The line-up for this year’s 2026 Eurovision final has been confirmed after the first semi-final on Tuesday and the second on Thursday.
Acts representing Israel, Finland and Greece were among the first 10 voted through after performing live in Vienna, Austria, earlier in the week. The second heat then saw the likes of Cyprus, Australia and Denmark qualify.
The line-up is completed by the hosts Austria, who go through automatically alongside the ‘Big Four’, aka the nations whose broadcasters make the biggest financial contributions to Eurovision.
These are the UK, Italy, Germany and France.
Spain is usually the fifth country on this list, but its broadcaster is among those boycotting the 2026 song contest due to Israel’s continued participation.
The 10 countries voted through from the first semi-final are as follows:
1. Greece: Akylas – “Ferto”
2. Finland: Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – “Liekinheitin”
3. Belgium: ESSYLA – “Dancing on the Ice”
4. Sweden: FELICIA – “My System”
5. Moldova: Satoshi – “Viva, Moldova!”
6. Israel: Noam Bettan – “Michelle”
7. Serbia: LAVINA – “Kraj Mene”
8.Croatia: LELEK – “Andromeda”
9. Lithuania: Lion Ceccah – “Sólo Quiero Más”
10. Poland: ALICJA – “Pray”
The 10 countries voted through from the second semi-final are as follows:
1. Malta: AIDAN – “Bella”
2. Cyprus: Antigoni – “JALLA”
3. Albania: Alis – “Nan”
4. Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund – “Før Vi Gar Hjem”
5. Czechia: Daniel Žižka – “CROSSROADS”
6. Bulgaria: Dara – “Bangaranga”
7. Ukraine: LELÉKA – “Ridnym”
8. Norway: JONAS LOVV – “YA YA YA”
9. Australia: Delta Goodrem – “Eclipse”
10. Romania: Alexandra Căpitănesc – “Choke Me”
The performance by Israel’s artist, Noam Bettan, was disrupted during Tuesday’s semi-final by shouts of “stop the genocide”. Despite this, Bettan received enough votes to get through to the final on Saturday 16 May.
The first semi-final otherwise seemed to go relatively smoothly.
Among the most notable moments on the night included a brief appearance from British pop star Boy George, who joined San Marino entry SENHIT for her rendition of “Superstar”.
Unfortunately, San Marino crashed out at the first hurdle, as SENHIT (and Boy George) did not receive enough votes to qualify for the final on Saturday (16 May).
There was also a cameo from Hollywood actor Will Ferrell, in a nod to his 2020 Eurovision comedy film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.
Meanwhile, Austrian hosts Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski took part in a colourful skit with Australia’s 2025 entry Go-Jo, with each party singing the virtues of their respective countries.
The second semi-final also ran like clockwork, with Australia’s Delta Goodrem among the acts who received the biggest cheers in the arena.
The former Neighbours star made light work of qualifying for the grand final – which she goes into as one of the favourites.
It also saw UK entrant Look Mum No Computer take to the stage for a divisive performance of his track “Eins, Zwei, Drei”, while former Love Island star Antigoni represented Cyprus and won them a place in the final.