Get the full coverage from the first dress rehearsal of the final show, currently taking place on the Eurovision 2026 stage in Vienna. One by one, all 25 qualifying countries will take the stage. We will be providing updates throughout the rehearsal with all the details received by our editorial team.

Photo: EBU

Today at 13:42 CET, the first dress rehearsal began ahead of the final show broadcast, which will take place tomorrow at 21:00 CET (Saturday, May 16). Just before the jury rehearsal takes place today at 21:00 CET, we’re here to report everything happening on stage in real time from Vienna.

Make sure to click the refresh button so you can continue following along during the rehearsals!

Final Show – Initial Overview:

The Grand Final begins with a video screened on the screen, showing JJ at the moment of his Eurovision victory last year. Afterward, he meets with his fans in Vienna, and as he leaves the venue, he accidentally leaves behind the paper boat that accompanied him on the Eurovision stage. The boat makes its way into the sewer and from there to various locations across Austria.

Following this, he opens with a classical opera song alongside a philharmonic orchestra, while dancers are positioned on the stairs leading to the Green Room. In a very strange twist, he begins performing the same song he performed in the second semi-final, “Unknown”.

Upon the conclusion of his performance, the flag parade begins, and each representative marches with their flag toward the Green Room. In the middle of the flag parade, JJ returns to the stage along with dancers and aerial acrobats, and they perform last year’s winning song, “Wasted Love”. The performance looks amazing and very impressive in reality, especially due to the remarkable acrobatics. The version becomes more up-tempo toward the end of the song. Afterward, the flag parade continues until the final country. JJ continues to perform his song after the conclusion of the parade, elevating to a great height using a raised platform.

A break of a few minutes occurs after the flag parade, as the contestants return toward the stage and prepare to start from the beginning. After a long wait, the entire show up to this point restarts from the beginning. This time, the red curtains fall on time before JJ’s performance of his winning song. Some of the aerial acrobats are not present in this run.

Following another short break, none other than Natalia from the Polish delegation walks past the press area, as all the journalists around call out, “Natalia!” and burst into laughter. The reference:

After the long break, the hosts, Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski, take the stage and open the show.

1. Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund – “Før vi går hjem”:

Søren Torpegaard Lund begins the performance with a transparent room prop behind him, inside of which the dancers are positioned. He touches the wall and shakes his backside from side to side. He holds onto a ladder on the side of the room while the dancers dance inside. He climbs to the ceiling of the room while constantly interacting with the dancers through the window. Smoke shrouds the room the entire time.

Søren enters the room, dancing closely with the dancers. The dancers strip off his light-blue shirt, revealing a shimmering mesh tank top. Everyone exits the room as the dancers push him toward the center of the stage. Søren saves his voice and does not perform the high notes during this rehearsal. The LED screens display fire, and orange lighting accompanies the end of the performance. There was a firework from the floor, and nothing more than that in terms of pyrotechnics. An amazing (even too much so) opening to the show.

2. Germany: Sarah Engels – “Fire”:

The German stage is not ready on time; several shots of the audience are shown before the performance.

Sarah Engels lies on the raised Eurovision stage in a white dress, with a shimmering gold bodysuit underneath. Four female dancers join her on stage, strip the dress off Sarah, and then exit the stage. The vocal performance is inaccurate, and she is even “marking” the notes. A large amount of fire erupts from the stage floor, nearly burning our faces; at one point, Sarah falls backward from the high stage and the dancers catch her. Fire appears on the stage at the end of the performance as Sarah and the dancers perform a dance break that is beautifully filmed, slightly reminiscent of the Spanish artist Chanel from Eurovision 2022. At the end, Sarah climbs onto the high stage. She is an excellent performer and looks amazing, but the vocal performance is not perfect, likely on purpose.

3. Israel: Noam Bettan – “Michelle”:

A break occurs before the Israeli entry as the Green Room host passes the time. Another break follows as Noam Bettan prepares to take the stage, with chants of “El El Israel” moving him and the dancers. The stage is not ready on time, and several shots of the audience are shown after the postcard.

