Since winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018 with ‘Toy’, Israeli singer Netta Barzilai has made it a tradition to predict the location of the next European competition. However, she has consistently guessed incorrectly, and this year was no different.
The singer’s forecasts have become a Eurovision tradition, and on Tuesday, despite being “late,” Netta Barzilai shared a video predicting that the Eurovision would take place in Innsbruck.
“Ok, folks, I know I’m a bit late, but tradition is tradition. I predict that the next host city for the Eurovision Song Contest will be Innsbruck,” she stated in the video, which featured live suspense music.
Following the publication, and given her history of incorrect predictions, several internet users congratulated Vienna, which was favored to host the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The location was confirmed early Wednesday morning as Vienna.
Interestingly, the tradition started in Lisbon in 2018 when, after winning the 63rd Eurovision Song Contest for Israel with ‘Toy’, Netta declared “Next time in Jerusalem.” However, the event took place in Tel Aviv.
The following year, while presenting the award to Duncan Laurence, who won the 2019 edition for the Netherlands with ‘Arcade’, Netta said, “We’re going to Amsterdam.” But the chosen Dutch city was Rotterdam.
After the Italian band Maneskin won with ‘Zitti e Buoni’ in 2021, Netta believed Eurovision 2022 would be held in Rome, but it was in Turin. The following year, in 2023, when the United Kingdom hosted the event, she named Manchester, but the winning city was Liverpool.
In 2024, following Loreen’s victory with ‘Tattoo’ for Sweden the previous year, the Israeli singer predicted that Eurovision would take place in Stockholm. Again, she was wrong, as Malmo hosted the event.
Finally, in 2025, she declared Eurovision would be in Geneva, Switzerland, following Nemo’s win with ‘The Code’. However, the last city to host the festival was Basel.
You can watch Netta’s (incorrect) predictions in the video below:
@l._.e..o._.n For the 7th time, Netta does not guess the city of the Eurovision Song Contest #Austria #Vienna #eurovision2026 #eurovision #ESC26 #predictions #Innsbruck #nettapredicts #netta #esc2026 #eurovisionsongcontest Toy (Music Video Version) – Netta
It should be noted that Vienna was chosen to host the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held in May in Austria. Innsbruck was not selected, as announced on Wednesday by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
The event is scheduled to take place between May 12 and 16, featuring two semifinals (May 12 and 14) and the Grand Final (May 16) at the Wiener Stadthalle, the largest indoor arena in the country.
The 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest will occur between May 12 and 16 in Vienna, Austria, after JJ’s victory with ‘Wasted Love’.
Márcia Guímaro Rodrigues | 07:31 – 20/08/2025
“Congratulations to Vienna! The capital of Austria will host Eurovision for the third time in 2026, holding the 70th contest on May 12, 14, and 16,” read a statement released on social media.
According to the EBU, the “capital of Austria was selected to host the delegations from participating public broadcasters after a competitive city bidding process, evaluating the venue’s facilities, local infrastructure, and the capacity to accommodate thousands of visiting delegations, teams, fans, and journalists from around the world, among other criteria.”
Austria earned the ‘right’ to host the Eurovision Song Contest after JJ’s victory with ‘Wasted Love’ in this year’s edition on May 17 in Basel, Switzerland. The song amassed a total of 436 points from jury and public votes combined.
