Hello world this is Vienna calling! After months of national selections and preparations and two weeks of ongoing rehearsals and two semifinals, Eurovision 2026 is about to conclude with the Grand Final Live Show taking place at  Wiener Stadthalle Arena in Vienna Austria at 21:00 CEST.

A total of 25 countries will be competing in this evening's show. The 20 qualifiers from the 1st and 2nd  semi final shows along with the pre-qualified Big-5 countries and last year's winners, Austria, , will take the stage for their final performance. 

The Grand final live Show will be hosted by Victoria Swarowski and Michael Ostrowski, who guided the audience through both semi-fi al live shows.  The show opens with the traditional flag parade an the 2026 victorious entry Wasted Love performed by last year's winner JJ.

The competing countries

The running order has been decided by the producers and is set as below for the 26 competing acts: 

01. Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund - Før Vi Går Hjem

02. Germany: Sarah Engels - Fire

03. Israel: Noam Bettan - Michelle

04. Belgium: ESSYLA - Dancing on the Ice

05. Albania: Alis - Nân

06. Greece: Akylas - Ferto

07. Ukraine: LELÉKA - Ridnym

08. Australia: Delta Goodrem - Eclipse

09. Serbia: LAVINA - Kraj Mene

10. Malta: AIDAN - Bella

11. Czechia: Daniel Zizka - CROSSROADS

12. Bulgaria: DARA - Bangaranga

13. Croatia: LELEK - Andromeda

14. United Kingdom: LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER - Eins, Zwei, Drei

15. France: Monroe - Regarde !

16. Moldova: Satoshi - Viva, Moldova!

17. Finland: Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen - Liekinheitin

18. Poland: ALICJA - Pray

19. Lithuania: Lion Ceccah - Sólo Quiero Más

20. Sweden: FELICIA - My System

21. Cyprus: Antigoni - JALLA

22. Italy: Sal Da Vinci - Per Sempre Sì

23. Norway: JONAS LOVV - YA YA YA

24. Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu - Choke Me

25.  Austria: COSMÓ - Tanzschein

Interval Acts

Once the competing part is over and while the televoting will be underway the organisers have invited on stage to treat the audience with performances by iconic Eurostars of the past to celebrate the 70 years of Eurovision Song Contest. 

Verka Serduchka (Ukraine 2007) Ruslana (Ukraine 2004) , Aleksander Rybak ( Norway 2009) will grace the stage delivering past Eurovision entries. 

Voting process & Results

The final outcome of the competition is determined 50% by the national juries' votes and the rest 50% by the public vote. With the jury votes cast last evening during the Jury show, the results of which will be announced today by the national spokespersons, the rest 50% determined tonight by the televoting, will be announced in the second part of the results presentation declaring the final winner! 

The televote will open at the start of the show just before the opening entry takes to the stage. Viewers not based in  the thirty-seven competing countries will also be able to vote in the Rest of the World vote. The online only platform opened 24 hours befofe tonight’s Grand Final after last night’s Jury Show.  The  Rest of the World voters have to watch clips of all the competing performances before they cast their votes.

Voting is available via the official Eurovision app, as well as via telephone and SMS numbers displayed on screen in the participating countries. Download the official app through the following links:

• Download for Android
• Download for iOS

If you want to vote in the Grand Final, you can find all the details right here.

How to Watch the Grand Final Show

The Grand final show of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest is set to hit the screen at 21:00 CEST. You can watch the show either in one of the participating broadcaster or streamed on the official Eurovision Youtube Channel  or the  35 participating broadcasters.

News Source: Eurovision.tv

Cover photo: EBU/eurovision.tv

 After months of national selections and preparations and two weeks of ongoing rehearsals and two semifinals, Eurovision 2026 concluded with the Grand Final Live Show taking place at  Wiener Stadthalle Arena in Vienna Austria this evening.

A total of 25 countries  competed in this evening's show. The 20 qualifiers from the 1st and 2nd  semi final shows along with the pre-qualified Big-5 countries (France, Germany, Italy , United Kingdom) and last year's winners, Austria, , took the stage for their final performance. 

The Grand final show was hosted by Victoria Swarowski and Michael Ostrowski, who guided the audience through both semi-final live shows. 

The show opens with the traditional flag parade an the 2026 victorious entry Wasted Love performed by last year's winner JJ.