The singer takes the stage and begins inside a diamond that rotates around him, with a close-up on him against a particularly glittering background. The diamond begins to open, and he is joined by dancer Lihi Freud. The cameraman is not visible in the reflection of the diamond during the beginning of the performance. The rest of the dancers join the stage as Noam and Lihi exit the diamond. The diamond rotates constantly and is illuminated. The dancers stand in a line behind him, and then everyone advances toward the catwalk, with the stage floor scorched and illuminated in a gold color. At the conclusion of the performance during the Hebrew part of the song, numerous diamonds appear on the LED screens as Lihi joins Noam and then leaves him. It is an excellent vocal performance, even though the artist does not overexert himself. The entry is very different from the other songs and therefore could stand out in a positive way.

4. Belgium: Essyla – “Dancing On The Ice”:

Essyla begins the performance with her back to the audience at the center of the catwalk. There is a type of snow machine operated on her by a person (just like a leaf blower) and a wind machine directed at her face and cloak. She walks toward the main stage wearing a very long white cloak. Four dancers join her, all dressed in white. The dancers also wear masks. The cloak, which is supposed to be stripped off her, got stuck – a dancer came to remove it.

At the beginning of the performance, the stage features white and light-blue colors like ice, and later orange like fire. Toward the end of the performance, the stage is split half-and-half between these two colors, just like heat and cold. At the conclusion of the performance, Essyla and the dancers move to the catwalk, and a smoke machine is directed at her again. The vocal performance was excellent.

There is a short musical break following the Belgian entry.

5. Albania: Alis – “Nân”:

The stage is not ready on time, as the stage crew is preparing the Ukrainian stage simultaneously. The host Victoria introduces Albania from the Green Room.

Alis begins the performance on his knees with the stage floor covered in smoke. A mother figure gazes at him from the LED screens, with English subtitles accompanying the performance. He wears a type of massive shimmering cloak and sunglasses. A beam of light passes over him as he stands. White lighting from the stage floor pulses to the rhythm of the song. Before the chorus, many mothers are seen on the LED screens, appearing as if they are right next to him in reality. Afterward, male figures sing toward him. The backing vocals are also performed live.

There is an overhead camera shot showing an analog clock on the LED floor. The cameraman circles him as his mother walks toward him holding a watch. This is a performance moving enough to bring one to tears. There are visuals of wings in the background when he is not perfectly centered; his mother removes his glasses, strokes his face, gives him the watch, and leaves. The vocal performance is excellent.

6. Greece: Akylas – “Ferto”:

The Greek stage is not ready on time; several shots of the audience are shown.

Akylas begins the performance dressed in tiger-print clothing, with a computer game in his likeness displayed on the LED screens. During the song, the game on the LED screens progresses. He removes his tiger jacket, passes through a tunnel of mirrors and exits it, and pays tribute to Helena Paparizou, the 2005 Greek Eurovision winner, by playing the strings of a ‘violin’ that extend from cords on a dancer’s costume. He rides a scooter forward onto the catwalk, while in the background, fireworks on the catwalk are heard erupting from the stage floor as numerous sweets surround him in the video art.

Meanwhile, sets of different rooms have been prepared on the stage. A grandmother is knitting in one, a Greek statue stands in another, and a golden figure is in the third. Now, a body double replaces him for the side-to-side head movement, while the original singer has ascended above the four rooms as he sings the emotional part of his song.

He slides down a pole and descends to the main stage toward the end of the song, and the characters from the rooms join him on the catwalk at the conclusion of the performance. He dances during the performance despite his back injury, though he is somewhat cautious. The vocal performance is inaccurate.

7. Ukraine: LELÉKA – “Ridnym”:

LELÉKA stands at the side of the stage as she walks toward the other side, where a traditional string instrument player is located. She wears a type of half-glove covering only her fingers, and this time her eye is not styled with makeup. A wide white stripe is positioned on the stage floor. Two long, thin white fabrics descend from the ceiling, and the vocal performance so far is perfect. Beams of light illuminate her while she is in the center of the stage. Smoke is created from the sides of the stage as the stage colors shift to red and blue. The colors transition again to white and light blue as four long white fabrics descend from the ceiling. LELÉKA delivers the high note the best she ever has! It is a highly moving and impressive performance.

