and performed by the band Vanilla Ninja. The Estonian participating broadcaster, Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR), organised the national final Eesti Laul 2026 in order to select its entry for the contest.
Estonia| Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2026 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) | |||
| Country | Estonia | |||
| Selection process | Eesti Laul 2026 | |||
| Selection date | 14 February 2026 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "Too Epic to Be True" | |||
| Artist | Vanilla Ninja | |||
| Songwriters | Sven Lõhmus | |||
| Placement | ||||
| Semi-final result | Failed to qualify (11th) | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
Prior to the 2026 contest, Eesti Televisioon (ETV) until 2007, and Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) since 2008, had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Estonia thirty times since ETV's first entry in 1994, winning the contest in 2001 with the song "Everybody" performed by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL. Following the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Estonia has, to this point, managed to qualify to the final on eleven occasions, including in 2025, when "Espresso Macchiato" performed by Tommy Cash ultimately placed third in the final.[1]
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, ERR organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. Since its debut, the Estonian broadcaster had organised national finals that featured a competition among multiple artists and songs in order to select its entry for the contest, with the Eesti Laul competition being organised since 2009. On 19 September 2025, ERR confirmed its participation at the 2026 contest and announced the organisation of Eesti Laul 2026 in order to select its entry.[2]
Before Eurovision
Eesti Laul 2026
Eesti Laul 2026 was the 18th edition of the national selection Eesti Laul, organised by ERR to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The competition consisted of a 12-song final on 14 February 2026 at the Unibet Arena in Tallinn, and was hosted by Karl-Erik Taukar and Karl "Korea" Kivastik.[3][4]
Competing entries
On 19 September 2025, ERR opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries up until 20 October 2025. Each artist and songwriter was only able to submit a maximum of five entries. Foreign collaborations were allowed as long as one of the songwriters were Estonian. A fee was also imposed on songs being submitted to the competition, with €50 for songs in the Estonian language and €100 for songs in other languages. Both of the fees increased for entries submitted from 17 October 2025: €150 for songs in the Estonian language and €250 for songs in other languages.[5] 171 submissions were received by the deadline, of which 77 were in Estonian.[6] A 34-member jury panel selected 12 finalists from the submissions and the selected songs were announced during the ETV entertainment program Ringvaade on 30 and 31 October 2025.[7][8]
Among the competing artists were previous Eurovision Song Contest entrants Vanilla Ninja, who represented Switzerland in 2005, Getter Jaani, who represented Estonia in 2011, Stig Rästa (as member of Stockholm Cowboys), who represented Estonia in 2015 with Elina Born, and Victor Crone (as member of Stockholm Cowboys), who represented Estonia in 2019.[8][9] Ant, Grete Paia, Laura Prits, Marta Pikani, Minimal Wind, Noëp, Ollie and Robert Linna have all competed in previous editions of Eesti Laul.[10]
|
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Ant and Minimal Wind | "Wounds (Don't Wanna Fall)" |
|
| Clicherik and Mäx | "Jolly Roger" |
|
| Getter Jaani | "The Game" | Sven Lõhmus |
| Grete Paia | "Taevas jäi üles" |
|
| Laura Prits | "Warrior" |
|
| Marta Pikani | "Kell kuus" | Marta Pikani |
| Noëp | "Days Like This" |
|
| Ollie | "Slave" | Oliver Mazurtšak |
| Robert Linna | "Metsik roos" | Robert Linna |
| Stockholm Cowboys | "Last Man Standing" | |
| Uliana Olhyna | "Rhythm of Nature" |
|
| Vanilla Ninja | "Too Epic to Be True" | Sven Lõhmus |
Final
The final took place on 14 February 2026.
