Serbia: Lavina wins Pesma za Evroviziju 26 with "Kraj mene"

Serbia has joined the list countries who now have their Eurovision 2026 representative.

The final of Serbia's national selection process, Pesma za Evroviziju 26 (PZE 26) was held tonight and the 14 acts who advanced from the Semi-finals took the stage again tonight.

After all the acts performed again and the votes were counted, it was official: Lavina wins Pesma za Evroviziju 26 with "Kraj mene".

"Kraj mene" was written by Ivan Jegdić and Lavina.

Like the Semi-finals, tonight's show took place at RTS Košutnjak, Studio 8 in Belgrade and was hosted by Dragana Kosjerina and Kristina Radenković, with Stefan Popović in the Green Room.

Voting to determine the winner was split an even 50/50 between a jury and public vote.

We see two interval acts tonight. The first was a blend of multiple legendary Eurovision songs being covered alongside an artful choreography arrangement. Some of the songs played were "Waterloo", "Arcade", "Soldi", and "My Number One" to name a few.

Greek Eurovision 2026 representative Akylas was brought out to perform his entry 'Ferto' in a fun and upbeat performance.

Lavina will wave Serbia's flag during Semi-final 1 on 12 May and hopes to bring Serbia back to the Grand Final.

Lavina

Lavina is a Serbian metal band formed in 2020. The group currently consists of six members:

• Luka Aranđelović – vocals
• Pavle Aranđelović - keyboards
• Pavle Samardžić - guitar
• Andrija Cvetanović - guitar
• Nikola Petrović - bass
• Bojan Ilić - drums

Their debut album, 'Odyssey' was released in October 2022 and it would lead them to touring and playing multiple festivals all over Europe.

Lavina took part of The Song 18 representing Serbia with "this, too, will pass" and ultimately placed 12th.

They're music style is to be described as progressive/modern metal with splashes of melodic attributes mixed with heavier metal textures.

Pesma za Evroviziju 26

Pesma za Evroviziju 26 (PZE 26) was Serbia's national selection process to select their Eurovision 2026 representative, the 5th year they have opted for this process. PZE 26 consisted of three shows:

• Semi-final 1: 24 February 2026
• Semi-final 2: 26 February 2026

Both Semi-finals saw 12 acts perform, with seven advancing to the Final from each Semi-final.

• Final: 28 February 2026

The Final had 14 acts perform in hopes of receiving enough votes to take the PZE 26 crown. Voting to select the winner was an even 50/50 split between jury and public votes. The winner will represent Serbia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 this May in Vienna.

Serbia in Eurovision

Serbia has been a part of Eurovision since 2007, except in 2014 when they chose not to participate.

Their best result came in their debut year, when Marija Šerifović won the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song Molitva.

Out of 17 appearances, they have qualified for the Grand Final 13 times.