The competing countries

The running order has been decided by the producers and appeared on stage as following:

01. Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund - Før Vi Går Hjem

02. Germany: Sarah Engels - Fire

03. Israel: Noam Bettan - Michelle

04. Belgium: ESSYLA - Dancing on the Ice

05. Albania: Alis - Nân

06. Greece: Akylas - Ferto

07. Ukraine: LELÉKA - Ridnym

08. Australia: Delta Goodrem - Eclipse

09. Serbia: LAVINA - Kraj Mene

10. Malta: AIDAN - Bella

11. Czechia: Daniel Zizka - CROSSROADS

12. Bulgaria: DARA - Bangaranga

13. Croatia: LELEK - Andromeda

14. United Kingdom: LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER - Eins, Zwei, Drei

15. France: Monroe - Regarde !

16. Moldova: Satoshi - Viva, Moldova!

17. Finland: Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen - Liekinheitin

18. Poland: ALICJA - Pray

19. Lithuania: Lion Ceccah - Sólo Quiero Más

20. Sweden: FELICIA - My System

21. Cyprus: Antigoni - JALLA

22. Italy: Sal Da Vinci - Per Sempre Sì

23. Norway: JONAS LOVV - YA YA YA

24. Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu - Choke Me

25.  Austria: COSMÓ - Tanzschein

Interval Acts

Once the competing part was over and while the televoting was underway the organisers invited on stage iconic Eurovision stars to treat the audience with performances past entries to celebrate the 70 years of Eurovision Song Contest. 

Verka Serduchka (Ukraine 2007) Ruslana (Ukraine 2004) , Aleksander Rybak ( Norway 2009), Erika Vikman (Finland 2025)  graced the stage delivering past Eurovision entries. 

Voting process & Results

The final outcome of the competition was determined 50% by the national juries' votes and the rest 50% by the public vote. With the jury votes cast last evening during the Jury show, the results of which were firstly announced today by the national spokespersons, the rest 50% was determined tonight by the televoting, which followed the jury results. 

The televote opened at the start of the show just before the first delegate took to the stage. Viewers not based in  the thirty five competing countries wiere also be able to vote in the Rest of the World vote. The online only platform opened 24 hours befofe tonight’s Grand Final after last night’s Jury Show.

Jury voting ranking 

This is how the jury voting scoreboard looked once all  35 national juries had announced their points:

Televoting results and overall winner

This is how the final scoreboard turned out after adding the public votes in: 

Congratulations to Dara and Bulgaria for their first victory in the Eurovision Song Contest!!! 

News Source: Eurovision.tv

Cover photo: EBU/ Corinne Cumming

Video Source: Y.T Eurovision channel

Following the results of the two semi-finals, the 20 qualifiers (ten from each semi-final) have completed the grand final line-up.

After each semi-final the qualfiers were invited to pick in a draw in which part of the final the will compete (first or secondhalf) or if their position will be determined entirely by the producers' choice. 

Following that draw the producers released the running order of the Grand final show. Of course the host nation will be appreaing in the 25th place of the show ( a position determined at the draw that took place at th Head of Delegations meeting). The show will be opening with Denmark's delegate and closing with the host nation of Austria

Here is the analytical running order released late in the evening after the Semi-final 2 show: 

The Jury Show

This  evening the Jury show will be taking place determining the 50% of the outcome with the 35 national juries casting their points while on Saturday night at 21:00 CET the LIVE Grand final show will declare the Eurovision 2024 winner with the addition of the televoting results. 

This evening's show will not be broadcast live on the TV Screen but it will be visible for the media in the press center and of course the spectators that will attend the event in the arena. 

News Source: Eurovision.tv

Image: Eurovision.tv

Following last Tuesday's Semi Final 1 Live show, tonight the Semi-final 2 LIve show took place at Wiener Stadthalle Arena in Vienna, Austria determining the second set of 10 qualifying entries to Saturday's Grand final show completing the final line-up of the show. 

From the 35 participating coutries the second set of 15 countries competed in this evening's  second semi-final live show determining the rest 10 spots of the Grand final while the Big-5 countries ( Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom) along with the hosting nation Switzerland have pre-qualified for the Grand final. 

The Live Semi-Final One Show was hosted by Victoria Swarowski and Michael Ostrowski, who will be guiding the audience through all three live shows while the organisers will treat the spectators with a number of interval acts. 

Opening Act

The show opened with out two hosts presenting on stage a parody performance of last year's winning entry 'Wasted Love' by JJ . A hillarious performance of a staging that nothing going as planned!

The Competing Performances

A total of 15 nations took the stage this evening and three non-competing countries, France and the United Kingdom from the Big-5 countrie and the host nation, Austria .The 15 competing entries that  took to the stage this evening competed in the following running order: 

01. Bulgaria: DARA - Bangarang

02. Azerbaijan: JIVA - Just Go

03. Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu - Choke Me

04. Luxembourg: Eva Marija - Mother Nature

05. Czechia: Daniel Zizka - CROSSROADS

*** France: Monroe - Regarde !

06. Armenia: SIMÓN - Paloma Rumba

07. Switzerland: Veronica Fusaro - Alice

08. Cyprus: Antigoni - JALLA

*** Austria: COSMÓ - Tanzschein

09. Latvia: Atvara - Ēnā

10. Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund - Før Vi Går Hjem

11. Australia: Delta Goodrem - Eclipse

12. Ukraine: LELÉKA - Ridnym

*** United Kingdom: LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER - Eins, Zwei, Drei

13. Albania: Alis - Nân

14. Malta: AIDAN - Bella

15. Norway: JONAS LOVV - YA YA YA

Rest of the World Voting

The Rest of the World fans will have a say in the outcome of the show. In order to sychronize the different time zones,  the Rest of the World online vote opened from the end of the Jury Show the previous evening from the live show. The vote was open until the end of the voting window during the live broadcast of Semi-Final One.

