Main points
- The winner of the National Selection for Eurovision 2026 was LELÉKA, receiving the most points from the audience and the jury.
- Among the hosts of the show were Timur Miroshnychenko and Lesya Nikityuk, and music producer Jamala performed the song “1944”.
Text broadcast of the National Selection / Collage of Channel 24
The long-awaited final of the National Selection for Eurovision 2026 has begun. Today, February 6, Ukrainians chose who will represent the country in May in Austria.
The audience watched an incredible show, hosted by Timur Miroshnychenko and Lesya Nikityuk. We saw the performances of 10 finalists who fought for the title of winner. Read the text broadcast of the final with all the details on the 24 Channel website.
The winner of the National Selection for Eurovision 2025 is LELÉKA!
Winner of the National Selection / Eurovision Photo Ukraine
Ukrainian viewers made their choice. Jerry Heil received 8 points. LAUD received 9 points. LELÉKA received the most points from the viewers.
Overall voting results / Screenshot from video
The results show has begun . The hosts announce the judges' scores. The jury's favorite is LELÉKA . According to the experts, LAUD deserves second place. Jerry Heil is in the top 3. The band The Elliens received the lowest score.
Judges' voting results / Screenshot from the video
The music producer of this year's National Selection, Jamala , performed the song “1944” accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra. This composition won Eurovision 10 years ago.
Jamala – “1944”: watch the video online
Also on the stage of the National Selection, a special award from “Radio Promin” was presented – “Promin's Choice”. This is a special invitation for the artist to further broadcasts and cooperation. The award was received by LAUD .
Voting is over! Very soon we will find out who will represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2026.
ZLATA OGNEVICH and the band TVORCHI released a joint mashup of the tracks One day and Bonfire.
Svitlana Tarabarova's emotional performance with Ukraine's representatives at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest touched everyone. Anastasia Dymyd, Artem Kotenko, Sofia Nersesyan and Superhumans performed a special musical number.
Special issue on the National Selection: watch the video online
While the voting is ongoing, a guest from Europe appeared on the National Selection stage for the first time – Satoshi . He is the representative of Moldova at Eurovision-2026. The artist performed the energetic and driving track “Viva, Moldova!”.
Voting lines are officially OPEN!
Time to decide on the favorites . Each participant has their own serial number. To vote for the one you want to see on the Eurovision stage in Vienna, send a code from 1 to 10 to 7576. Only one message per finalist will be counted from one phone number.
You can also vote in the Diya application. Every Ukrainian aged 14 and over can do this. To do this, go to the application, select the “Services” section, then “Polls”.
How to vote / Eurovision Photo Ukraine
The national selection is closed by the alternative folk group ” Pikefish “. Its members are folklorists and ethnologists who study Ukrainian culture. They performed the song ” My Land “, which immersed everyone in the folk song tradition.
“Pikefish” – “My Land”: watch the video online
Jerry Heil returned to the National Selection stage. Her song ” CATHARTICUS (prayer) ” combined Latin prayer motifs, Ukrainian folk vocals and modern pop. One of the main contenders for victory sings about catharsis – emotional liberation.
By the way, the singer stated that her number on the screen was inferior . In particular, they did not show specially designed devices that broke and sparked and created the effect of collapse.
If you missed KHAYAT , the artist returned to the National Selection for the fourth time at number 8. His new song ” Hertsy ” is a track about an important choice that has no obvious ending. It has rhythm, electronic sound, and folklore intonations. The interesting number also could not help but attract the attention of the audience.
KHAYAT – “Hertsy”: watch the video online
The seventh performer was Valeriy Myroshnychenko, aka Mr. Vel . He is an actor in the operetta theater, where he has performed over 20 roles. He is also a teacher at the lyceum. The singer performed the track Do Or Done with elements of opera singing.
At number 6, the Ukrainian “bird” LELÉKA took to the stage. The singer is originally from Shakhtarsk, but for the last 10 years she has been living in Germany, where she is studying.
