Kagome materials offer a versatile platform for exploring correlated and topological quantum states, where Van Hove singularities (VHSs) play a pivotal role in driving electronic instabilities, exhibiting distinct behaviors depending on electron filling and interaction settings. In the recently discovered kagome superconductors $A{\mathrm{V}}_3{\mathrm{Sb}}_5$ ($A=\mathrm{K}$, Rb, Cs), unconventional charge density wave order, superconductivity, and electronic chirality emerge, yet the nature of VHSs near the Fermi level ($E_{\mathrm{F}}$) and their connection to these exotic orders remain elusive. Here, using high-resolution polarization-dependent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we uncover a universal electronic structure across $A{\mathrm{V}}_3{\mathrm{Sb}}_5$ that is distinct from density-functional theory predictions that show noticeable discrepancies. We identify multiple common sublattice-pure VHSs near $E_{\mathrm{F}}$, arising from strong $\mathrm{V}\text{−}d/\mathrm{Sb}\text{−}p$ hybridization, which significantly promote bond-order fluctuations and likely drive the observed charge density wave order. These findings provide direct spectroscopic evidence for hybridization-driven VHS formation in kagome metals and establish a unified framework for understanding the intertwined electronic instabilities in $A{\mathrm{V}}_3{\mathrm{Sb}}_5$.

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• Charge density waves
• Electronic structure
• First-principles calculations
• Phase transitions
• Topological materials
• Kagome metal
• Superconductors
• Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy
• Density functional theory