Fans from non participating countries had the chance to cast their votes once they prewatched a clip of all of the cometing entries. 

The 10 qualifiers were determined by a combination of jury voting (50%) that was cast in last night's Jury rehearsal and televoting (50%). 

The results

A total of 10 qualifiers made it to Saturday's Grand final show which are: 

This second set of qualifiers completed the Grand final line-up along with the first semi-final show qualifiers. Later in the evening the organisers will reveal the running order of the Grand final show. 

News Source: Eurovision.tv

Images/Videos : EBU/Eurovision.tv

The story so far

Following JJ's victory in Basel with Wasted Love, the contest returns to Austria for a third time after hosting the contest back in 2015 after Conchita's win in Copenhagen with 'Rise like a Phoenix' and in 1967 after winning with Udo Jürgens.

The  rest 15 competing acts will take the stage in addition with the pre-qualified finalists from France and United Kingdom and the host nation Austria. After last night's jury votes counted as the 50% of the score the rest 50% will be deteremined by the televoting this evening. 

The competing entries 

Here is the running order for tonight's show:

01. ⯑⯑ Bulgaria: DARA - Bangaranga
02. ⯑⯑ Azerbaijan: JIVA - Just Go
03. ⯑⯑ Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu - Choke Me
04. ⯑⯑ Luxembourg: Eva Marija - Mother Nature
05. ⯑⯑ Czechia: Daniel Zizka - CROSSROADS
*** ⯑⯑ France: Monroe - Regarde !
06. ⯑⯑ Armenia: SIMÓN - Paloma Rumba
07. ⯑⯑ Switzerland: Veronica Fusaro - Alice
08. ⯑⯑ Cyprus: Antigoni - JALLA
*** ⯑⯑ Austria: COSMÓ - Tanzschein
09. ⯑⯑ Latvia: Atvara - Ēnā
10. ⯑⯑ Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund - Før Vi Går Hjem
11. ⯑⯑ Australia: Delta Goodrem - Eclipse
12. ⯑⯑ Ukraine: LELÉKA - Ridnym
*** ⯑⯑ United Kingdom: LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER - Eins, Zwei, Drei
13. ⯑⯑ Albania: Alis - Nân
14. ⯑⯑ Malta: AIDAN - Bella
15. ⯑⯑ Norway: JONAS LOVV - YA YA YA

Notably the two of the Big-5 countries France, United Kingdom and host nation Austria will perform live on stage tonight their performances without of course competing in the show but will be able to vote. 

The results

The 10 qualifiers will be announced this evening after the votes from last night's jury voting and today's televtoing are added along with the Internartional voting that started from last evening . Three countries will be highlighted at a time, with one announced as a qualifier and the other two left waiting. . It's going to be undoubntfully an super exciting night!

How to Watch

The second semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will be aired live on several national broadcasters and on the official Youtube Eurovision channel from 21.00 CET.

News Source: Eurovision.tv/EBU

Image: Eurofans radio/ Press rehearsal

As Eurovision week is unwinding ,this evening the Jury rehearsal show for the Semi Final 2 competing acts is taking place in Vienna's  Wiener Stadthalle Arena. 

The 15 competing acts will take the stage in addition with the pre-qualified finalists from France and United Kingdom and the host nation Austria. All acts will perform entries which will be watched by the 18 national juries.

The Jury show has always been of significant importance as the jury votes counted as the 50% of the score with the rest 50% been deteremined by the televoting. Howerver, after a year of absence the jury voting in the Semi-Finals is returning and will be contributing to the final outcome with a 50% share.

This evening's juring show will not be broadcaster live or can the onsite press film any part of the show as it's exclusively aired for the national juriies and only the audience onsite will be the one to watch live.

Dress rehearsal #1

Ahead of the jury show a Dress rehearsal is set for 15:30 CEST which is accessable to the press and will give one more opportunity to the competing acts to get even more prepared for tomorrow's live show.  

Rest of the World Voting

The Rest of the World fans will have a say in the outcome of the show. In order to sychronize the different time zones,  the Rest of the World online vote will open from the end of the Jury Show this evening. The vote will be open until the end of the voting window during the live broadcast of Semi-Final Two on May 14.

Fans from non participating countries will have the chance to cast their votes once the prewatch a clip of all of the cometing entries. 

