The Semi-Final 1 Jury Show of Eurovision 2026 is about to begin. Follow all the action live in our blog below!
At 21:00 CEST, the participants in the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take part in the Jury Show. For the first time since 2022, the juries in the 15 competing countries, Italy and Germany will watch and vote on the performances. The juries will decide 50% of the overall result. The remaining 50% will be decided by the public vote during tomorrow night’s live show.
The line-up for the Semi-Final 1 Jury 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 in Progress
20:56 CEST // The Semi-Final 1 Jury Show will start in four minutes.
21:00 CEST // The jury show has begun!
21:00 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.
21:03 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.
21:04 CEST // The woman herself, Vicky Leandros, returns to the city where her international career began. She would later win Eurovision 1972.
21:05 CEST // The hosts for tonight’s show, Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski, arrive on stage.
21:07 CEST // The hosts are explaining the voting rules. Victoria has to use a remote to switch Michael from French to English.
🇲🇩 Moldova: Satoshi – “Viva Moldova!”
21:10 CEST // Satoshi’s postcard sees his having fun in a fairground in Vienna.
21:11 CEST // Satoshi is the first artist this year to use the Steadycam, using it throughout the first chorus.
21:12 CEST // The screen goes black for a few seconds. Hopefully that won’t impact the jury scores too much.
21:13 CEST // Aliona’s giant dress goes down a treat in the press centre!
🇸🇪 Sweden: Felicia – “My System”
21:14 CEST // Felicia’s postcard sees her exploring street art.
21:15 CEST // Red is very much Felicia’s colour and she wants you to know it.
21:16 CEST // Felicia’s dancers look like they come out of The Matrix. But would they take the red pill or the blue pill?
21:18 CEST // The bass is pumping through those speakers!
đź‡đź‡· Croatia: Lelek – “Andromeda”
21:19 CEST // Lelek explore Austria’s four seasons in the Alps, from winter to summer and everything in between.
21:20 CEST // With the graphics and flying illusion on stage, Lelek are tapping into their storytelling skills.
21:22 CEST // This is a massive upgrade from the Dora staging. Will it enough to get them to the final?
🇬🇷 Greece: Akylas – “Ferto”
21:23 CEST // Akylas is cylcing through Austria is his postcard, even cycling through the air at one point.
21:24 CEST // Akylas won the Press Poll earlier today, and with this energetic and eclecitc performance, it’s easy to see why.
21:25 CEST // Riding a scooter never looked so good!
21:26 CEST // The ballad has the English lyrics on the LED screen.
21:27 CEST // Huge reaction from the press centre for Greece!
🇵🇹 Portugal: Bandidos do Cante – “Rosa”
21:27 CEST // Bandidos do Cante explore a theatre together.
21:28 CEST // After four high-energy entries, Bandidos do Cante offer us a nice change of pace.
21:30 CEST // Portugal have qualified for every final since 2021. Can they continue their streak this year?
21:31 CEST // Michael is on stage to introduce the next entry.
🇬🇪 Georgia: Bzikebi – “On Replay”
21:32 CEST // Bzikebi explore Austria’s architecture in their postcard.
21:33 CEST // Bzikebi are former Eurovision champions, as they won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008.
21:34 CEST // Bzikebi strut confidently down the catwalk for the last part of the song.
21:37 CEST // Victoria introduces a VT about people’s memories of Eurovision, from fans to past participants and of course, Will Ferrell.
🇮🇹 Italy: Sal Da Vinci – “Per sempre sì”
21:40 CEST // Sal’s postcard sees him enjoying the mountains and vineyards of Austria.
21:42 CEST // Sal is the definition of class as he tells this love story.
21:43 CEST // The wardrobe malfunction from earlier has been fixed.
🇫🇮 Finland: Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen – “Liekinheitin”
21:45 CEST // Linda and Pete explore the lakes of Austria, which is apt given that Finland is the land of 1000 lakes.
21:45 CEST // After a short delay, the performance begins.
