It was billed as an event full of “iconic superstars” organized to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest. However, the tour has now been postponed due to “unforeseen difficulties”.
The first Eurovision Song Contest Live Tour was announced in mid-January. An official event to be held in «ten cities, a unique live experience throughout Europe. The icons of seven decades of Eurovision on stage with their timeless hits. Ten Eurovision 2026 artists on live tour in the main European capitals.” There was also a date in Italy, 19 June 2026 at the Arena Milano, or the Arena Santa Giulia which is hosting some competitions of the Milan-Cortina Olympics and which will become a concert venue starting from 6 May, with Ligabue's show.
At the end of January, the first “iconic superstars” were announced: Alessandra (Norwegian, Eurovision 2023), Guy Sebastian (Australia, 2015), Helena Paparizou (Greece, 2005), Katrina (English's Katrina and The Waves, 1997), Lordi (Finland, 2006) and Verka Serduchka (Ukraine, 2007).
«As we celebrate 70 years of the Eurovision Song Contest, we wanted to do something unique and special, and the Eurovision Song Contest Live Tour is exactly that. This historic first tour captures the evolution of the Contest – from television icon to immersive live experience – with a format that celebrates our fantastic past while looking to the future,” said Martin Green, director of the ESC.
Green himself announced that the tour is postponed to a later date. “We regret to announce that we have made the difficult decision to postpone the Eurovision Song Contest Live Tour 2026,” he said in a statement on the BBC website. «We encountered unexpected difficulties. Despite the efforts of our team, producers and promoters, we were unable to resolve them. We thank the thousands of fans who purchased tickets and guarantee that they will be fully refunded as soon as possible.”
The tour, Green assures, is not cancelled, but only postponed until ESC is able to «guarantee the world-class experience that our fans expect. Our goal remains to deliver an incredible Eurovision Song Contest in May.”
The ESC final will take place on Saturday 16 May in Vienna, the semi-finals on 12 and 14 May. 35 countries are participating. Representing Israel will not be a female singer, as in the last two years, but Noam Bettan, winner of the talent show Hakohav Haba. Precisely because of Israel's presence, five countries have announced that they will not take part in the competition. These are Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain.
As is known, Italy and Rai will be there with the winner of Sanremo 2026. After Levante's position, which said that in the event of victory at the Festival next week he will not go to Vienna, other singers have been much more cautious. The latest statement in chronological order is from Patty Pravo who al Corriere della Sera he said that «at the Olympics I saw that Israel had its flag while the Russians didn't… it doesn't seem nice to me… If Israel can use it then so can the others. We live in a disastrous world, the important thing is to think positively. For Eurovision we'll think about it another time.” Always at CourierArisa said that «I am not blind or deaf, I feel the world we live in deeply, but for me it would be important to be there [ad Eurovision]bring a beautiful testimony and a message. I really believe in the messages of my music and the feelings with which I make it. I have been self-producing for several years, I have no contractual obligations. I do it because I want to do it, because I made a pact of sincerity with people many years ago and I don't retreat from there.”
«I don't think I will win, but if this luxurious problem happens to me I will face the Eurovision issue. I'm not thinking about it at the moment,” Fulminacci told us. For Malika Ayane «confusing an individual with a State is a mistake. Boycotting a demonstration due to the presence of an artist, based only on his nationality, is the opposite of what we would like as justice towards those who are oppressed. Continuing to foment hatred and confusing the individual with a nation seems wrong to me.”
