Canada will join the Eurovision Song Contest starting in 2027 | Eurovision

Organizers announced that Canada will join the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027, becoming the first new entrant since Australia in 2015.

Participation is not limited to geographical countries in Europe, but is open to all members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which Canada joined last week. Australia Affiliate Member.

The European Broadcasting Union and Canadian public broadcaster CBC announced Wednesday that Canada will send an act to the 2027 competition, which will be held in Bulgaria in May. The announcement came on Canada Day, a national holiday.

CBC President Marie-Philippe Bouchard said participation “will allow Canadian talent to be showcased on one of the world’s most iconic musical stages.”

The CBC said it will announce details about how Canada’s participation will be selected later this year. Some Eurovision countries choose their competitors through nationally televised selections. In other countries, competitors are selected by the national broadcaster.

Eurovision director Martin Green said Canada’s entry was “another sign that the competition, despite its birth in Europe, continues to welcome the world.”

Canadians have entered the Eurovision contest before under different flags, the most famous of which is Celine Dion, who won the contest in 1988 as a competitor for Switzerland.

Thirty-five countries participated in the 70th session of the Eurovision Contest, which was held last May, and the Bulgarian singer Dara won, so next year’s contest will be held in her country.

The Eurovision contest has faced protests in recent years over the participation of Israel, a competitor since 1973. Five long-time participating countries – Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia – boycotted this year after organizers refused to exclude Israel over its behavior in the war against Hamas in Gaza and violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The 2026 Eurovision final was watched by 130 million viewers worldwide, down from 160 million in 2025, organizers said.

Despite the hit to Eurovision’s finances and viewership from the boycott, the contest is ready to expand, with a spin-off Eurovision Song Contest in Asia scheduled to be held in Bangkok in November.