Canada will compete in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest in Bulgaria, CBC/Radio-Canada and the European Broadcasting Union announced Wednesday.
The move comes on the heels of the European Broadcasting Union, organizer of Eurovision, earlier announcing Canada’s full membership following a vote held at its 96th General Assembly in Prague. CBC/Radio-Canada, the country’s public broadcaster, has been an affiliate member of the EBU since 1950, and as a full member, has entered Eurovision and other EBU initiatives.
Canadian artists have performed on other member states’ Eurovision stages before, including superstar Celine Dion in 1988, who won the singing competition while competing for Switzerland in Dublin.
“Our participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, which begins next year in Bulgaria, will allow Canadian talent to be showcased on one of the world’s most iconic music stages. It will also allow audiences in Canada to continue watching and voting in the song contest, as they have done for years — with the added thrill of seeing their country represented on the Eurovision stage,” Marie-Philippe Bouchard, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, said in a statement Wednesday.
Canada’s participation will also come amid political controversy. The 2026 Eurovision contest, which Bulgaria eventually won, was rocked by a boycott of Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, Iceland and the Netherlands in protest over allowing Israeli singer Noam Bitan to participate in the annual singing competition amid his country’s conflict in Gaza.
Besides losing broadcast license fees from boycotting countries, a group of sponsors also withdrew their major financial support due to Israel’s annexation. The EBU has also faced opposition from member states over the competition’s television rules.
Canada’s entry into the 71st Eurovision contest comes after Australia has competed since 2015. The 2026 singing competition in Vienna attracted a global audience of 132 million people across 35 television markets, with the grand final broadcast live on YouTube.
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