171 songs submitted to Eesti Laul 2026
Over 170 entries have been submitted to Eesti Laul 2026, Estonia's annual competition to pick who will represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Eesti Laul was closed to submissions from noon Monday, with 171 songs coming in by that time.
ERR's head of entertainment programming Karmel Killandi noted that the selection included both highly experienced artists and lesser-known newcomers.
Unlike in previous years, the competition will not have heats: A jury will pick 12 songs which will go through to the grand final in February.
"The lineup of artists and composers who submitted songs is impressive, and considering there are only 12 places in the final, the competition will be exceptionally tight," Eesti Laul producer Riin Vann noted.
Killandi added that while this year's entrants have a hard act to follow – i.e., Tommy Cash's third placing song "Espresso Macchiato" at the Eurovision grand final in Switzerland back in May – this has not put people off.
Also noteworthy is that more submissions – 94 – are in foreign languages than in Estonian (77 songs).
People from 20 countries are seeking entry, including as songwriters and in other capacities, and from as far afield as Brazil and Australia, as well as various European countries.
Despite the preliminary selection becoming increasingly international, domestic authors and artists will still predominate, Vann noted. "Our communication with musicians shows how important a platform Eesti Laul is. The coming season promises to be full of excitement and surprises," she said.
The jury will be made up of 34 people, including singers, composers, radio and TV personnel, and representatives of music organizations. The jury will assess the songs anonymously, without knowing who the performers or songwriters are, before coming up with the shortlist of 12 entries for the Eesti Laul 2026 final.
We will not have to wait too long for that shortlist of artists, as it is set to be announced by early November at the latest, and the songs themselves will be publicly available by early December.
The Eesti Laul 2026 final takes place Saturday, February 14, at the Unibet Arena in Tallinn.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kaspar Viilup
