🇱🇹 Lithuania: Eurovizija.lt Submissions Open & Format Changes Announced

LRT has opened the song submissions window for Eurovizija.lt as the broadcaster announces changes to the format of the national selection show.

Lithuania’s search for the Eurovision 2026 is underway, as LRT opens the song submission window for their national selection. Songs are being accepted from today until November 11. The rules of the contest include:

• Participants must be citizens of Lithuania or have permanent residence in Lithuania
• All performers must be over 16 years of age
• A maximum of six people may appear on stage as part of your performance
• Applicants may submit multiple songs

Once the song submission window closes, the selection commission has until November 25 to select at least 30 songs to participate in the selection. The final versions of these selected songs must be submitted to LRT by December 23. Participants can withdraw from Eurovizija.lt without financial penalty until December 10.

Filming for Eurovizija.lt is planned to commence on January 14, with between five and six semi-finals planned to take place, depending on the number of artists selected to compete in the selection. As ever, each act will be given €1,500 by LRT to produce their song and stage their performance.

The winner of Eurovizija.lt will be selected on February 27 at the Twinsbet Arena in Vilnius. This marks the first time that an arena in Vilnius has hosted the Lithuanian national final.

Changes to the format

A number of changes have been announced to the format of Eurovizija.lt. A wildcard round has been introduced for all of the acts that placed third in their semi-final. The public will be able to vote online once for the act they want to see in the final. The act that receives the highest number of votes will compete in the final.

In the final, the superfinal has now been scrapped. Instead, there will be just one round of voting, with the jury and public voting to determine the Lithuanian representative for Eurovision 2026.

Online voting will also be utilised for the first time during the televised shows, with telephone voting now removed. The Lithuanian selection has struggled in recent years during the final with the SMS voting failing.

Image source: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU | Source: LRT

Lithuania debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994, but they finished in last place on their debut, failing to score a single point. Lithuania didn’t return to the contest until 1999 when Aiste finished 20th with the song “Strazdas”. Lithuania’s best result came in 2006 when LT United performed “We Are The Winners”. They finished 6th in the final with a total of 162 points. Lithuania has only finished in the top 10 on two other occasions; in 2016 with “I’ve Been Waiting For This Night” by Donny Montell and in 2021 with “Discoteque” by The Roop.

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