How the Eurovision national-final season works
Submissions in September, artist lists in the winter, shows on February Saturdays. The 2027 field is built between now and March.
The short answer
The Eurovision national-final season runs from autumn submission windows through artist announcements in November and December to televised finals concentrated on the Saturdays of February, with the last selections for 2027 falling in early March.
Bulgaria hosts the 71st contest in Burgas on 11, 13 and 15 May 2027. Every song sung there is chosen in the eight months before, by a machine that runs on its own calendar and is already moving: the first application windows close in September.
Two ways to pick a song
A broadcaster either stages a national final — a televised competition in which viewers, juries or both choose the entry — or makes an internal selection, picking the artist and song behind closed doors and announcing the result.
The difference matters to anyone following the season. A national final has a published date, an application deadline and a list of competitors. An internal selection is a press release on a day the broadcaster chooses, with nothing to watch before it.
The calendar, in four steps
1. Submissions. Writers and artists send songs in. This is the part happening now: Melodifestivalen's window in Sweden runs from 21 August to 11 September, Luxembourg's artist applications close on 20 September, Germany's on 21 September, Albania's Festivali i Këngës takes songs from 22 to 27 September, and Latvia's Supernova closes on 1 October. Denmark's DMGP follows on 25 October.
2. Artist lists. Broadcasters announce who made the cut, typically in November and December. Luxembourg's song deadline is 29 October; San Marino holds castings in October and November.
3. Shows. The finals themselves. These are the 2027 dates reported so far; we carry every one of them as reported rather than announced, because no broadcaster's own page is cited for any of them yet:
| National final | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Luxembourg Song Contest | 30 January 2027 | Rockhal |
| Supernova (Latvia) | 6 February 2027 | Xiaomi Arena, one night with a super-final |
| Dansk Melodi Grand Prix (Denmark) | 13 February 2027 | Sydbank Arena, Kolding |
| Sanremo (Italy) | 16 to 20 February 2027 | Teatro Ariston |
| UMK (Finland) | 20 February 2027 | Nokia Arena, Tampere |
| Das Deutsche Finale (Germany) | a Saturday in February 2027 | not announced |
| San Marino Song Contest | semi-finals 3 and 4 March, final 6 March 2027 | Teatro Nuovo Dogana |
A note on Sanremo: a "Eurovision night" on 19 February has been reported, but RAI has not confirmed it, so it is not in the table.
Most of the season has no 2027 date yet. Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Albania, Greece, Romania, Malta, Croatia and Lithuania have either opened submissions without naming a show date, or said nothing at all. Spain's Benidorm Fest has a provisional schedule ending on 30 January, with Spain's participation itself unconfirmed. Serbia, Ukraine, Portugal, Iceland and Montenegro have not confirmed they are taking part, so their selections have nothing to announce. Belgium has announced no plans for Eurosong.
4. Song releases. Internally selected entries arrive on their own timetable, one press release at a time.
Why February is crowded
Look at the table again. Two finals on 20 February. Sanremo running five nights in the same week. Germany on one of the four Saturdays. Add the finals that have no date yet but were in February last year — Estonia's is in February 2027 at Unibet Arena in Tallinn, date unannounced; Croatia's Dora was on 15 February in 2026; Norway's final on 28 February — and the month becomes a queue of Saturdays with two or three results each.
That is why "every song is known" is a March sentence, not a February one. San Marino's final is on 6 March; Sweden's and Portugal's 2026 finals were both on 7 March. Until the first week of March, the field is a list with gaps in it.
What this means for the tracker
A national final date says nothing about whether a country is competing: Spain has a provisional Benidorm Fest schedule and no confirmed participation. The tracker records confirmation, which comes from the broadcaster, separately from the selection, which is how it chooses. The calendar holds every date above with a label for how sure we are about it, and the guide covers what happens once the songs reach Burgas.
Bulgaria's own choice is the open question closest to home. BNT chose its 2026 entry through a national final, Natsionalna Selektsiya 2026; it has not published how the 2027 entry will be selected. See the Bulgaria page.
What is not settled for 2027
The dates and venues of most national finals: the table above holds the finals with a reported 2027 date, and not one of them is carried here as announced. Germany has a month but not a day, and Estonia a month and a venue but not a day. RAI has not confirmed which Sanremo night relates to Eurovision. BNT has not said how Bulgaria will select. Several countries have not confirmed participation at all. We will add each date to the calendar as the broadcaster announces it, and not before.
FAQ
When does the Eurovision national-final season start?
With the submission windows in late summer and autumn. For 2027, Melodifestivalen takes songs from 21 August to 11 September 2026, Germany closes applications on 21 September and Latvia's Supernova on 1 October. The earliest 2027 final reported so far is Luxembourg's, on 30 January 2027 (ESCXTRA, 23 June 2026; RTL's own page is not cited).
Which national finals already have a 2027 date?
Luxembourg (30 January), Latvia's Supernova (6 February), Denmark's DMGP (13 February), Sanremo (16 to 20 February), Finland's UMK (20 February) and San Marino (final 6 March). Germany has named February but not the Saturday.
How does Bulgaria pick its Eurovision entry?
BNT has not published how the 2027 entry will be chosen. The 2026 entry, Bangaranga by Dara, came through a national final, Natsionalna Selektsiya 2026.
