Canada to join Eurovision Song Contest

Canada joins the Eurovision Song Contest Keystone-SDA

Canada will take part in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, the organisers announced on Wednesday. The world’s biggest live televised music event is thus expanding to the Americas.

“The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and its newest member, CBC/Radio-Canada, Canada’s national public broadcaster, are pleased to announce that Canada will take part in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest in Bulgaria,” the EBU said in a statement issued in Geneva.

Canada is the first new country to join Eurovision since Australia in 2015. “This shows once again that, although it originated in Europe, the Contest continues to welcome the whole world,” said Eurovision Director Martin Green, quoted in the press release.

Bulgaria won Eurovision 2026 in Vienna in May with Dara’s song “Bangaranga”, which won over the audience at the 70th edition of the televised contest, watched by 131 million viewers. This figure is down by 35 million compared with the previous edition held in Basel, following a boycott by five countries due to Israel’s participation.

Remembering Céline Dion

It was announced last week that CBC/Radio-Canada had become a full member of the EBU, paving the way for its participation in Eurovision. Among the EBU’s non-European member countries are Israel and Australia.

“This will also allow Canadian fans to continue following and voting in the Song Contest, as they have done for years, with the added pleasure of seeing their own country represented on the Eurovision stage,” said the president of CBC/Radio-Canada, Marie-Philippe Bouchard.

Although their country has not participated, several Canadian artists have left their mark on the Contest. The most iconic is Céline Dion, who won the Contest for Switzerland in 1988 in Dublin with the song “Ne partez pas sans moi”.

Translated from German, sub-edited by jdp