LRT, the Lithuanian national broadcaster, has revealed the participants in Heat 1 of Eurovizija.LT 2026.
The performances in the first heat of Eurovizija.LT 2026 were filmed today in LRT Studios in Vilnius. A total of eight participants will compete in the first heat, which will be broadcast on January 24.
The Heat 1 participants are:
- Siga – “Noriu jo” (I want him)
- Valdas Lacko – “Pabandom” (Let’s try)
- Elizabeth Olshey – “Between”
- Noy – “Stand up”
- Rug!le – “Ikona Žemaitė” (Samogitian Icon)
- Aistė Pilvelytė – “Tarp žvaigždžių tylos” (Among the silence of the stars)
- Thomas G – “One night lover”
- The Ditties – “Mambo”
A five member jury will decide 50% of the results in this heat. The other 50% will come from public voting.
Eurovizija.LT 2026 will begin on January 24 and will consist of five heats and a final. 8 artists will compete in each heat, with 2 qualifying for the final. All of the shows will be hosted by Gabrielė Martirosian, Eglė Kernagytė, and Rimvydas Černiauskas. The winner of Eurovizija.lt 2026 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.
Several changes to the format were announced earlier in August. A wildcard round has been introduced for all acts that place third in their semi-final. The public will be able to vote online once for the act they want to see in the final, and the act with the highest number of votes will secure a spot in the final.
Additionally, the superfinal has been scrapped. Instead, Lithuania’s Eurovision 2026 representative will be chosen in a single round, combining jury and public votes. For the first time, online voting will be used during all live shows, while telephone voting has been removed.
Katarsis represented Lithuania at Eurovision 2025 with “Tavo akys”. They finished 16th in the final with 96 points, which included 12 points from the Ukrainian public vote.
Image Source: E. Blažio / LRT | Source: LRT
Lithuania debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. However, their debut appearance saw Lithuania finish in last place with nul points. 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.
