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The Committee of the Regions has put forth several suggestions.

Future decision for German ESC pre-selection lies with ARD, as a single grand selection event will take place in 2026, replacing multiple shows.

, and ASMedia

2025 September 20 . 7:56 AM

2 min read

Proposals have already been put forth by the Committee of the Regions.

The Committee of the Regions has put forth several suggestions.

The German Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) preliminary round for 2026 is set to undergo some significant changes. The Southwest Broadcasting Corporation (SWR) will take over the organisation of the event for the first time, marking a shift from the North German Broadcasting Corporation that has been responsible in recent years.

In a notable development, the preliminary round will be a single large show broadcast on ARD's main channel, Das Erste, and not a casting show like the one organised by Stefan Raab in 2025. Raab, who returned to the camera in September 2024, will not be involved in the organisation of the 2026 event.

The sibling duo Abor & Tynna emerged victorious from the preliminary round led by Raab in 2025. Raab, who is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the German ESC, is also credited for choosing the singer Lena Meyer-Landrut for the German ESC in 2010, which resulted in Germany's first ESC victory since 1982.

Germany's last Eurovision Song Contest victory was in 1982, a year before Stefan Raab participated in the contest himself, achieving fifth place with the song 'Wadde hatte dudde da?'. Raab also composed the song 'Guildo hat euch lieb' for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998, which Guildo Horn performed and finished in seventh place.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take place in Vienna, and the partners for the preliminary round have not yet been determined. The preliminary round will be broadcast at the end of February on the first channel, and the German preliminary round will be organised by ARD, specifically the Südwestrundfunk (SWR), without involvement from Stefan Raab or RTL.

The German preliminary round for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026 will not follow the format with multiple rounds that has been chosen in recent years. Instead, there will be one preliminary round on the first channel next year.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 promises to be an exciting event, and with the changes in the organisation of the German preliminary round, it is sure to attract a lot of attention. Stay tuned for more updates on the German ESC preliminary round and the contest itself.