Eurovision 2026 has received its complete final line-up: ten new countries secured a place in Saturday's final
After the second semi-final evening at Vienna's Wiener Stadthalle, the full line-up of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 final is now known, and it will be held on Saturday, 16 May. In the second semi-final, held on 14 May, fifteen countries competed for the remaining ten places, and Albania, Australia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Malta, Norway, Romania and Ukraine secured qualification. According to a report by the Associated Press agency, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Latvia, Luxembourg and Switzerland were eliminated from the competition after the second evening. This completed the list of 25 finalists, consisting of countries from the two semi-finals and the automatically qualified host country Austria, as well as the four biggest financial contributors to the contest: France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Ten new finalists after the second evening in Vienna
The second semi-final was the final filter before the closing evening of the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. According to the published results, Denmark will be represented in the final by Søren Torpegaard Lund with the song Før Vi Går Hjem, Australia by Delta Goodrem with the ballad Eclipse, and Bulgaria by Dara with the song Bangaranga. Among the finalists are also Czech representative Daniel Žižka, Ukrainian representative Leléka, Albanian singer Alis, Malta's Aidan, Cyprus' Antigoni, Romania's Alexandra Căpitănescu and Norway's Jonas Lovv. The Associated Press states that these very performances secured continuation in the contest, while the remaining five countries from the second semi-final evening will end the competition without appearing in the grand final.
Australia's qualification particularly attracted the attention of international media because Delta Goodrem, one of Australia's best-known pop performers, returned to the Eurovision stage with a production-heavy performance. According to The Guardian's report, the performance of the song Eclipse was staged as a classic Eurovision power ballad with a strong vocal section, stage effects and a visual crescent-moon motif. Although aesthetically lavish performances do not by themselves guarantee success in the final, this qualification confirms that Australia still remains a relevant participant in the contest, even though it does not belong to the European space in the narrower geographical sense. Australia competes at Eurovision at the invitation of the organisers and through the public broadcaster SBS, and its participation in recent years has often been seen as part of the wider globalisation of the contest.
Ukraine's qualification also carries additional symbolic weight, especially given that Ukraine remains among the countries whose Eurovision performances receive political and social context beyond the musical performance itself. According to the Associated Press report, Leléka performed the song Ridnym in Vienna, and her performance was one of those that stood out in the second semi-final evening. The Eurovision organisers traditionally emphasise that the contest is a cultural and musical event, but the experience of recent years shows that broader international relations often influence the way audiences and media interpret individual performances. That is precisely why this year's edition, held in Austria, cannot be viewed only through the running order of songs, but also through the circumstances in which the contest is taking place.
What the complete final line-up looks like
A total of 25 countries will perform in the final. From the first semi-final, held on 12 May, according to reports by the Associated Press and specialised Eurovision portals, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Greece, Israel, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Serbia and Sweden secured qualification. From the second semi-final, Albania, Australia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Malta, Norway, Romania and Ukraine joined them. The remaining places belong to Austria as the host country and to France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, which automatically qualify because of their financial role in the contest.
According to official information from the Eurovision Song Contest, this year's semi-final evenings are being held on 12 and 14 May, while the grand final is scheduled for 16 May at Wiener Stadthalle. Vienna is the host thanks to Austria's victory at the previous contest, and 2026 also marks the 70th edition of Eurovision. In their announcements, the organisers highlighted that this is a jubilee year, which is why the programme also includes additional elements dedicated to the history of the contest. Still, the central part remains competitive: songs, stage performances, jury and audience votes, and the final distribution of points in Saturday's broadcast.
For viewers, the most important fact is that after the second semi-final evening there are no more unknowns about who will perform in the final. The running order in the closing stage is usually determined by the contest producers after all finalists are known, with the aim of creating a television programme that is dynamic and musically diverse. The final result in the final will be decided by a combination of national jury scores and public votes, including votes from the Rest of the World category, which enables participation by viewers from countries that are not competing. In recent years, such a system has become an important part of the EBU's effort to maintain the contest's global reach, but also to further regulate the voting process.
The return of juries to the semi-finals and stricter voting rules
The European Broadcasting Union, which organises Eurovision, previously announced changes to the voting rules for the edition in Vienna. According to the EBU's official announcement, professional juries have been returned to the semi-finals for the first time since 2022, so qualification for the final is once again decided by a combination of juries and the public, and not by televoting alone. The EBU stated that the changes were introduced to strengthen trust, transparency and audience engagement, following discussions about voting integrity in previous editions. Among the more important changes is also the reduction of the maximum number of votes per payment method from 20 to 10.
The official rules for 2026 also include the expansion of national juries. According to the EBU announcement, juries now have seven members, and they must include younger members aged between 18 and 25. The organiser states that enhanced technical measures have also been introduced to detect and block coordinated or invalid voting patterns. In practice, this means that this year's results, especially in the semi-finals, are being shaped differently than in previous editions in which the public had the decisive role in selecting the finalists. For contestants, this changes the performance strategy because a song must convince both the television audience and professional evaluators.
