As rehearsals continue in Vienna, James Stephenson sits down with Leléka, Ukraine’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.

While many host cities use Eurovision to reinvent themselves, Vienna is simply opening up its world-class tourist destination package to the world to host one of the biggest Song Contests in history. But what does Vienna want visitors to take away from their time in Austria this year?

On this episode, James prepares to head to Vienna for Eurovision 2026 by explaining all the ways The Model could be wrong, as he takes a deep dive into all the elements that are difficult to predict at the Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is just around the corner, but how sure are we of what’s going to happen? James Stephenson has been using The Model to work it out – and here’s what he thinks could make its calculations come undone.

On this episode, James speaks to vocal coach Zoe Stibi to talk about vocal technique, vocal rest, and why the Eurovision Song Contest separates experienced singers from young ones – and what that could mean for the results in Vienna.

Artists around Europe are heading for one city this weekend – Vienna. In the final update from The Model before rehearsals begin, James Stephenson analyses the updated forecast to see who’s in the best shape ahead of the big shows.