21:46 CEST // Some new alternating shots have been added to the performance, which go back and forth between Pete and Linda.
21:48 CEST // Linda and Pete certainly brought the heat!
🇲🇪 Montenegro: Tamara Živković – “Nova zora”
21:49 CEST // Tamara explores some statues and buildings in her postcard.
21:50 CEST // Tamara brings a three-act story to the Vienna stage.
21:52 CEST // The last time Montenegro qualified for the final was 2015, when the contest was last in Vienna. Can Tamara end the ten-year drought?
🇪🇪 Estonia: Vanilla Ninja – “Too Epic to Be True”
21:53 CEST // Vanilla Ninja explore an aquarium and the creatures of the deep in their postcard.
21:55 CEST // 21 years since their last Eurovision appearance (feel old yet?), Vanilla Ninja are finally representing their home country.
21:56 CEST // Vanilla Ninja can now try out their crowd work with an actual crowd.
🇮🇱 Israel: Noam Bettan – “Michelle”
21:57 CEST // Noam explores portals and bridges in his postcard.
22:00 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.
🇩🇪 Germany: Sarah Engels – “Fire”
22:02 CEST // Sarah makes her way across bridges, statues and roofs in her postcard.
22:03 CEST // Some would say this is a copy of “Fuego” but that’s not true. Eleni never jumped off a high platform!
22:05 CEST // There is always a place for a girlbop at Eurovision, and Germany is following that advice this year.
22:07 CEST // Victoria appears in a sketch called “Professor Eurovision”, in which she goes through Eurovision trivia, specifically about the songs that received 0 points, which Austria is the joint champion of.
🇧🇪 Belgium: Essyla – “Dancing on the Ice”
22:10 CEST // Essyla explores modern art in her postcard.
22:12 CEST // Essyla performed her song the most confidently she has performed it to date.
22:13 CEST // Could Essyla be Belgium’s first qualifier since 2023?
🇱🇹 Lithuania: Lion Ceecah – “Sólo quiero más”
22:15 CEST // Lion Ceccah travels through Austria’s waterways in his postcard. I hope all that silver doesn’t rust.
22:15 CEST // The technical problems from the dress rehearsals have been sorted out and Lion Ceccah can start his performance without delay this time.
22:17 CEST // A silver flashing figure appears on the background LED screen. As if there wasn’t enough silver!
🇸🇲 San Marino: Senhit feat. Boy George – “Superstar”
22:19 CEST // Senhit goes birdwatching in her postcard.
22:20 CEST // Senhit is appearing in appearing in Eurovision for the fourth time. That’s almost half the population of San Marino!
22:22 CEST // Boy George is here too, and in person too.
🇵🇱 Poland: Alicja – “Pray”
22:23 CEST // Alicja ponders the wonders of science in her postcard.
22:24 CEST // Alicja hits those vocal runs with no difficulty at all. How does she do it?
22:26 CEST // Alicja has waited six years to get to Eurovision and it looks like it was worth the wait!
🇷🇸 Serbia: Lavina – “Kraj mene”
22:28 CEST // Lavina explore a salt mine in their postcard.
22:30 CEST // We have seen a lot of pyro this evening but I think Serbia has used the most. Yes, even more than “Fire”.
22:31 CEST // All of the 15 competing song have been performed. It’s almost time to open the fake voting.
22:33 CEST // The fake voting has opened.
22:38 CEST // Michael and Victoria introduce everyone to the Green Room, which is styled after a Viennese coffee house. Emily Busvine is the Green Room.
22:39 CEST // Michael has a costume change and asks Finland if he has a soothing effect on them.
22:42 CEST // Michael has another costume and gives a history and sightseeing tour of Vienna.
22:43 CEST // Zurcaroh, an Austrian acrobatic show group, performs “Welcome to the Funfair”, a routine inspired by funfair rides. Not for the faint-hearted!
22:49 CEST // The second voting recap is being shown.
22:52 CEST // The fake voting are now closed.
22:53 CEST // Michael hosts “Douze Points”, a quiz show with commentators from different countries.
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