Running order

Here is the running order for tonight's show:

01. ⯑⯑ Bulgaria: DARA - Bangaranga
02. ⯑⯑ Azerbaijan: JIVA - Just Go
03. ⯑⯑ Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu - Choke Me
04. ⯑⯑ Luxembourg: Eva Marija - Mother Nature
05. ⯑⯑ Czechia: Daniel Zizka - CROSSROADS
*** ⯑⯑ France: Monroe - Regarde !
06. ⯑⯑ Armenia: SIMÓN - Paloma Rumba
07. ⯑⯑ Switzerland: Veronica Fusaro - Alice
08. ⯑⯑ Cyprus: Antigoni - JALLA
*** ⯑⯑ Austria: COSMÓ - Tanzschein
09. ⯑⯑ Latvia: Atvara - Ēnā
10. ⯑⯑ Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund - Før Vi Går Hjem
11. ⯑⯑ Australia: Delta Goodrem - Eclipse
12. ⯑⯑ Ukraine: LELÉKA - Ridnym
*** ⯑⯑ United Kingdom: LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER - Eins, Zwei, Drei
13. ⯑⯑ Albania: Alis - Nân
14. ⯑⯑ Malta: AIDAN - Bella
15. ⯑⯑ Norway: JONAS LOVV - YA YA YA

News Source: EBU/Eurovision.tv

 cover photo: Eurofansradio

Following last evening's Jury rehearsal show for the Semi Final 1 competing acts, tonight the Semi-final 1 LIve show took place  in Basel, Switzerland  determining the first set of 10 qualifying entries to Saturday's Grand final show.

From the 35 participating coutries the first 15 countries competed in this evening's  first semi-final live show. The rest 16 coutries will compete in the Semi-final 2 on Thursday while the Big-5 countries ( Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom) along with the hosting nation Austria have pre-qualified for the Grand final. 

The Live Semi-Final One Show was hosted by Victoria Swarowski and Michael Ostrowski, who will be guiding the audience through all three live shows while the organisers will treat the spectators with a number of interval acts. 

Opening Act

The show opened with Vikcky Leandros. Nearly 60 years after her first Eurovision performance, Vicky Leandros opened this year's contest in Vienna, where her Eurovision journey began in 1967, performing her breakout song L'amour est bleu.

The Competing entries 

 A total of 15 nations took the stage this evening and two non-competing countries ( Italy and Germany) .The 15 competing entries to take the stage this evening will compete in the following running order: 

Moldova – Satoshi – Viva, Moldova!

Sweden – Felicia – My system

Croatia – Lelek – Andromeda

Greece – Akylas – Ferto

Portugal – Bandidos do Cante – Rosa

Georgia – Bzikebi – On replay

Italy – Sal da Vinci – Per sempre sì (pre-qualified)

Finland – Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin

Montenegro – Tamara Živković – Nova zora

Estonia – Vanilla Ninja – Too epic to be true

Israel – Noam Bettan – Michelle

Germany – Sarah Engels – Fire (pre-qualified)

Belgium – Essyla – Dancing on the ice

Lithuania – Lion Ceccah – Sólo quiero más

San Marino – Senhit ft. Boy George – Superstar

Poland – Alicja – Pray

Serbia – Lavina – Kraj mene

Rest of the World Voting

The Rest of the World fans will have a say in the outcome of the show. In order to sychronize the different time zones,  the Rest of the World online vote opened from the end of the Jury Show the previous evening from the live show. The vote was open until the end of the voting window during the live broadcast of Semi-Final One.

Fans from non participating countries had the chance to cast their votes once they prewatched a clip of all of the cometing entries. 

The 10 qualifiers were determined by a combination of jury voting (50%) that was cast in last night's Jury rehearsal and televoting (50%). 

The results

A total of 10 qualifiers made it to Saturday's Grand final show which are: 

The analytical results of the semifinals will be released after the Grand final show late Saturday night. On Thursday the second semi-final follows with 15 countries taking the stage to compete for the last 10 spots in the Grand final. 

 News Source/ Videos/photos: Eurovision.tv

As Eurovision week is unwinding , following last evening's Jury rehearsal show for the Semi Final 1 competing acts, tonight the Semi-final 1 LIve show will take place in Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna.

The story so far

Following JJ's victory in Basel with Wasted Love, the contest returns to Austria for a third time after hosting the contest back in 2015 after Conchita's win in Copenhagen with 'Rise like a Phoenix' and in 1967 after winning with Udo Jürgens.

Semi-final One show

From the 35 participating coutries the moemnt of truth for the first 15 countries has come with the first semi-final live show this evening. The rest 15 coutries will compete in the Semi-final 2 on Thursday while the Big-5 countries ( Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom) along with the hosting nation Austria have pre-qualified for the Grand final. 

The Live Semi-Final One Show will be hosted by Victoria Swarowski and Michael Ostrowski, guiding the audience through all three live shows while the organisers will treat the spectators with a number of interval acts. 

