Contest 26

Contest 26 was the twenty-sixth edition of Contest, hosted in Maracaibo, Venezuela after Valeras' win with their song "Rita" in Gaza.

Two countries made their first appearance this edition, being DR Congo and Turkmenistan. The other nine spots were filled by South Africa and host country Venezuela who stayed in the contest after last edition, Northern Ireland who last appeared in edition 24, Canada who last appeared in edition 22, United States who last appeared in edition 21, Norway who last appeared in edition 19, Mexico who last appeared in edition 17, Taiwan who last appeared in edition 12, Lithuania last appeared in edition 7 and Laos who last appeared in edition 4.

In the end, Taiwan won Contest 26 with 58 points with Mandark's song "Mess'age", which features Everydaze, two points ahead of runner-up Canada. The podium was completed by Mexico, while Northern Ireland placed last.

Contest
Like usual, 11 countries participated in Contest 25.

10 points
Below is a summary of the maximum 10 points awarded by each country's jury in the Final: