Eurovision Young Musicians 2026
Televised classical music competition
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The Eurovision Young Musicians 2026 was the 22nd edition of Eurovision Young Musicians, held on 6 June 2026 at the Yerevan Opera Theatre in Yerevan, Armenia, and presented by Hamlet Arakelyan and Hrachuhi Utmazyan. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV). The Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Eduard Topchjan accompanied all competing performers.
- 6 June 2026
Yerevan, Armenia
| Eurovision Young Musicians 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Հայաստան. վայր, որտեղ դասական երաժշտությունը միավորում է Armenia: Where Classical Music Unites[1] | |
| |
| Date and venue | |
| Final |
|
| Venue | Yerevan Opera Theatre Yerevan, Armenia |
| Organisation | |
| Organiser | European Broadcasting Union (EBU) |
| Production | |
| Host broadcaster | Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV) |
| Director | Artur Manukyan Mushegh Minasyan |
| Executive producer | Anushik Ter-Ghukasyan[2] |
| Musical director | Eduard Topchjan |
| Presenters | Hamlet Arakelyan Hrachuhi Utmazyan |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 11 |
| Returning countries |  Cyprus Latvia Portugal |
| Non-returning countries |  Austria France Norway |
| |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Each juror awards a mark from 1–10 to each performer based on specific criteria |
| Winning musician |  PolandMichał Stochel |
The winner was accordionist Michał Stochel representing Poland, with marimbist Sonja Misiņa representing Latvia placing second, and flautist Elen Virabyan representing Armenia placing third.[3] Stochel is the first accordionist to win the competition. It is also Poland's fourth win in the competition, after 1992, 2000, and 2016.
Location
On 21 October 2024, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that the Eurovision Young Musicians 2026 would take place in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia.[4][5][6] The announcement came after the Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV) made a return to the contest in 2024, marking its first participation in the contest in twelve years.[7][8] This was the first time that the Eurovision Young Musicians was hosted in Armenia, as well as the first Eurovision event held in the country since the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022.[9][10]
In March 2026, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) reported that the contest would take place in the Yerevan Opera Theatre, officially known as the Alexander Spendiaryan National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.[11] The contest was held during the year marking the 100th anniversary of the Yerevan Opera Theatre building. Screens were installed outside the venue in order to broadcast the concert live, allowing larger audiences to follow the event from public viewing areas.[12]
Format
The contest took place on 6 June 2026, accompanied by the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra of the Yerevan Opera Theatre. Soviet Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian was celebrated during the event, which was held on his birthday and featured several of his pieces throughout the show.[13] During each performance, works of art from the represented country were displayed on screen in the background.[14] The winner received the contest trophy and an invitation to perform with the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2026–2027 concert season.[15] It was reported that the Armenian government had allocated about ֏665 million (USD$1.6 million) to cover organisational, technical and production costs related to hosting the event.[16]
Visual design
The competition’s branding is inspired by Armenian painter Minas Avetisyan's "Jajur". A slogan was introduced for the first time and was revealed as Armenia: Where Classical Music Unites.[1]
Presenters
On 2 June 2026, AMPTV announced that television presenters Hamlet Arakelyan and Hrachuhi Utmazyan would be the hosts of the twenty-second edition of the competition. Arakelyan and Utmazyan are known for being the Armenian commentators for the Eurovision Song Contest.[17]
Interval act
Titled "A Second, That’s 40 Minutes", the interval act combined symphonic music, ballet dancing, acrobatics and visual effects through emblematic works by Khachaturian such as Spartacus, Gayane and Masquerade Suite.[18]
Jury members
The jurors of the competition were first announced on 12 May 2026 during a press conference held in Yerevan that was attended by Hovhannes Movsisyan, the executive director of the host broadcaster, and the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Zhanna Andreasyan. The jury consisted of:[13]
- Roman Simović (chair), conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra
- Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan
- German conductor Julien Salemkour
- Spanish flutist Eduard Belmar.
Participants and results
As was the case in 2024, the EBU's senior project manager and official representative for the Eurovision Young Musicians Amelie Rossignol-Farjon announced that a maximum of eleven countries may participate in the contest. The EBU justified this step in order to maintain the presentation schedule and the event’s duration. There is space for ten broadcasters from other countries alongside the host country's broadcaster.[19] However, in January 2026, it was revealed that the EBU was considering expanding the number of participants to twelve.[20]
On 27 February 2026, the EBU announced that broadcasters from eleven countries would participate. Cyprus, Latvia and Portugal are returning after last participating in 2010, 2002 and 2014, respectively, while France, Norway and reigning champion Austria opted not to participate after doing so the previous edition.[1] The 2026 contest marked the first appearance of Cyprus in a televised final and the marimba as a competing instrument, played by both Simon Nakhimovitch of Belgium and Sonja Misiņa of Latvia.
