The first dress rehearsal for the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is about to begin.
At 15:30 CEST, the 17 acts performing in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take to the stage in Vienna in front of the media for the first time. The line-up for the show is:
- 🇲🇩 Moldova: Satoshi – “Viva Moldova!”
- 🇸🇪 Sweden: Felicia – “My System”
- đź‡đź‡· Croatia: Lelek – “Andromeda”
- 🇬🇷 Greece: Akylas – “Ferto”
- 🇵🇹 Portugal: Bandidos do Cante – “Rosa”
- 🇬🇪 Georgia: Bzikebi – “On Replay”
- 🇮🇹 Italy: Sal Da Vinci – “Per sempre sì”
- 🇫🇮 Finland: Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen – “Liekinheitin”
- 🇲🇪 Montenegro: Tamara Živković – “Nova zora”
- 🇪🇪 Estonia: Vanilla Ninja – “Too Epic to Be True”
- 🇮🇱 Israel: Noam Bettan – “Michelle”
- 🇩🇪 Germany: Sarah Engels – “Fire”
- 🇧🇪 Belgium: Essyla – “Dancing on the Ice”
- 🇱🇹 Lithuania: Lion Ceecah – “Sólo quiero más”
- 🇸🇲 San Marino: Senhit feat. Boy George – “Superstar”
- 🇵🇱 Poland: Alicja – “Pray”
- 🇷🇸 Serbia: Lavina – “Kraj mene”
â• Live Coverage Ended
14:57 CEST // Servus leidln and welcome to the dress rehearsal of the first semi-final of Eurovision 2026! The press will get their first look at the performances in full.
15:10 CEST // The member of the press from around the world are making their way to the hall in the Wiener Stadthalle now. The show will start in 20 minutes.
15:21 CEST // Vienna is hosting the Eurovision Song Contest for the third time this year. The contest was previously held here in 1967 and 2015. Coincidentally, the 2015 contest was also held in the Wiener Stadthalle and was the celebrating another anniversary, the 60th contest!
15:30 CEST // Let’s start the show!
15:31 CEST // The show starts with “By Your Side for 70 Years”, a lookback at 70 years of Eurovision through the eyes of Toni, a young Austrian who grew up watching Eurovision through the years.
15:33 CEST // Returning to the Wiener Stadthalle, Toni and a 70-member choir sing “L’amour est bleu”, the Luxembourgish entry for Eurovision 1967, the first Eurovision to be held in Vienna.
15:34 CEST // Vicky Leandros arrives in the city which kickstarted her career almost 60 years ago.
15:35 CEST // Victoria Swarovski (yes, that Swarovksi) and Michael Ostrowski, our hosts for this year’s contest, take to the stage.
15:37 CEST // The hosts are explaining the voting rules. Don’t forget that the juries are back in the semi-finals this year!
🇲🇩 Moldova: Satoshi – “Viva Moldova!”
15:39 CEST // Satoshi’s postcard sees his having fun in a fairground in Vienna.
15:41 CEST // The background graphics features the lyrics and anime characters, while the stage in bathed in the Moldovan national colours.
15:42 CEST // Aliona Moon appears in a giant dress several feet off the ground, much she did at Eurovision 2013!
🇸🇪 Sweden: Felicia – “My System”
15:44 CEST // Felicia’s postcard sees her exploring street art.
15:45 CEST // Technical problems delay Felicia’s rehearsal.
15:46 CEST // Felicia begins the performance alone before being joined by four dancers for the chorus.
15:47 CEST // Felicia has not spared on the lasers because they are everywhere in this performance!
đź‡đź‡· Croatia: Lelek – “Andromeda”
15:49 CEST // Lelek explore Austria’s four seasons in the Alps, from winter to summer and everything in between.
15:50 CEST // The members are spread all over the stage, all moving closer to each other. One is up a pole structure. I hope there is a ladder nearby.
15:51 CEST // Dry ice, wind machines and pyro, the elements have come to Lelek’s aid and add to the haunting atmosphere.
🇬🇷 Greece: Akylas – “Ferto”
15:53 CEST // Akylas is cylcing through Austria is his postcard, even cycling through the air at one point.
15:54 CEST // Akylas invites us into his video game and 8-bit world.
15:55 CEST // In a callback to 2005, Akylas pulls a string out of a dancer to play a lyre.
15:56 CEST // Akylas takes us through three rooms, with a grandma, a Greek statue and a gold man in each one because why not?
15:57 CEST // Akylas climbs up to the top of the structure to sing the ballad portion of the song.
🇵🇹 Portugal: Bandidos do Cante – “Rosa”
15:58 CEST // Bandidos do Cante explore a theatre together.
15:58 CEST // Bandidos do Cante begin their performance on the ring around the stage before making their way towards the main stage.
16:00 CEST // Roses bloom on the LED screens during the violin solo.
🇬🇪 Georgia: Bzikebi – “On Replay”
16:02 CEST // Bzikebi explore Austria’s architecture in their postcard.
16:03 CEST // Bzikebi stand out in a dark cybernetic world in their yellow and black outfits.
16:04 CEST // Android versions of Bzikebi appear on the background LED screens. I, for one, welcome our wasp overloads.
16:07 CEST // Victoria is in the green room, introducing a VT about Eurovision memories from fans and former contestants, including Sissal, Miriana Conte, JJ, Eleni Foureira and someone called Will Ferrell (who?).