The 15 competing entries to take the stage this evening will compete in the following running order: 

1. Moldova – Satoshi – Viva, Moldova!
2. Sweden – Felicia – My system
3. Croatia – Lelek – Andromeda
4. Greece – Akylas – Ferto
5. Portugal – Bandidos do Cante – Rosa
6. Georgia – Bzikebi – On replay
   Italy – Sal da Vinci – Per sempre sì (pre-qualified)
7. Finland – Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin
8. Montenegro – Tamara Živković – Nova zora
9. Estonia – Vanilla Ninja – Too epic to be true
10. Israel – Noam Bettan – Michelle
    Germany – Sarah Engels – Fire (pre-qualified)
11. Belgium – Essyla – Dancing on the ice
12. Lithuania – Lion Ceccah – Sólo quiero más
13. San Marino – Senhit ft. Boy George – Superstar
14. Poland – Alicja – Pray
15. Serbia – Lavina – Kraj mene

Notably the two of the Big-5 countries Germany  and Italy will perform live on stage tonight their performances without of course competing in the show but will be able to vote. 

The results

The 10 qualifiers will be announced this evening after the votes from last night's jury voting and today's televtoing are added along with the Internartional voting that started from last evening . Three countries will be highlighted at a time, with one announced as a qualifier and the other two left waiting. Each country can not be highlighted more than three times while the last qualifier will be anounced with all the reamainng six highlighted. It's going to be undoubntfully an super exciting night!

How to Watch

The first semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will be aired live on several national broadcasters and on the official Youtube Eurovision channel from 21.00 CET.

News Source: Eurovision.tv/EBU

Image: Eurofans radio/ Press rehearsal

With the national selection closing and all 35 Eurovision representatives determined it's time for the Pre-Party season with several Eurovision pre-party events taking place accross the continent. Among those the Nordic Eurovision Party in Norway is certainly a must-go event . 

About the Party

source: nordiceurovision.com

The Nordic Eurovision Party is a live Eurovision pre‑show event that brings together current and past Eurovision artists, fans, and press for an evening of music, celebration, and fun just before the official Eurovision season begins. It’s designed as a fan event and promotional showcase where acts performing at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest perform live and interact with fans.

It evolved from earlier Nordic Eurovision gatherings and festivals — including the Nordic Music Celebration — which have now been combined under one event name to better reflect its Eurovision focus.

The 2026 line-up

The Nordic Eurovision Party will feature live performances from Eurovision artists — including confirmed representatives for Eurovision 2026 and special guests from previous contests. 

Namely the fans will be able to see the following acts on stage: 

Eurovision 2026

Akylas – Greece

Antigoni – Cyprus

Cosmó – Austria 

AIDAN – Malta

Alis – Albania 

Atvara – Latvia

Eva Marija – Luxembourg

Satoshi – Moldova 

Tamara Živković – Montenegro

Delta Goodrem - Australia 

Jonas Lovv - Norway 

Lion Ceccah - Lithuania 

Sarah Engels  - Germany

In addition to 2026 entries, several past Eurovision stars and iconic performers will also be part of the show:

• Elisabeth Andreassen – Eurovision winner & multi‑year participant 

• Sunstroke Project – Moldova (known for Epic Sax Guy)

• Olsen Brothers (Jørgen Olsen) – Denmark (Eurovision winners)

• Poli Genova – Bulgaria (Eurovision participant)

• Ovi & Ilinca – Romania (Eurovision duo)

• Lindsay Dracass – United Kingdom (Eurovision 2001)

• Guri Schanke – Norway  (Eurovision 2007)

• Mathilde SPZ – MGP & Eurovision‑scene favorite

• Mileo – MGP participant (Norway)

• Silke – MGP & national‑final performer

• Leonardo Amor – MGP singer

• Piera Eira & MÁIJÁ – Sámi music winners

• Ilinca - (Romania 2017)

The event will unfold at Rockefeller Music Hall, Oslo, Norway with doors opening at 19:00 CET. Tickets are on sale and you can purchase them on the party's official website : Nordic Eurovision Party – Eurovision Concert in Oslo

News source/image: Nordic Eurovision Party

Bandidos do Cante won the Portuguese national final with the song 'Rosa' and will be representing the nation at the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna. 

The Portuguese national selection consisted of two semifinals and a grand final show that took place  at  Valentim de Carvalho Studios at Paço de Arcos in Lisbon . A total of 10 acts  competed on stage for the right to represent Portugal at the 70th Eurovision song contest. 

The outcome of the final was determined by a combination of jury and public voting. 

A few words for Bandidos do Cante

Bandidos do Cante are a Portuguese vocal group from the Alentejo region, mainly from Beja, in southern Portugal. The band consists of five members: Miguel Costa, Duarte Farias, Francisco Raposo, Luís Aleixo, and Francisco Pestana.