| R/O | Country | Broadcaster | Performer | Instrument | Piece(s) | Composer(s) | Pl. | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Germany |
WDR | Moë Dierstein | Violin | Violin Concerto in E minor, 3rd mvt | Felix Mendelssohn | [21][22][23] | |
| 2 | Cyprus |
CyBC | Iakovos Kedaritis | Clarinet | Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73, 3rd mvt | Carl Maria von Weber | [24][25][26] | |
| 3 |  Belgium |
RTBF | Simon Nakhimovitch | Marimba | Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso | Camille Saint-Saëns | [27][28] | |
| 4 |  Serbia |
RTS | Jana Jakovljević | Violin | Zigeunerweisen | Pablo de Sarasate | [29][30] | |
| 5 |  Switzerland |
SRF | Manoush Toth | Piano | Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7, 3rd mvt | Clara Schumann | [1][31] | |
| 6 |  Armenia |
AMPTV | Elen Virabyan | Flute | Violin Concerto transposed for flute | Aram Khachaturian | 3 | [32][33][34] |
| 7 | Poland |
TVP | Michał Stochel | Accordion | Concerto Classico, 3rd mvt | Mikołaj Majkusiak | 1 | [26][35] |
| 8 | Portugal |
RTP | Beatriz Li Rosão | Violin | Violin Concerto in D major, 3rd mvt | Erich Wolfgang Korngold | [36][37][38] | |
| 9 | Latvia |
LSM | Sonja Misiņa | Marimba | Marimba Concerto, Op. 12, 2nd mvt | Emmanuel Séjourné | 2 | [39][40][41] |
| 10 |  Czechia |
ČT | Nora Lubbadová | Piano | Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102, 3rd mvt | Dmitri Shostakovich | [42][43][44][45] | |
| 11 |  Sweden |
SVT | Edward Ahlbeck Glader | Piano | Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16, 4th mvt | Sergei Prokofiev | [26][46][47][48] |
Other countries
Austria – On 2 December 2025, Martin Traxl, head of the culture department at ORF, confirmed that the broadcaster would not participate due to scheduling conflicts.[49]
Norway – On 17 October 2025, the press department of NRK confirmed that, for the first time since 1986, it would not participate in the contest. Ragnhild Veire, head of NRK Klassisk explained, that the broadcaster prefers to focus on further developing its national contest Virtuos , which has served as the Norway's national final for the Eurovision Young Musicians since 2006. NRK Klassisk has stressed that "by this decision it wants to implement a broader initiative aimed at promoting Norwegian classical music talent, providing young musicians in the country with an even stronger platform for their development".[50]
Active EBU member broadcasters in Croatia,[51][52] Greece,[53] Ireland,[54] Spain,[55] Slovenia[56] and the United Kingdom (BBC)[57] confirmed their non-participation prior to the announcement of the participants list by the EBU.
Broadcasts
All participating broadcasters may choose to have on-site or remote commentators providing insight and voting information to their local audience. Some broadcasters aired the show live on 6 June 2026 at 18:00 CEST, with others moving the broadcast to other time slots or other dates. The interval act was omitted from delayed broadcasts of the competition.
| Country | Date of broadcast | Time | Channel(s) | Commentator(s) | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armenia |
6 June | Live | First Channel | Anna Avanesyan | [58] |
| Cyprus |
Live | RIK 2, Fourth Radio Program | Aris Antoniades | [59] | |
| Portugal |
Live | RTP2, RTP Antena 2 | André Cunha Leal | [60][61][62] | |
| Belgium |
19:00 CET | Musiq'3 | Caroline Veyt and Pierre Solot | [63] | |
| Poland |
19:00 CET | TVP Kultura, TVP Kultura 2 | Robert Kamyk and Sylwia Janiak-Kobylińska | [64][65][66] | |
| Serbia |
19:00 CET | RTS 3, Radio Belgrade 2, Radio Belgrade 3 | Tijana Lukić | [67] | |
| Sweden |
19:00 CET | SVT 2 | Henrik von Sydow | [68] | |
| Czechia |
20:15 CET | ČT art | Jiří Vejvoda and Petra Křížková | [69][70] | |
| Latvia |
21:10 CET[a] | LTV1, Latvijas Radio 3 | Eva Johansone | [71][72] | |
| Belgium |
21:50 CET | La Trois | Caroline Veyt and Pierre Solot | [63] | |
| Switzerland |
22:10 CET | SRF 1 | Beatrice Kern | [73][74][75][76] | |
| 7 June | 16:00 CET | Radio SRF 2 Kultur | Patricia Moreno | ||
| 21:00 CET | RTS 2 | Unknown | |||
| Germany |
14 June | 07:15 CET[b] | WDR Fernsehen | Daniel Finkernagel | [22][77] |