Michał Stochel from Poland has been named the winner of Eurovision Young Musicians 2026 in Yerevan.
The 22nd edition of Eurovision Young Musicians took place this evening at the Yerevan Opera Theatre in Yerevan. This marked the first time that Eurovision Young Musicians has been hosted by Armenia, and the third time Yerevan has hosted a Eurovision competition. Hamlet Arakelyan and Hrachuhi Utmazyan presented the show.
Performers from 11 countries competed for the title, all accompanied by the Armenian National Philarmonic Orchestra, which was conducted by Eduard Topchjan. The contest also featured an interval act called “A Second, That’s 40 Minutes”, which combines symphonic music, ballet dancing, acrobatics and visual effects through emblematic works by Aram Khachaturian such as Spartacus, Gayane and Masquerade Suite. Khachaturian was a Soviet and Armenian composer who was born on this day in 1903.
A jury of international music experts determined the top three and overall winner of the competition. Each juror awarded a mark from 1 to 10 which is based upon specific criteria; technical level, quality of sound, musicianship and interpretation, as well as communication.
The jurors for Eurovision Young Musicians 2026 are:
- Julien Salemkour – Conductor
- Eduard Belmar – Flautist
- Roman Simović – Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra
- Narek Hakhnazaryan – Cellist
The running order and results of Eurovision Young Musicians 2026 were as follows:
- 🇩🇪 Germany: Moë Dierstein – Violin – Violin Concerto in E minor, 3rd movement by Felix Mendelhssohn
- 🇨🇾 Cyprus: Iakovos Kedaritis – Clarinet – Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73, 3rd movement by Carl Maria von Weber
- 🇧🇪 Belgium: Simon Nakhimovitch – Simon Nakhimovitch – Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso by Camille Saint-Saëns
- 🇷🇸 Serbia: Jana Jakovljević – Violin – Zigeunerweisen by Pablo de Sarasate
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland: Manoush Toth – Piano – Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7, 3rd movement by Clara Schumann
- 🇦🇲 Armenia: Elen Virabyan – Flute – Violin Concerto transposed for flute by Aram Khachaturian – 3rd
- 🇵🇱 Poland: Michał Stochel – Accordion – Concerto Classico, 3rd movement by Mikołaj Majkusiak – 1st
- 🇵🇹 Portugal: Beatriz Li Rosão – Violin – Violin Concerto in D major, 3rd movement by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
- 🇱🇻 Latvia: Sonja Misiņa – Percussion – Concerto for Marimba and Strings, Op. 12, 2nd movement by Emmanuel Séjourné – 2nd
- 🇨🇿 Czechia: Nora Lubbadová – Piano – Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, 3rd movement by Dmitri Shostakovich
- 🇸🇪 Sweden: Edward Ahlbeck Glader – Piano – Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16, 4th movement by Sergei Prokofiev
Ahead of the final of Eurovision Young Musicians 2026, Eurovoix had the opportunity to speak to some of this year’s contestants. You can watch the interviews below:
Michał Stochel gave Poland their fourth Eurovision Young Musicians win, having previously won in 1992, 2000 and 2016. He is also the first accordionist to win the contest. As the winner Eurovision Young Musicians 2026, Stochel received a prize that includes a trophy and an invitation to perform with the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2026–2027 concert season.
Eurovision Young Musicians
Eurovision Young Musicians is a contest for musicians between the ages of 12 and 21. It has been held since 1982, as the first spin-off contest of the Eurovision Song Contest. The event celebrated its 20th edition in 2022, when Montpellier hosted the competition.
A total of 43 countries have competed in 22 editions of the contest. Norway has competed in 20 out of the 21 contests, tied with Austria. Austria is the most successful country, having won six editions and competed in 17 finals. Leonhard Baumgartner from Austria is the latest winner of the contest, taking victory in Bodø in 2024.
