🇦🇹 Road To Malmö: Austria

photo: ORF

We can not wait for the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö. Therefore, we have a closer look at one of the contestants every day. Today: Austria.

Kaleen

Kaleen, whose real name is Marie-Sophie Kreissl, was born in 1994 in Austria. She loves dancing, choreographing dances, and singing. Even when she was very young, she enjoyed watching music shows and dancing in her living room. She started learning ballet when she was a little girl and soon learned many other types of dance like jazz, tap, and even Latin dances.

Kaleen was really good at dancing from the start. She won her first big dance competition when she was just seven years old. Over the years, she won more than 100 competitions in Austria and Europe, and she even won five world championships. That’s a lot of wins!

In 2018, Kaleen started working with the Eurovision Song Contest. She first joined as a stand-in lead artist and choreographer, helping to create dances for the show. Kaleen is also very talented in music. In 2021, she released her very first song that she made all by herself, and in 2023, she put out her first album called “Stripping Feelings.”

Kaleen didn’t stop there. By 2021, she became the creative director for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for Spain and Bulgaria. She was in charge of the stage for the 2022 contest in Spain and helped Austria, Armenia, Germany, and Georgia with their performances for the contest in Liverpool in 2023.

On January 16, 2024, it was announced that Kaleen will be the one to represent Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest. She has come a long way from dancing in her living room to performing on one of the biggest music stages in the world!

How Austria selects a song

ÖRF (Österreichischer Rundfunk) does not have a tradition of national finals. The majority of the Austrian entries have been selected internally. The first time the Austrian song was selected by a national final was in 1981, but still Marty Brem was the only contestant. A year later, the first national final, with 12 competitors, was a fact. The last time was in 2016.
One national final we cannot deny was the one of 1990; the contest was won by the duo Duett, singing “Das Beste”. Half way through the performance, Duett-singer Monika fainted and fell on the floor. Duett was allowed to sing the song again, and guess what: they won. However, the song already competed in a German semifinal 2 years before and was disqualified for that. In the end it was Simone who represented the country with “Keine Mauern mehr”.

Duett, with Monika who fainted during her performance.

Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest

It was Bob Martin who brought Austria to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957. After two failed attempts, Udo Jürgens won the trophy in 1966 with “Merci Cherie”. The country took several breaks, had some top-5 positions but finally won again in 2014, when Conchita Wurst presented her “Rise like a Phoenix”. Conchita brought Austria on the map again. Already 4 years later, César Sampson won the jury vote. His “Nobody but you” became 3rd overall.

Conchita Wurst; Albin Olsson, Wikimedia Commons

The Bookmakers

A new success for Austria is a serious option: Kaleen is currently 10th in the betting odds for Eurovision win. In the odds for making it through the final, she has an 8th place. Conclusion: as soon as she is in the final, she will make it there.

The song

This is the song:

 

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Weekly update

weekly update of this week It’s time for another weekly Eurovision update. This week brings news on national selections for 2026, Austria’s preparations to host, and a change in Eurovision leadership. 🇪🇸 🇨🇭 Spain and Switzerland gear up for 2026 Spain is already planning its Eurovision 2026 entry. Broadcaster RTVE has named Sergio Jaén as the Artistic Director of Benidorm Fest 2026. At just 23, Jaén has a strong Eurovision résumé – he even staged Austria’s winning performance in 2025. He will design the staging for Spain’s song at Eurovision 2026. Benidorm Fest’s semi-finals are set for 10 and 12 February, with the Grand Final on 14 February 2026. source: RTVE Melody 📷 Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU Switzerland has kicked off its search for a 2026 act. Swiss broadcaster SRF will accept song submissions from 4 August to 25 August 2025. Artists, composers, and producers can send in entries during that period. Switzerland will once again choose its Eurovision entry through a multi-stage process with audience and expert juries. The Swiss representative and song will be revealed in early 2026. source: SRF 🇦🇹 Austria announces Eurovision 2026 core team Host broadcaster ORF has unveiled the core production team for Eurovision 2026. Michael Krön, ORF’s chief producer, will serve as Executive Producer – the overall project leader. Stefan Zechner will be the TV Show Producer, a role he also held when Austria hosted in 2015. The team features several experienced members from Vienna’s 2015 Eurovision, ensuring continuity. With this core team in place, ORF is gearing up to deliver another world-class contest. source: ORF Core Team, 📷 ORF 🇦🇹 Host city race: Graz out, Vienna pushes forward Graz has pulled out of the host city race for Eurovision 2026. The Styrian capital decided not to bid due to budget shortfalls and a projected €29.35 million hosting cost. City officials couldn’t secure enough financial support from the regional or federal government. Vienna, meanwhile, is moving full steam ahead with its bid. The Vienna City Council officially ratified a resolution to back the plan, proposing the Wiener Stadthalle as the venue. Vienna boasts around 82,000 hotel beds and excellent transport links to welcome Eurovision guests. Other cities like Innsbruck remain in the running, and ORF will announce the 2026 host city on 8 August 2025. Martin Österdahl to step down as Eurovision supervisor The Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, Martin Österdahl, will be leaving his post in summer 2025. The European Broadcasting Union announced on 27 June 2025 that Österdahl is stepping down, marking the end of his five-year tenure. He has overseen Eurovision since 2020, guiding the contest through five editions and various changes. The EBU is expected to appoint a new Executive Supervisor before the 2026 season begins. That was it for this week, see you next week with another weekly update! Share

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