Tallinn, Estonia – Vanilla Ninja will represent Estonia at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, after winning the national selection competition, Eesti Laul, on Saturday, February 14, 2026. The group secured victory with their song, “Too Epic To Be True.”
The competition, held at the Unibet Arena in Tallinn, involved a two-round voting process. Initially, twelve acts performed, with a combination of jury and public votes determining the top three finalists. These three acts then competed in a “Superfinal,” where the ultimate winner was decided solely by public vote. Vanilla Ninja emerged victorious, surpassing NOËP with “Days Like This” and OLLIE with “Slave.”
Vanilla Ninja, formed in Tallinn in 2002, consists of Lenna Kuurmaa, Piret Järvis-Milder, and Kerli Kivilaan. The group achieved significant commercial success in Estonia and across Europe, including Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, releasing five studio albums, with their most recent being “Encore” in 2021.
This is not Vanilla Ninja’s first foray into the Eurovision arena. In 2005, the group represented Switzerland with the song “Cool Vibes,” achieving an eighth-place finish in the Grand Final. Estonia itself has a history with the contest, winning in 2001 with Tanel Padar and Dave Benton’s “Everybody” and hosting the event in Tallinn the following year.
Estonia’s recent Eurovision performance saw Tommy Cash achieve a top-three finish with “Espresso Macchiato” at the 2025 contest in Basel, Switzerland, contributing to a four-year streak of qualification for the country. The 2026 contest will be held in Vienna, Austria, with Estonia scheduled to perform in the first semi-final on Tuesday, May 12.
The Eesti Laul 2026 jury panel included Linnea Deb (Sweden), Paul Jordan (United Kingdom), Rosa Linn (Armenia), Andrea Stople (United States), Kevin Hughes (United Kingdom), Maria Faust (Estonia), and Renato Milone (Italy). The indicate was hosted by Karl-Erik Taukar and Korea, who previously represented Estonia in 2024 as part of 5Miinust x Puuluup.