There is a break following the Ukrainian song as the host Michael introduces the continuation of the show. “Professor Eurovision” strikes for the third time, as the host Victoria stands in front of a classroom, teaching them this time about Eurovision successes – both in terms of points and streams.

There is a break following the Ukrainian song as the host Michael introduces the continuation of the show. “Professor Eurovision” strikes for the third time, as the host Victoria stands in front of a classroom, teaching them this time about Eurovision successes – both in terms of points and streams.

8. Australia: Delta Goodrem – “Eclipse”:

Delta Goodrem takes the stage, which features a harp, a shimmering piano at the center of the catwalk, and a full lunar eclipse prop on the main stage. A harpist begins the performance. Goodrem sings from the center of the moon prop, with the floor shrouded in smoke and numerous stars on the LED screens. She looks very much like a combination of Celine Dion and Shiri Maimon. She gazes toward the horizon as the camera rotates in a back – and – forth half – circle around her.

The singer advances toward the catwalk, nearly slipping, with her dress sparkling intensely. She moves toward the grand piano, and there is a smoke – filled shot while she plays. The LED visuals feature solar and lunar eclipses. Goodrem climbs onto the piano and is gradually elevated by an additional platform she is attached to, while a waterfall of fireworks begins behind her – reminiscent of the performance by Yuval Raphael last year. The vocal delivery was excellent, except for the high note at the end of the song which she does not perform, and loud applause was heard in the arena at the end of the song.

9. Serbia: Lavina – “Kraj Mene”:

Lavina begins the performance with a faint pre-recorded female backing vocal, with the lead singer on the catwalk with his back to the stage, wearing a black cloak with huge silver shoulder spikes. The lead singer returns to the main stage, with the microphone stand resembling a sword. The shots so far are highly focused on the singer’s face, and afterward, the singer removes the cloak. For those interested, the singer has messy hair and no makeup. The rest of the band members are also on the main stage. Lighting descends from the stage ceiling, while there is a technical glitch with one of the camera angles. During the screamo performed by the lead singer, a large amount of fire erupts from the stage floor, the lighting changes from blue to orange, and the camera shakes completely. The performance ends with the lead singer hunched over on the floor. The vocal performance was excellent. The stand bursts into flames even after the conclusion of the performance, and crew members arrived to extinguish it with a fire extinguisher.

There is a break following the Serbian song as the Maltese stage is prepared simultaneously, and the hosts introduce the entry.

10. Malta: Aidan – “Bella”:

Aidan begins the performance with an overhead camera shot. He is surrounded by illuminated arches (resembling a garden gazebo), which is undoubtedly the largest prop this year. The camera moves outside the arch as it shimmers around him. A female figure in a dress is projected onto the arches, appearing multiplied and spinning around him. He exits the prop, moves playfully around it, and then steps back inside. The door through which he re-entered accidentally failed to close. The stage itself rotates while Aidan stands on it, with wind blowing through his hair. The stage colors shift to red as Aidan mimes crying during the song. The vocal performance is excellent.

11. Czechia: Daniel Žižka – “Crossroads”:

Daniel Žižka begins the performance sitting on the floor barefoot, with circular mirrors positioned behind him and at the front of the stage, making him appear multiplied several times. Light from above illuminates him, making the performance look just like a music video. The entire arena is dark. Daniel stands up and walks to one of the front mirrors. There are two mirrors facing each other, so the singer appears multiplied. This is how you do a mirror effect at Eurovision! It looks simply spectacular, although the cameraman was visible in one part of the song.

Now, all the mirrors close in around Daniel in a circle, creating an amazing effect. The mirrors open up and a wave of color sweeps across the stage. Daniel delivers the entire number flawlessly from a vocal standpoint, and the staging looks mesmerizing on television. The overall atmosphere was very similar to that of Austria’s JJ last year, but with a much better vocal performance. Without a doubt, he is the best vocalist this year.

