Published: 06:00 am, 12 May 2026
Ahead of the Eurovision Grand Final on Saturday 16 May, which will see 25 countries compete to win the ultimate song contest, there are two live Semi-Finals on Tuesday 12 and Thursday 14 May for audiences to enjoy all 35 competing countries.
15 countries in each Semi-Final will battle for a coveted spot in Saturday night’s Grand Final. The Top 10 countries from each Semi-Final will progress to join 5 pre-qualified countries.
France, Germany, Italy, the UK and last year’s winner Austria automatically qualify for the Grand Final, however they are each required to broadcast and vote in one of the Semi-Finals.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Finals – and how to watch and follow all the action from Vienna on TV and BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds…
What time are the Eurovision 2026 Semi-Finals on?
The Eurovision 2026 Semi-Finals take place on Tuesday 12 and Thursday 14 May 2025 and they start at 8pm BST.
Rylan and Angela Scanlon are with you on both nights on BBC iPlayer and BBC One, while Sara Cox is overseeing proceedings on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds.
Graham Norton is your master of ceremonies on Saturday 16 May for the Grand Final on iPlayer and BBC One. The seasoned Eurovision expert, will be delighting audiences throughout the night with his famously witty insights.
Eurovision 2026 Semi-Finals with Audio Description and BSL
There’s live Audio Description available on BBC iPlayer and BBC One broadcasts of all three live shows this year. Live British Sign Language interpretation is also available during the shows on the Red Button and iPlayer, with subtitles available throughout the BBC One and Signed coverage on iPlayer.
Eurovision 2026 First Semi-Final
(Image: ORF/EBU)
In the first Semi-Final, the first group of countries will compete for a place in Saturday’s Grand Final.
The 15 countries competing are:
- 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 (Big Four – Qualifies for Grand Final)
- 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 – (Big Four – Qualifies for Grand Final)
- Belgium: ESSYLA – Dancing on the Ice
- Lithuania: Lion Ceccah – Sólo Quiero Más
- San Marino: SENHIT – Superstar
- Poland: ALICJA – Pray
- Serbia: LAVINA – Kraj Mene
The pre-qualified ‘Big Four’ countries performing and voting during the first Semi-Final are: Italy and Germany. Viewers in the UK cannot vote during this Semi-Final.
The show will open with a journey through time, demonstrating that the seven-decade history of the Eurovision Song Contest represents ‘70 Years of Love’: a film that portrays the life of a couple set against the backdrop of the world’s biggest live music show.
A 70-member choir will then launch the first Semi-Final with a tribute to L’amour Est Bleu’– one of the most popular Eurovision hits of all time. The song was performed when the city of Vienna first hosted the Contest in 1967.
While the votes are coming in, the interval act will see hosts Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski finally settle how to easily distinguish Austria from Australia, via a light-hearted musical performance. They will be joined by the Milkshake Man, Go-Jo, who represented Australia in Basel, Switzerland in 2025.
Eurovision 2026 Second Semi-Final
LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER (Image: EBU)
The second Semi-Final will take place on Thursday 14 May. The countries and acts performing are:
- Bulgaria: DARA – Bangaranga
- Azerbaijan: JIVA – Just Go
- Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu – Choke Me
- Luxembourg: Eva Marija – Mother Nature
- Czechia: Daniel Zizka – CROSSROADS
- France: Monroe – Regarde ! (Big Four – Qualifies for Grand Final)
- Armenia: SIMÓN – Paloma Rumba
- Switzerland: Veronica Fusaro – Alice
- Cyprus: Antigoni – JALLA
- Austria: COSMÓ – Tanzschein (Host Country – Qualifies for Grand Final)
- Latvia: Atvara – Ēnā
- Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund – Før Vi Går Hjem
- Australia: Delta Goodrem – Eclipse
- Ukraine: LELÉKA – Ridnym
- United Kingdom: LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER – Eins, Zwei, Drei – (Big Four – Qualifies for Grand Final)
- Albania: Alis – Nân
- Malta: AIDAN – Bella
- Norway: JONAS LOVV – YA YA YA
The Big Four countries performing and voting during the second Semi-Final are: France and the United Kingdom, with pre-qualified hosts Austria also performing.
How to vote in the Eurovision Semi-Finals
UK audiences can vote in the second Semi-Final on Thursday 14 May. More details regarding the new voting procedure and how you can get involved can be found on the official Eurovision website or at bbc.co.uk/eurovision.
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