They first entered the music scene in 2022 under the name “Amigos do Alentejo”. Their first exposure came from providing vocals on the single “Casa” by Portuguese artists D.A.M.A and Buba Espinho, which became very popular. In June 2023, they adopted the name Bandidos do Cante — a name suggested by Kasha (from D.A.M.A.).

 Portugal in Eurovision

Portugal has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since its debut in 1964, missing five contests (1970, 2000, 2002, 2013, and 2016). Portugal won the contest for the first time in 2017 with Salvador Sobral‘s  Amor pelo dois and hosted the 2018 contest in Lisbon.

News Source: RTP

Image: eurovisioncentral.com

Alicja managed to captivated the audience with her powerful performance of her song 'Pray' and secure here spot in the Eurovision 2026 class. 

The Polish national final took place at the TVP Headquarters in Warsaw with a total of 8 acts taking the stage for the ticket to Vienna, while the outcome of the final was determined entired by the public voting. 

“Pray” is an emotional, contemporary pop track blending elements of R&B, gospel and rap, described by Alicja as a manifesto about fighting for your dreams, seeking freedom, and believing in yourself.

A few words for Alicja

Alicja Maria Szemplińska (known professionally simply as Alicja) is a Polish singer and songwriter born on 29 April 2002 in Ciechanów, Poland. She has been active in music since her teens and is one of the most recognizable contemporary voices on the Polish pop scene.

Alicja first became widely known after winning The Voice of Poland in 2019. She later won the Polish national selection Szansa na sukces to represent Poland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song Empires, but the contest was cancelled due to the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Poland in Eurovision 

Poland has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 27 times since its debut in 1994.

Poland's debut in the contest in 1994 remains its most successful entry, with "To nie ja!" by Edyta Górniak finishing second. This remains Poland's only top five result in the contest. The country reached the top ten for the second time with Ich Troje finishing seventh in 2003. Poland then failed to qualify from the semi-finals in six out of seven years between 2005 and 2011, before withdrawing from the contest in 2012.

Since returning in 2014, Poland had qualified for the final for four consecutive years (2014–2017), achieving a third top ten finish in 2016, with Michał Szpak finishing eighth. The country failed to qualify three contests in a row (2018, 2019, and 2021), a streak that ended with Ochman finishing 12th in 2022.

News Source: TVP

Cover Photo: National final performance video

Azerbaijan's national broadcaster, Ictimai, this year opted for an internal selection to choose their Eurovision 2026 entrant. JIVA was selected to defend the nation's colors in Vienna singing the song 'Just Go'. 

'Just Go' is an emotional ballad about love, heartbreak and inner strength, focusing on rediscovery after disappointment. The sond has been penned and composed by none  Fuad Javadov, an Azerbaijani -American. The official music video which was also published today has been directed by Farhad Ali.

A few words for JIVA

JIVA JIVA (real name Jamila Hashimova) is an Azerbaijani singer which was born in Moscow and later on she moved to Azerbaijan. 

She started her music career in 2003, finishing second in the Baku Autumn music competition. Later she performed with the RAST ensemble, appeared at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and became the lead singer of Hazz Band, mixing jazz influences with modern pop music.

A big breakthrough came in 2025, when she won the TV show The Voice of Azerbaijan, which made her one of the country’s most talked-about singers.

Azerbaijan in Eurovision 

The Land of fire debuted in the contest in 2008 and since then they have been present in every single edition of it, counting a total of 17 participations.  In 2011 The duo Eldar & Nikki gave the country its one and only victory with their entry Running scared, leading the Eurovision event next year in the capital city of Baku. 

The country achieved five consecutive top-five results in the contest between 2009 and 2013, finishing third (2009) and fifth (2010) before its 2011 win and fourth (2012) and second (2013) following its win. Azerbaijan has failed to advance from the semi-finals on four occasions, in 2018 and since 2023.

Last year Mamagama represented the country with the song 'Run to you' which didn't make it to the finals. This year JIVA will be competing in the first half of the second semi-final

News Source: ICTIMAI

Cover Photo: Music Video of 'Just go'

In January 2026, the Georgian broadcaster GPB internally selected Bzikebi to represent Georgia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna, Austria.

Their song titled 'Replay' has been penned by Giga Kukhianidze and Lizi Japaridze and was produced by Giga Kukhianidze, a famous Georgian composer who has written many successful Junior Eurovision songs for Georgia.

A few words for Bizkebi

Bizkebi is a Georgian pop group conc of Giorgi Shiolashvili, Mariam Kikuashvili, and Mariam Tatulashvili. The trio first became famous as children when they won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song “Bzz…”, giving Georgia its first victory in that competition.

They became known for their fun, energetic performances. In their 2008 winning performance they wore black-and-yellow bee costumes and sang partly in a made-up “buzzing” language, which made their act very memorable.

After their victory, the group performed in many Eurovision-related events and occasionally reunited for special performances. They appeared as guest performers at Junior Eurovision 2025 in Tbilisi and other anniversary shows before returning to the main Eurovision stage.