| R/O | Artist | Song | Jury | Public vote | Total | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Points | Votes | Points | |||||
| 1 | Clicherik and Mäx | "Jolly Roger" | 25 | 4 | 3,849 | 7 | 11 | 7 |
| 2 | Robert Linna | "Metsik roos" | 30 | 5 | 394 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| 3 | Grete Paia | "Taevas jäi üles" | 14 | 1 | 2,804 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| 4 | Laura Prits | "Warrior" | 31 | 6 | 650 | 2 | 8 | 9 |
| 5 | Uliana Olhyna | "Rhythm of Nature" | 24 | 3 | 1,742 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
| 6 | Ollie | "Slave" | 65 | 12 | 6,410 | 10 | 22 | 1 |
| 7 | Marta Pikani | "Kell kuus" | 19 | 2 | 738 | 3 | 5 | 12 |
| 8 | Noëp | "Days Like This" | 56 | 9 | 7,792 | 11 | 20 | 2 |
| 9 | Getter Jaani | "The Game" | 42 | 8 | 6,215 | 9 | 17 | 5 |
| 10 | Ant and Minimal Wind | "Wounds (Don't Wanna Fall)" | 58 | 10 | 1,387 | 4 | 14 | 6 |
| 11 | Vanilla Ninja | "Too Epic to Be True" | 37 | 7 | 10,070 | 12 | 19 | 3 |
| 12 | Stockholm Cowboys | "Last Man Standing" | 63 | 11 | 4,628 | 8 | 19 | 4 |
| R/O | Song | J. Roy |
R. Milone |
P. Jordan |
M. Faust |
A. Stolpe |
K. Hughes |
L. Deb |
R. Linn |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Jolly Roger" | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 25 | |
| 2 | "Metsik roos" | 7 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 30 | ||||
| 3 | "Taevas jäi üles" | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 14 | |||
| 4 | "Warrior" | 12 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 31 | ||
| 5 | "Rhythm of Nature" | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 24 | |
| 6 | "Slave" | 5 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 65 |
| 7 | "Kell kuus" | 8 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 19 | |||
| 8 | "Days Like This" | 6 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 56 |
| 9 | "The Game" | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 42 |
| 10 | "Wounds (Don't Wanna Fall)" | 10 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 58 |
| 11 | "Too Epic to Be True" | 1 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 37 | ||
| 12 | "Last Man Standing" | 2 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 63 |
| Artist | Song | Votes | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ollie | "Slave" | 15,148 | 3 |
| Noëp | "Days Like This" | 15,161 | 2 |
| Vanilla Ninja | "Too Epic to Be True" | 16,584 | 1 |
At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take place at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and consist of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2026. All nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final will progress to the final. On 12 January 2026, an allocation draw was held to determine which of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show, each country will perform in; the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[14]
Semi final
Estonia was allocated for the first semi final, and later, was announced to perform in position nine during the show.[15] Shortly after, the qualification–announcement segment took place, and, at the end of the segment Estonia was not announced as one of the ten qualifiers, therefore, Estonia would not move on onto the final,[16] for the first time since 2021.
Voting
Points awarded to Estonia
Points awarded by Estonia
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Detailed voting results
Each participating broadcaster assembles a seven-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent and two of which have to be between 18 and 25 years old. Each jury, and individual jury member, is required to meet a strict set of criteria regarding professional background, as well as diversity in gender and age. No member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.[19] The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.
The following members comprised the Estonian jury:[18]
- Alexander Makarov
- Karl Killing
- Sebastian Koljak
- Eva Palm
- Isabella Runge
- Kaidi Klein
- Inger Fridolin
| R/O | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juror A | Juror B | Juror C | Juror D | Juror E | Juror F | Juror G | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 |  Moldova | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 7 | |
| 02 |  Sweden | 3 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| 03 |  Croatia | 10 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 3 |
| 04 |  Greece | 5 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 1 |
| 05 |  Portugal | 8 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 06 |  Georgia | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 14 | ||
| 07 |  Finland | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 |
| 08 |  Montenegro | 11 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 13 | ||
| 09 | Estonia | |||||||||||
| 10 |  Israel | 6 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| 11 |  Belgium | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 11 | |
| 12 |  Lithuania | 13 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| 13 |  San Marino | 4 | 4 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 12 | |
| 14 |  Poland | 7 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 4 |
| 15 |  Serbia | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 5 | |
| R/O | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juror A | Juror B | Juror C | Juror D | Juror E | Juror F | Juror G | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 |  Denmark | 4 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 2 |
| 02 |  Germany | 22 | 22 | 19 | 17 | 7 | 22 | 23 | 18 | 25 | ||
| 03 | Israel | 9 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 1 | |
| 04 | Belgium | 8 | 6 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 23 | |
| 05 |  Albania | 19 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 19 | 13 | 23 | 22 | ||
| 06 | Greece | 11 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| 07 |  Ukraine | 13 | 17 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 3 | 8 | |
| 08 |  Australia | 3 | 11 | 18 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 6 | 5 | |
| 09 | Serbia | 20 | 18 | 24 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 13 | ||
| 10 |  Malta | 21 | 21 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 5 | 22 | 17 | 15 | ||
| 11 |  Czechia | 14 | 4 | 10 | 18 | 9 | 21 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 18 | |
| 12 |  Bulgaria | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 7 |
| 13 | Croatia | 18 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 17 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 17 | |
| 14 |  United Kingdom | 23 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 21 | 19 | ||
| 15 |  France | 10 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 5 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 14 | ||
| 16 | Moldova | 24 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 18 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 10 | |
| 17 | Finland | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 |
| 18 | Poland | 12 | 3 | 11 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 21 | |
| 19 | Lithuania | 25 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 18 | 15 | 25 | 24 | 16 | ||
| 20 | Sweden | 7 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 16 | 8 | 11 | 12 | ||
| 21 |  Cyprus | 15 | 13 | 21 | 24 | 22 | 23 | 19 | 22 | 20 | ||
| 22 |  Italy | 6 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| 23 |  Norway | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 11 | |
| 24 |  Romania | 16 | 20 | 20 | 9 | 16 | 24 | 20 | 20 | 7 | 4 | |
| 25 |  Austria | 17 | 24 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 8 | 21 | 19 | 24 | ||