The singer presented the song Ridnym , which tells about hope, inner strength and the path of renewal. LELÉKA is called one of the favorites and discoveries of this year's selection due to the folk motifs in the track, interesting production and vocal skills.
LELÉKA – Ridnym: watch the video online
At the equator of the National Selection, the jury members shared their first impressions. Each participant was singled out in their own way. For example, LAUD was praised for their vocals and number, and Monokate for their confidence. The judges' comments can be summed up with Ruslana's words: ” We don't need to try to be like “company guys”, we need to remain ourselves .”
LAUD (Vladislav Karashchuk) is the fifth to perform on stage. His journey began with the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. This is LAUD's 7th attempt to win the National Selection. The singer returned after a long break, depression and searching for himself.
The track LIGHTKEEPER carries an original message. The singer seeks to prove that every Ukrainian is a keeper of light for Europe and the whole world. The artist's minimalist number made it possible to get the most pleasure from his vocals.
Fans of “heavy” music will definitely like the next finalists – the band The Elliens . Its vocalist is Olena Usenko, who represented Ukraine at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021.
Their rock song Crawling Whispers definitely stands out from the rest in both meaning and sound. The provocative imagery and driving number will definitely be remembered by the audience.
The Elliens – Crawling Whispers: watch the video online
The next to perform will be Monokate – Kateryna Pavlenko. She has already been to the National Selection and Eurovision. But this time the artist is declaring herself as a solo singer. Her composition ТЫТ contains elements of folk and electronics.
This is a song about finding balance, the strength to let go and move on.
At number 2, MOLODI , who returned for the second time to win the National Selection, perform. Their song, which combines drive, energy, and motivational mood, is called Legends . With their track, Kyrylo and Ivan call not to be afraid of ambition, to believe in yourself and to move forward.
The first to take the stage at the National Selection will be Valeriya Force , a Ukrainian-American singer. Her main message is to remain human even in the most difficult times. The song Open Our Hearts combines modern pop, powerful vocals, and recitative.
Interestingly, the song was arranged by an American producer who worked with Eminem.
Valeriya Force opened the National Selection with the track Open Our Hearts: video
The National Selection Committee honored all those who gave their lives for the Independence of Ukraine with a minute of silence. They also called for people to join a charity fundraiser for prosthetics for veterans.
Timur and Lesya announced the jury members: Eurovision 2004 winner Ruslana , singer Zlata Ognevich , composer Yevgen Filatov , HitFM director Vitaly Drozdov , and director and choreographer Konstantin Tomilchenko . This year, they were introduced as experts who will evaluate songs and numbers according to clear criteria.
Star-studded jury / Eurovision Ukraine Photo
The hosts of the National Selection this year were: permanent Eurovision commentator Timur Miroshnychenko and Lesya Nikityuk , who is accompanying her colleague on stage for the first time.
Then all the finalists took to the stage of the National Selection. Let us recall the order of their performances: Valeriya Force, MOLODI, Monokate, The Elliens, LAUD, LELÉKA, Mr. Vel, KHAYAT, Jerry Heil, “ШчукаРыба”.
Order of performance of the finalists / Eurovision Photo Ukraine
The concert will be opened by last year's representatives of Ukraine at Eurovision – the band Ziferblat with the song Bird of Pray . Recall that in 2025 in Basel, the group took 10th place in the final.
Ziferblat – Bird of Pray: watch the video
The National Selection Final is being broadcast live. The concert was recorded the day before. This decision, like last year, was made due to the threat of air raids. The results will be announced live.
The final of the National Selection for Eurovision 2026 has officially begun! In just a few hours, Ukraine will learn the name of its representative at the biggest song contest in Europe.
National Selection Evening / Eurovision Photo Ukraine
At 18:00, the pre-show , hosted by Anna Tuleva, started. The audience had the opportunity to learn about the journey of the teams and artists – from the first decisions to rehearsals, changes in their images and tracks, and their appearance on the big stage. The pre-show showed not only the process of preparing the finalists, but also why the National Selection is always so important for Ukraine.