The change in rules is particularly important in the context of the politically sensitive debates surrounding this year's contest. The Associated Press reported that the EBU tightened the rules after complaints and accusations related to organised voting campaigns in earlier editions. In doing so, the organiser is trying to preserve the impression that the result is the consequence of a musical performance and legitimate audience support, rather than coordinated political or marketing activities. Although no voting system can completely remove the influence of public sentiment, the return of juries to the semi-finals should soften the extreme fluctuations that occur when only the public decides.
The contest is also marked by political tensions
Although Eurovision is presented under the slogan United by Music, this year's edition once again shows how difficult it is to separate a major international cultural contest from political circumstances. The Associated Press states that five countries, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland, are boycotting this year's Eurovision because of Israel's participation during the war in Gaza. The same source recalls that Russia was excluded from the contest in 2022 after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is often mentioned in debates about the consistency of Eurovision decisions. The EBU, on the other hand, continues to emphasise the cultural character of the contest and the formal role of public broadcasters as participants.
In Vienna, according to reports by international media, protests related to Israeli participation are also expected. The Associated Press states that Israeli representative Noam Bettan was met in the first semi-final with mixed reactions from part of the audience, and Austria's public broadcaster ORF announced that it would not mute expressions of disapproval in the arena. It was also stated that Palestinian flags are allowed in the arena, which is a change compared with earlier editions in which flag rules were interpreted more strictly. Such decisions show that the organisers are trying to balance a television spectacle, security assessments and the audience's right to express views within the event's established rules.
Political tensions also have practical consequences for the contest. According to the Associated Press, this year's number of participants has fallen to 35, which is the lowest level since 2003. Some countries are not participating because of the boycott, while some have returned after earlier absences, including Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania. The EBU is trying to maintain the continuity of a major television event, but also to retain the trust of the public broadcasters that finance and transmit the contest. In such an environment, the final in Vienna will be both a musical showdown and a test of the organisers' ability to keep Eurovision a recognisable European media institution.
Vienna as host of the jubilee edition
Wiener Stadthalle is once again at the centre of the Eurovision stage, and Austria is the host because of the victory achieved at last year's edition of the contest. According to official information from the Eurovision Song Contest, the hosts of the 70th edition are Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski. As host, Austria is automatically in the final, and its performance also has a symbolic role because it closes the circle from last year's victory to this year's hosting. Vienna has already hosted Eurovision before, so this year's edition relies on the city's experience in organising major international music events.
In competitive terms, the final remains open. The first two semi-finals showed that very different songs have reached the closing stage: from pop ballads and electronically shaped performances to ethnic elements, rock, rap and stage-heavy productions. Such diversity is traditionally one of Eurovision's main characteristics, but also the reason why it is difficult to predict the winner before the final vote. Favourites ahead of the closing evening often change depending on rehearsals, audience reactions in the arena, the running order and the impression of the television broadcast. The final ranking will be known only after the points from the juries and the public have been added together.
For the countries eliminated in the semi-finals, the contest ends without the possibility of presenting themselves in the most-watched part of the programme. For the finalists, however, Saturday evening brings the greatest exposure and the most important competitive moment. Eurovision remains one of the most-watched televised music events in the world, and the EBU stated that last year's edition was watched by 166 million viewers. That is precisely why qualification for the final has a meaning that goes beyond the ranking itself: it brings performers international visibility, public broadcasters confirmation of their investment, and countries an opportunity for cultural promotion before a large audience.
The final decides the winner on Saturday
The grand final of Eurovision 2026 will be held on 16 May in Vienna, after two semi-final evenings that narrowed the field from 35 participants to 25 finalists. The second semi-final produced the last ten acts heading to the closing stage and concluded the phase of the contest in which it was decided who would even get the chance to compete for victory. In the final, the same stage will therefore bring together the automatically qualified countries, performers who have already passed the pressure of the semi-finals, and host Austria, whose performance has a special status before the audience in Wiener Stadthalle. After a week marked by rehearsals, performances, rule changes and political debates, the closing evening should answer the basic Eurovision question: which song will receive the greatest confidence from the juries and the public.
Sources:
- Associated Press – report on qualifications from the second semi-final, the full final line-up and the political context of the contest (link)
- Associated Press – report on qualifications from the first semi-final and tensions around Israel's participation (link)
- Eurovision Song Contest / EBU – official information on the semi-finals, final, automatic finalists and contest schedule in Vienna (link)
- European Broadcasting Union – official announcement on changes to the voting rules for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 (link)
- Eurovision Song Contest – overview of participants and songs for the Vienna 2026 edition (link)
- The Guardian – report on Delta Goodrem's performance and Australia's qualification for the final (link)