Did Austria reveal the stage design for Eurovision 2026 is a swastika? No, that's not true: The image is fake and was posted by a satire account which says they have been "Spreading misinformation on the internet since 1827". On Dec. 16, 2025 eurovision.com announced German stage designer Florian Wieder has envisioned a stage in the shape of a curved leaf for the song contest's 2026 edition in Vienna, Austria.
The fake image appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by @AssociatedFress on Dec. 17, 2025. It is captioned:
Austria Releases Stage Design For Eurovision 2026
This is the image included with the post:
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot from x.com/AssociatedFress/status/2001362144336712053.)
This is not the real stage design. The Associated Fress account on X (pictured below) has a profile logo which mimics the AP logo of the Associated Press. The tag line states:
Spreading misinformation on the internet since 1827
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot from x.com/AssociatedFress.)
On Dec. 16, 2025 eurovision.com published (archived here) a "first look" at the stage design by Florian Wieder -- it will be a curved LED surface platform in the shape of a leaf together with a curved linear form and a golden grid-like structure (pictured below).
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot from eurovision.com/stories/first-look-vienna-2026-stage.)
An animated video posted to YouTube (archived here) shows how the LED surface effects might appear (embedded below) .