Georgia in Eurovision

Georgia has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 17 times since making its debut in 2007. The Georgian participating broadcaster in the contest is the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB). Georgia has reached the final on eight occasions, achieving two top ten placements, with "Shine" performed by Sofia Nizharadze (2010) and "One More Day" by Eldrine (2011) both finishing ninth.

Mariam Shengelia represented the country last year with 'Freedom' but despite here powerful performance didn't make it to th finals. 

Georgia is scheduled to perform in the first half of the first semi-final on 12 May 2026, competing for a place in the grand final.

News Source: GPB

Cover photo: Music Video of 'Replay'

Czechia this year opted for an internal selection to determime their Eurovision 2026 representative. The selection came after a national process that received around 260 submissions, and Daniel's performance impressed the selection committee with its strong vocal control and emotional delivery.

The Czech hopeful released his emotional song 'Crossroads' along with its official music video:

A few words for Daniel Zizka

Daniel Žižka is a Czech singer, songwriter, actor, and performer from Prague, Czech Republic. He began writing his own music at a young age and recorded his first professional song when he was about 15 years old. Early in his career he performed under the stage name “Daniell,” releasing singles such as Aim, Go On, and Wrong. Besides music, he has also worked as an actor and appeared in several Czech television projects and music videos.

Žižka is also trained in music professionally and studies pop singing and composition at the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory in Prague. His work often blends indie pop, pop-soul, and atmospheric vocals, and he has performed with orchestral arrangements, including a performance at the Bethlehem Chapel in Prague with the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Czech Republic in Eurovision

Czech Republic appeared for the first time in the Contest in 2007 with  Kabat. A a row of disappointing results the country withdrew in 2010 and didn’t return until 2016. In 2016 its return was followed by a grand final qualification for the first time . The best result came for the country in 2018 with  Mikolas Josef who achieved a top 10 placing by finishing  6th , in  Lisbon with his entry Lie to me.

Last year the country was represented by  was represented the song 'Kiss Kiss Goodbye' by ADONXS who came 12th in his semifinal and didn't make it to the finals. 

This year Daniel wil be competing in the first half of the 2nd semi final show on May 14, 2026. 

News Source: CZ Television

Cover photo: Music video 'Crossroads'

After weeks of speculations and rumors, the word is out and Armenia have confirmed SIMÓN as the nation's hopeful at the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. 

SIMÓN  was internally selected and will be singing Paloma rumba the officail video of which was also released today. The track is a high-energy pop anthem about breaking free from routine and following your dreams, symbolized by the idea of a “dove’s dance.” Simón has cited Michael Jackson as one of his biggest inspirations, influencing his love for performance, dancing, and bold stage visuals.

A few words for Simon

Simón, whose real name is Simon Hovhannisyan, is an Armenian singer and songwriter born on 30 August 1995 in Hrazdan, Armenia. He began gaining attention in the Armenian music scene in the mid-2020s and is known for his energetic stage presence, dance-influenced pop style, and dramatic performances.

In 2025 he competed in the Armenian national selection for Eurovision, Depi Evratesil 2025, with the song “Ay Paparey Bye,” where he won the jury vote but finished second overall after the televote. Following this success, Armenia’s broadcaster AMPTV internally selected him to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.

Armenia in Eurovision 

Armenia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 17 times since making its debut in 2006, when André became the first participant representing Armenia and was the first singer from the Caucasus region to compete at Eurovision.

Armenia has reached the top 10 on eight occasions, with the country's best result in the contest being two fourth-place finishes; achieved by Sirusho with the song "Qélé, Qélé" (2008), and Aram Mp3 with "Not Alone" (2014). 2011 was the first year that Armenia failed to advance from the semi-final round.

This was followed by the country withdrawing from the 2012 contest due to security concerns in the host city, Baku. In 2018 and 2019, Armenia consecutively failed to qualify from the semi-finals for the second and third time respectively.

Last year Parg repesented the country singing 'Survivor' which came 20th in the final. This year SIMON wiil be competing in the first half of the 2nd semi-final on May 14, 2026. 

News Source: APMTV

Cover photo: Music Video of Paloma Rumba

Switzerland has internally selected Veronica Fusaro to represent the country this year at Eurovision in Vienna. The Swiss hopeful has released the song she will be delivering on stage in Vienna along with the official music video.

The song is titled 'Alice' and brings a another interesting music proposal by last year's hosting nation. Watch below the official video of the song: 

Switzerland in Eurovision 

Switzerland  has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 65 times since its debut at the first contest in 1956, missing only four contests because of being relegated due to poor results the previous year: 1995, 1999, 2001, and 2003. Switzerland hosted the inaugural contest in 1956 in Lugano, where it also won. The country claimed its second victory in 1988, 32 years after the first, and its third in 2024 with NEMO , 36 years after the second win.

