Tonight: Semi-final 2 of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026

15 countries are ready for the Grand Final on Saturday. Tonight, the second Semi-final will decide the last 10 qualifiers.

15 songs will be performed, but only 10 will qualify for Saturday's Grand Final. The show starts at 21:00 CEST, broadcast live from Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria. The hosts are Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski.

The running order was decided by Austrian broadcaster and producer ORF based on an allocation draw.

Lineup Semi-final 2

Opening: Wasted Love

The show begins with clips from Tuesday's Semi-final 1.

A pre-recorded video segment shows our hosts Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski performing a parody of JJ’s Eurovision 2025 winning song "Wasted Love". However, the performance does not go entirely as planned, as everything goes completely wrong.

The video transitions to the stage inside Wiener Stadthalle, where the two hosts emerge from the wreckage of JJ's shipwreck prop. After the voting rules are explained in both English and French, it is time...

Let the Second Semi-final Begin!

After approximately 8 minutes, the first country to take the stage is Bulgaria.

Postcards

Before each of the songs, we’ll see a short "postcard" while the stage is being prepared for the next performance.

The postcards for Eurovision 2026 combine real footage from locations across Austria with studio recordings of the artists, layered together to create imaginative and visually striking scenes.

The artists will appear in a variety of settings – from riding a chairlift above snow-covered mountains to wandering as miniature figures through forests and meadows among giant plants, or walking across spectacular city skylines.

The tradition also has a special Austrian connection. The first postcard was invented in 1869 by Emanuel Herrmann.

Commercial Breaks

After France, the evening's first commercial break takes place. For viewers without commercials, a pre-recorded video features host Victoria as "Professor Eurovision", taking us through some Eurovision history. This time, the focus is on Eurovision and the LGBTQI+ community. It's not about blending in but standing out. She looks back at some of the most memorable queer artists in Eurovision history.

After Denmark, the second commercial break takes place. The hosts introduce a pre-recorded video showing the artists' first reactions as they discover the Eurovision stage for the very first time. The montage is accompanied by an instrumental version of Euphoria.

Interval Acts: Disco, Waltz and JJ

After all 15 songs have been performed it's time to start the voting. All countries in Semi-final 2, along with the three pre-qualified countries (France, Austria and the United Kingdom) can vote in this Semi-final.

The presenters explain the rules and quickly open the voting:

Start Voting Now!

The evening's first recap takes place and after this, Michael is so excited. He just can't hide it.

Michael striking the opening chords on a guitar and launching into "I’m So Excited" by Pointer Sisters. As he sings, the stage is transformed into a giant 1980s disco, filled with dancers, vibrant colours and bursts of pyro. Towards the end of the performance, Victoria joins him on stage to sing the final chorus.

The hosts invite the audience and the artists in the green room to join them for a traditional Viennese waltz. As they demonstrate the steps, the arena begins to sway to the timeless Merci, Chérie, Austria’s winning entry from Eurovision 1966. Soon, the entire arena is dancing along to one of Austria’s most beloved Eurovision classics.

Stop Voting Now!

The voting is now closed, but we still have to hang on for a few moments.

Next up is another commercial break. For viewers without commercials, another episode of the "Douze Points – Eurovision Quiz" takes place with Michael as quizmaster and several commentators as contestants.

After a short promotion of the official CD, DVD and LP, last year’s winner JJ returns to the stage to perform his new single, "Unknown".

We are now ready to find out which 10 countries have qualified, decided by public voting and national juries.

Good Night Europe!

Voting

Each participating country will have two sets of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 points to give. One set for each country's jury, and one set for each country's televoting. Viewers in some of the non-participating countries ("the rest of the world") will be able to vote online. The "rest of the world" online votes will have the same weight as one participating country.

• The 10 songs with most points will qualify for the Grand Final.
• Each of the 15 countries participating in Semi-final 2 will vote.
• The pre-qualified countries France, Austria and the United Kingdom will broadcast and vote in Semi-final 2.
• Each country has a national jury who gave one set of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 points.
• Each country will have televoting, which also results in a set of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 points.
• Online voting "rest of the world" has the same weight as one participating country: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 points.
• The voting results will not be revealed before the Grand Final has finished on Saturday.
• Only the 10 qualified songs will be revealed, and in random order.

Eurovision Song Contest 2026

The 70th Eurovision Song Contest takes place in May 2026. The contest will be held in Vienna, Austria and produced by Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF).

• Location: Vienna, Austria
• Participants: 35
• Semi-final 1: 12 May 2026: The 10 best songs qualified for the Grand Final
• Semi-final 2: 14 May 2026: The 10 best songs qualify for the Grand Final
• Grand Final: 16 May 2026: 25 participants – Austria, Big-4 (Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom), 10 best from Semi-final 1, 10 best from Semi-final 2