Victoria Swarovski, the host of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, has dismissed claims that she is a "nepo baby" as she builds her career in the entertainment industry. The 32-year-old model and heiress to the multi-billion dollar Swarovski jewellery company is co-hosting the annual competition in her native Austria alongside Michael Ostrowski. In an exclusive interview, she addressed critics who suggest her success is due to her family name.
Building Her Own Path
Away from her family's legacy, Swarovski has forged a career as a pop singer, hosts the German version of Strictly Come Dancing titled Let's Dance, and leads the ORIMEI fashion brand. For Saturday's grand final, she deliberately chose not to wear Swarovski jewellery to distance herself from the family brand. She told The Mirror: "It would be obvious if I would wear Swarovski, I would think. So I just give you that hint - Marilyn Monroe said, 'Diamonds are the girl's best friend.' So, I'm going to wear a very big brand who is actually doing jewellery with diamonds."
She added: "I just found it was too obvious, and at one point, you know, the thing is, when you read through some articles in Germany, in the beginning, it was always, 'She's just supported by her family, she made her career just because of her family.' And now everything is turning, you know, it's like a turning point where people recognise, 'Okay, she is working her a** off.' She's really doing her own thing and she is like building up her own career and her own companies. So I don't want to focus too much on my family's company, I just want to focus more on my own company. So that's why I just wanted to try to separate that a bit."
Eurovision and Politics
Swarovski also addressed the perception that Eurovision has become overly political. She emphasised that the contest should remain focused on entertainment. "I think it's really hard. I never talk about politics with media. I just think it's a song contest and shouldn't be about politics. It's a music show, it is an entertainment show and it is not about politics!" she said.
She urged viewers to remember the artists' efforts: "And each and every person who is like participating. This is the end of this video. Even for the artists, it's obviously, I mean, they're competing, that's already a big thing, you know, so you're super nervous about competing on a huge stage like that. You're already super nervous, I think you shouldn't judge people because it's a person, you know, and they're doing music and they just want to have, they just wanna give the people a great time and those three minutes they're on stage. So I think we shouldn't just judge them because of politics, we should judge them, because of their singing and their entertainment and their stage performing. And nothing else, and nothing less."
