Eurovision 2026: Meet Germany’s Sarah Engels and her song Fire

We profile the 2026 entry from Germany including details on the artist, song, how it was chosen, odds, fan reaction and how the nation has fared at Eurovision.

The long time Eurovision stalwart returns for its 69th attempt at the contest, having only missed the 1996 edition. 

After a torrid time in the last few years, Germany has hit some recent good form last year with Abor & Tynna singing Baller in Basel last May. 

The song finished a respectable 15th with 151 points, capitalising on Germany’s respectable 12th in Malmö the year before.

Previously, Germany has won twice with Nicole singing Ein bißchen Frieden in 1982 and Lena singing Satellite in 2010.

This year, Germany is being represented with Fire by Sarah Engels.

You can find out more about Sarah Engels and her song below!

2026 entry: Sarah Engels - Fire

• Sarah Engels is pre-qualified for the Grand Final due to France being a Big 4 country

• My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 24th

• Odds to win ranking: 23rd

(Rankings as of 8 April 2026)

About the artist

Sarah Engels is a versatile artist – she’s a singer, television personality, musical theatre performer, and launched her own foundation, Starke Mädchen (Strong Girls in German) in support of young women and girls.

She rose to fame in 2011 on season seven of Deutschland sucht den Superstar (or German Idol for short) where she was the runner-up.  Soon after, she released her debut single, Call My Name, reached number two on the German charts.

Since then, she has been a staple of German entertainment.  As well as chart success with her music, Sarah finished second in Let’s Dance (the German version of Dancing with the Stars) in 2016 and was the winner of Das große Promibacken (the German version of The Great British Bake Off) in 2019, Dancing on Ice in 2019, and The Masked Singer in 2020. 

Before she entered Eurovision Song Contest – Das deutsche Finale 2026, Sarah played the role of Satine in the Köln production of Moulin Rouge! in November 2025.

Here she are behind the scenes of Moulin Rouge! last year (in German):

About the song

Fire was co-written Sarah Engels, along with Valentin Boes, Luisa Heinemann, Raphael Lott, and Dario Schürmann.

Südwestrundfunk describes the song as “Blending contemporary pop with explosive dance production” featuring “soaring hooks, driving synths, and dynamic build-ups that erupt into a rhythmic explosion”.

Although Fire might initially seem like your stock-standard girl-bop anthem, you only need to dig a little deeper to find the hidden personal meanings behind the song.

Fire’s lyrics are all about empowerment, solidarity, and self-determination.  This message of confidence and self-belief extends far beyond the Eurovision stage as Sarah actively supports initiatives to empower young women and girls through her foundation Starke Mädchen, as well as sharing those messages through her strong and loyal following on social media.

In an interview with Südwestrundfunk, Sarah says: “My motto for Vienna is: I’m on fire. I truly have no fear at all – I’m just incredibly excited.  There’s a lot of fire and temperament within me”.

How was Sarah Engels chosen for Eurovision

After various iterations of the selection format and process over the years, the German participating broadcaster organised the national final format Eurovision Song Contest – Das deutsche Finale 2026 to select its 2026 entry.

The final took place on 28 February in Berlin. It was hosted by German television legend, Barbara Schöneberger, and Hazel Brugger, who was one of the Swiss hosts from Basel last year. 

Nine songs took part and the winner was selected two rounds of voting.  In the first round of voting, a 20-member international jury selected the top three entries to proceed to the Superfinal – selecting wavvyboi’s black glitter, MOLLY SUE’s Optimist (Ha Ha Ha), and Sarah Engels.  In the second round of voting in the Superfinal, the winner was selected solely through public voting.  After some stiff competition, Sarah Engels received 38.3% of the public vote, declaring her the winner to represent Germany at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Germany will compete in the Grand Final of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest on 16 May 2025 in Vienna.

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