Who will be the winner of Eurovision 2026? A duo from Finland is favorite this year among 35 participants to win the world’s largest tele-hook, the final of which takes place this Saturday in Vienna, Austria. Punters place the Nordic country far ahead of its competitors, Greece, Denmark, France and Australia. Israel and Romania have also made an increase in the forecasts.
The Finnish duo between violinist Linda Lampenius, 56, and pop singer Pete Parkkonen, 36, hits the mark with the public with a title, Flamethrower(“Flamethrower” in French), performed in Finnish with a passionate staging. While the dark brunette laments his unrequited love, the blonde musician in a sparkling dress responds by making the strings of her instrument vibrate with passion, behind an impenetrable curtain of fire. The proposal, danceable and “of very high musical quality” according to Anna Muurinen, Finnish Eurovision expert, offers “three minutes of pure dramaturgy” giving hope to Finland, which has only won the competition once in 2006, of reaching a large audience without sacrificing English.
Greece with a techno song
The song Broughtor “Bring it back!”, by Akylas Mytilineos, evokes in a dynamic and biting sound, enriched with a Greek identity, the thirst for fame and fortune of a son wanting to cover his mother with everything they missed in his childhood. With his signature sunglasses and beanie, the 27-year-old singer defines himself as a queer artist, emphasizing the need for expression and acceptance through his music. He began his career on cruise ships before his style caught the eyes and ears of Internet users on social networks and he participated in 2022 in the Greek version of “The Voice”. Greece has won Eurovision once in 2005.
Denmark with electro
Søren Torpegaard Lund, a 27-year-old musical comedy artist, offers with Before we go home“Before returning”, a pop track tinged with electro, which plunges the spectators into the humidity of a late evening in a nightclub. He sings in Danish and “for once, we send a good song”, says Lisanne Wilken, competition specialist and lecturer at Aarhus University, Copenhagen also benefiting according to her from an unexpected geopolitical boost. “The situation with Greenland and Trump has really shone the spotlight on Denmark in an unprecedented way,” even though the kingdom is very rarely a favorite in the competition, which it has still won three times, the last time in 2013.
Australia with a diva
The ballad Eclipsewhich evokes a loving alignment of the planets, is performed by a sure thing, Delta Goodrem, 41 years old and more than nine million albums sold to his credit. She combines the intimacy of the piano with impressive vocal crescendos, which this coach in “The Voice Australia”, also a songwriter, musician and actress, masters to perfection. The notoriety on the world stage of the artist born in Sydney and having signed her first contract at the age of 15 gives hope to Australia, where the competition is very followed, of her very first victory.
And France with young Monroe
She is the youngest candidate to represent France at Eurovision: Monroe, a 17-year-old Franco-American opera singer, will perform Look at!. This title about love, France’s favorite theme at Eurovision, mixes pop, opera tunes and references to musicals.
The general public discovered this singer with long braids in “Prodiges”, a TV show broadcast on France 2 and dedicated to young classical virtuosos. His first album was released in November. Born in the United States, Monroe was lulled by her dual culture and among her inspirations are the diva Cecilia Bartoli, but also Whitney Houston, Johnny Hallyday and Céline Dion. “It makes me want to work on my voice to be able to present something good, to wear the colors of France and our beautiful culture,” the artist declared to AFP shortly after his selection. France has won five times, the last time in 1977.
Eurovision 2026 will be broadcast this Saturday evening on France 2 from 9 p.m.