Last year it was represented by Zoe and the song 'Voyage'. This year Veronica Fusaro will be competing in the first half of the 2nd semi-final show. 

The final list of nations that will be taking part in the forthcomng Eurovision 2026 in Vienna, Austria has been released with the number 35 being the final amount of participating countries next year. 

With five countries withdrawing from next year's edition ( Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland) and with two comebacks (Bulgaria and Romania) the list was finalized with a total of 35 nations ready to compete for the next Eurovision trophy. 

Therefore the full list of participating countries for Eurovision 2026 looks like following:

1. Albania
2. Armenia
3. Australia
4. Austria
5. Azerbaijan
6. Belgium
7. Bulgaria
8. Croatia
9. Cyprus
10. Czech Republic
11. Denmark
12. Estonia
13. Finland
14. France
15. Germany
16. Georgia
17. Greece
18. Israel
19. Italy
20. Latvia
21. Lithuania
22. Luxembourg
23. Malta
24. Moldova
25. Montenegro
    
26. Norway
27. Poland
28. Portugal
29. Romania
30. San Marino
31. Serbia
32. Sweden
33. Switzerland
34. Ukraine
35. United Kingdom

15 countres will compete in each semi-final set to take place on May 12 and 14 May while the Big 4 countries (United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany) and the ESC 2025 winner and host country, Austria advancedireclty to the Grand final on 16 May 2026. 

Eurovision 2026 Director Martin Green CBE stated on the list of particiating countries: 

"As we prepare to celebrate 70 years of the Eurovision Song Contest it remains a place where voices, cultures, languages and music are woven together. Where people from many backgrounds can show that in a difficult world a better one is possible. We are thrilled to welcome back BNT (Bulgaria), TVR (Romania) and TRM (Moldova) who join 32 other public broadcasters for Vienna 2026. Their return is a vivid reminder of the enduring power of the Eurovision Song Contest, and of what it truly means to be United by Music."

News source/cover image: EBU/Eurovision.tv

Good morming Europe! This is Vienna calling and stage design habemus! The hosting broadcaster of the next Eurovision, ORF has revealed the stage design of Eurovision 2026 releasing images of how it will look like and unveiling the story behind the set up. 

The man behind the design

Vienna is playing safe on the stage design for Eurovision 2026 and assigned the work to experienced Florian Wieder.

The stage design for Eurovision 2026 is a work of Florian Wieder, taking care of this matter for a 10h time in the contest's history. Wieder is no stranger to the Eurovision family as he has been behind the ESC stage in 9 previous editions ( 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 (2021), 2024 and 2025. Also his experience on such constructions is wide as he has been repsonsible for several mega music events such as American Idol, The Emmys and the MTV Music Awards and recently at Adele's concerts in Munich. 

The stage designer stated on his new work: 

The Eurovision Song Contest offers a unique opportunity: not to repeat what already exists, but to transform it, reinterpret it, and develop it further.I see it as an invitation to break with established patterns, to be bold, to create unique visuals, and to lead the audience into an experience that both retains the DNA of the ESC and is radically new.

The story behind the stage set up

The Viennese Secession is the source of inspiration of the stage design for the next Eurovoision   featuring the leaf, the curved line and the construct.

photo credit: EBU/ORF

According to the official press released shared by EBU the story behind the stage set up has as following: 

The creative spirit of the Viennese Secession lies at the centre of the stage-design concept. And like that art movement once did, ORF’s production wants to deliberately break conventions and allow new forms. It’s about courage for renewal, openness to radical creativity and a new freedom of design.

Three design leitmotifs will convey this idea to viewers of Vienna 2026 in May:

The Leaf
A symbol of origin and potential, it stands for new beginnings and shared design. Diverse music from all over Europe is written on it.

The Curved Line
An expression of resonance, development and musical movement, it embodies connection, emotion and Viennese charm.

The Construct
A golden structure that connects art with functionality, it creates order, supports artistic vision and forms a deliberate contrast to the organic curved line.

In the connection of these elements, a stage design emerges that both preserves the DNA of the Eurovision Song Contest and breaks new creative ground.

The Green Room will be directly connected to the stage via a walkway – which, among other things, will enable a Winner’s Walk through the audience.

 photo credit: EBU/ORF

In addition ORF's Program Director Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz (ORF Program Director) stated:

This stage perfectly embodies what the ORF stands for: creative innovation, cultural roots, and the highest technical quality. It combines the Austrian soul with international ambition and creates a space where grand visuals can be created without losing sight of the human moments. This design is bold, elegant, and embodies Austrian character – making it the perfect stage for a Eurovision Song Contest in the heart of Europe.

For more images in motion of the Eurovision 2026 stage take a look at the official video released: 

The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest is set to take place  on 12, 14 and 16 May at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria.

News source: EBU/ORF/ ESCtoday

Photo cover: EBU/ORF