The 70th Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is gaining momentum: Moldova and Malta have named their representatives for this year’s musical event, which will take place in Vienna from May 12 to 16, 2026. Moldova will be represented by Satoshi with the song Viva, Moldova!, and Malta will be represented by Aidan with the composition Bella.

Participants from Moldova

Moldova’s national selection ended on January 17 at the Chișinău Arena; in the final, 16 performers competed. The results were determined by an international jury (five members), a Moldovan jury (fifteen representatives), and the public voting portion – each of the three components had one third of the influence on the final result. The victory went to Satoshi with the song Viva, Moldova!. Joining him on stage as a guest vocalist was singer Aliona Moon, who previously represented Moldova at Eurovision 2013 with the song ‘O Mie’.

Satoshi is the stage name of Vlad Sabadzhuk; he is a singer, songwriter, and rapper. Since his debut under the name Satoshi, he has been performing since 2019 and has released three albums during that time. Moldova, throughout its Eurovision history, has had 19 appearances in the contest since 2005. The country’s best result is third place thanks to the group SunStroke Project with the song ‘Hey, Mamma!’ in 2017. In 2025 Moldova did not participate due to economic, administrative and creative challenges, and for this year’s contest a Ukrainian artist Jamala joined the jury.

Participants from Malta

Malta selected its representative on January 17. In the national final, 12 songs competed; the scoring was aligned with the results of the jury voting and the public vote, with each part having equal influence on the result. The victory went to Aidan with the song Bella. The composition placed first in the jury results and second in the viewer vote, with a total score of 283.

Aidan is one of the most successful Maltese artists in recent years. In 2023 he released his debut album This Is AIidan, and in 2025 – an EP Wild, Wild, Wild consisting of seven tracks. In 2022 the performer placed second in Malta’s national selection with the song Ritmu, which for a long time topped the Maltese radio chart.

Malta has participated in Eurovision since 1971; after a pause in 1975 it returned in 1991 and has finished in the top ten eight times. In 2002 and 2005 the country placed second, but in 2006 finished last. In 2025 Malta was represented by Miriana Conte with the song Serving; due to the ban on the word kant in the contest song, it was removed from the lyrics.

What is known about Eurovision 2026

The seventieth anniversary edition of Eurovision 2026 will take place in Vienna from May 12 to 16. Thirty-five countries have confirmed their participation, among them the returns of Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova, making the event one of the smallest in terms of participating countries in the last two decades.

Before the competition began, there were discussions about Israel’s participation: Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland spoke out against participation of certain countries. Austria and the ORF leadership supported Israel’s participation, while some countries weighed their participation decisions. The first country to officially name its representative was Cyprus – Antigoni Buxton (Antigoni). Albania will be represented by Alis with the song Nân, from Montenegro – Tamara Živković with the song Nova Zora. It is also known that Georgia will be represented by the band Bzikebi.

More information about the participants and developments of Eurovision 2026 will be in the corresponding competition materials.