Robert Irwin will host the 2026 Logie Awards in Sydney on Sunday August 16, taking over one of Australian television’s biggest nights in a milestone year for the show. The 22-year-old was confirmed for the job after Sam Pang stepped away from the role following three years on the Logies stage.
Irwin said the invitation felt personal as well as professional. “Hosting the TV WEEK Logie Awards is one of the most exciting things I’ve been asked to do,” he said, adding that he grew up watching the Logies with his family and sees the task as “certainly an honour.” He also said being part of “the biggest night in Aussie TV” was something he does not take lightly.
The timing matters because the Logies are not just another gala on the television calendar. This year marks a 70-year milestone for the awards, and the host choice puts one of Australia’s most recognisable young public figures at the centre of the celebration. Irwin has been in the spotlight far beyond wildlife conservation, most recently winning Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars last November before returning to work at Australia Zoo and landing a hosting role for Dancing with the Stars The Next Pro.
There is, though, a clear change in tone from the past three years. Pang had become closely associated with the event, and earlier this year he said he would not be back to host again. He was also reportedly approached to return for the 2026 Logies but politely declined, leaving the production to look elsewhere for a face that could carry the show into its anniversary year.
Irwin’s appointment gives the Logies a different kind of host: younger, more family-facing and still early in his television career, but already comfortable with live audiences and prime-time attention. The test now is whether he can make the awards feel like a fresh event without losing the looseness and familiarity viewers expect on a night built around television itself. When he walks on stage in Sydney, that answer starts to arrive in real time.
For now, the new host is set and the date is locked. Irwin will front the Logies on Sunday August 16, and all the anticipation around the show’s 70th year will hang on how he makes the room and the audience feel when the cameras come up.