🇮🇹 Italy: Sal Da Vinci – “Per sempre sì”
16:10 CEST // Sal’s postcard sees him enjoying the mountains and vineyards of Austria.
16:12 CEST // Sal is dressed in a white suit, while two dancers prepare a groom for his wedding.
16:13 CEST // The bride has arrived!
16:14 CEST // The wedding is revealed to be hiding an Italian flag underneath (just in case you didn’t know which country this was).
🇫🇮 Finland: Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen – “Liekinheitin”
16:15 CEST // Linda and Pete explore the lakes of Austria, which is apt given that Finland is the land of 1000 lakes.
16:16 CEST // After a delay, the performance begins.
16:16 CEST // We get to hear Linda’s live violin playing for the first plan and it sounds so crisp.
16:18 CEST // As Linda approaches Pete in the confessional, the fire begins to spread on stage.
16:19 CEST // Largest applause from the press so far!
🇲🇪 Montenegro: Tamara Živković – “Nova zora”
16:20 CEST // Tamara explores some statues and buildings in her postcard.
16:21 CEST // Tamara has some new choreography for the dance break, which she performs with her four Victorian-inspired dancers.
16:23 CEST // Lightning appears on the back LED screen, right after a thunderstorm outside here in Vienna!
🇪🇪 Estonia: Vanilla Ninja – “Too Epic to Be True”
16:24 CEST // Vanilla Ninja explore an aquarium and the creatures of the deep in their postcard.
16:25 CEST // Lenna starts the performance with her back to the audience, before turning around for the first verse.
16:26 CEST // The suspended platform from Eesti Laul is gone, with a raised platform in its place.
16:27 CEST // Vanilla Ninja have a moment where they encourage the crowd to sing with them. We’ll see tonight if the crowd sings along.
🇮🇱 Israel: Noam Bettan – “Michelle”
16:28 CEST // Noam explores portals and bridges in his postcard.
16:29 CEST // Israel’s presence in the contest continues to cause controversy. Five countries; Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain have withdrawn from this year’s contest in protest of Israel being allowed to continue participating.
16:31 CEST // KAN has already been cautioned for using an excessive promotional campaign, one which was directly funded by the Israeli government in 2024 and 2025.
🇩🇪 Germany: Sarah Engels – “Fire”
16:34 CEST // Sarah makes her way across bridges, statues and roofs in her postcard.
16:35 CEST // Sarah starts the performance in a white dress, lying down on a raised platform.
16:35 CEST // When her four dancers arrive on stage, Sarah rips off her dress to reveal a golden bodysuit.
16:36 CEST // Is she going to jump from there? She did!
16:37 CEST // Don’t worry, there is plenty of pyro in this performance. What else did you expect from a song called “Fire”?
16:38 CEST // Victoria appears in a sketch called “Professor Eurovision”, in which she goes through Eurovision trivia about the songs that got 0 points in Eurovision history.
🇧🇪 Belgium: Essyla – “Dancing on the Ice”
16:41 CEST // Essyla explores modern art in her postcard.
16:42 CEST // Essyla starts her performance with snowfall and a wind machine on the catwalk.
16:43 CEST // Essyla is joined by four dancers on stage, with whom she interacts throughout the performance.
16:45 CEST // Essyla and her dancers end up back in the snowstorm for the end.
🇱🇹 Lithuania: Lion Ceecah – “Sólo quiero más”
16:46 CEST // Lion Ceccah travels through Austria’s waterways in his postcard. I hope all that silver doesn’t rust.
16:47 CEST // Victoria and Michael are filling time while Lithuania needs more time to get ready.
16:49 CEST // Victoria and Michael are speaking to “Sweden” in the Green Room, which is someone covering their face with a phone. Creative problems require creative solutions.
16:53 CEST // Lithuania is finally ready to begin.
16:54 CEST // Lion Ceccah definitely has the darkest staging so far, with dim lights creating a mysterious atmosphere.
16:55 CEST // The cloak figure from the beginning of the song collapses with dramatic effect.
🇸🇲 San Marino: Senhit feat. Boy George – “Superstar”
16:57 CEST // Senhit goes birdwatching in her postcard.
16:57 CEST // Senhit begins the performance in a hexagonal tube, which eventually opens up to act a backing prop.
16:58 CEST // Senhit and her four dancers are a vision in sparkling silver, as opposed to Lion Ceccah’s dramatic silver.
16:59 CEST // Boy George emerges from his hiding place to appear in person on stage and the pyro appears.
🇵🇱 Poland: Alicja – “Pray”
17:00 CEST // Alicja ponders the wonders of science in her postcard.
17:01 CEST // Alicja’s performance is taking more time than usual to set up.
17:02 CEST // Alicja begins the performance on the catwalk before heading to a slanted platform on the main stage.
17:03 CEST // Four dancers emerge from behind the platform and manage to keep balance on an uneven surface.
17:05 CEST // Alicja finally gets on the platform and stands up as the dancers slide down.
🇷🇸 Serbia: Lavina – “Kraj mene”
17:06 CEST // Lavina explore a salt mine in their postcard.
17:07 CEST // The lighting rig is lowered down to almost stage level for this performance.
17:06 CEST // Lavina explore a salt mine in their postcard.
17:07 CEST // The lighting rig is lowered down to almost stage level for this performance.
17:08 CEST // Luka started the performance on the catwalk while the other band members walked in a trance-like state from the middle of the stage.
17:09 CEST // The pyro comes on as Luka does his scream vocals.
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