12. DARA – “Bangaranga”:

Dara takes the Eurovision stage in a pink tank top and burgundy shorts with fur, accompanied by four dancers. They begin the performance with the set designed to look like a waiting room. The dancers are positioned upside down on the red chairs, and the entire performance starts with Dara’s face upside down on the screen while the dancers’ legs are visible. The dancers wear masks with clown makeup. The camera angles are very intriguing, and the whole television presentation looks amazing. The room begins to spin around Dara, and the singer and dancers go wild on the chair, making it look as though they are spinning rather than the set. The dancers remove their masks, and Dara joins them in the choreography.

The set opens up, and the dancers remove the chairs – which feature white lights on them – from the frame. The entire stage goes dark, replaced by lighting and video art on the floor. So far, the vocal performance was excellent. The conclusion of the performance is more dramatic than the original track, as they dance without the set while lighting descends from the stage ceiling. Loud applause was heard in the arena at the end of the performance.

13. Croatia: LELEK – “Andromeda”:

LELEK take the smoke-filled stage, starting with a close-up on the face of one of the members. This time, the ancient symbols are not painted on the band members’ faces; however, these markings will return tonight for the jury rehearsal. One of the members is dressed in white and sits on an exceptionally high chair, creating an effect that looks just like levitation. The rest of the members stand on the stage dressed in red outfits.

On screen, the performance looks particularly impressive. Three members of the band march to the catwalk and back, and upon their return, they recreate “The Creation of Adam” pose with each other. The “magic” from the beginning of the performance later opens its gates on the LED screens and dissolves. A large amount of fire erupts from the arena floor at the end of the performance this time as well. At the conclusion of the number, they are sucked into a sort of “wormhole” on the LED screens. One of the members runs away from the others toward the center of the catwalk, bringing the song to a highly dramatic finish. You are already familiar with the staging – and this time, too, the women of LELEK sound incredible. Well done to Croatia for a great performance.

14. United Kingdom: Look Mum No Computer – “Eins Zwei Drei”:

Look Mum No Computer takes the stage, which features 12 tables and dancers with old computer screens over their faces. The singer is not wearing his performance attire and performs the song an octave lower than he is supposed to sing it. He completely marks the performance and puts no effort into it. Perhaps he is trying to save his voice for tonight’s rehearsal? But if so, why didn’t he wear his outfit?

The track features choreography with the tables, which later turn into the singer’s musical instruments as the performance progresses. One table is not interacting well with the lighting. Overall, it is difficult to judge this mess. The singer does not sound good, and the staging does not look good.

15. France: Monroe – “Regarde!”:

Monroe begins the performance on a small white circular stage, surrounded by flashing lights and smoke rising from the stage floor. The camera rotates around her, and as she turns her back to the audience, five dancers join her. There is heavy use of lighting from the stage ceiling. They march down the catwalk as a turquoise stripe accompanies her along with a large amount of smoke. She is enveloped in smoke as the dancers move around her, and she joins in on some of the choreography as well.

The camera angles switch frequently, and fireworks appear on the screen during the climax. Monroe steps onto an additional raised platform on the catwalk as the entire arena fills with smoke, the sound of which can even be clearly heard on television. It is an amazing vocal and televised performance.

16. Moldova: Satoshi – “Viva, Moldova!”:

Right from the beginning of Satoshi’s performance, the stage fills with the colors of the Moldovan flag as Satoshi is off-stage and joins his friends on it. The main camera angle is from inside the stage itself, with the camera shaking and “dancing” along with Satoshi and his friends. Two backing vocalists join him, one of whom is Aliona Moon, Moldova’s representative at Eurovision 2013. Two electric guitar players and a drummer are also on stage. The friends disperse across the stage and the camera moves between them, while Japanese-style figures appear on the LED screens. The camera shakes during parts of the performance to simulate the audience dancing along with Satoshi and the friends. Aliona Moon makes an amazing tribute to herself from 2013, and in the part where she sings, she is inside a huge red dress, just like 13 years ago. She returns to the main stage, as fire and smoke accompany the end of the performance. A simply excellent vocal performance. The stage crew struggles with removing Aliona Moon’s dress from the stage, but it is not visible on the screens.

17. Finland: Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – “Liekinheitin”:

The Finnish stage is not ready on time, a few shots of the audience before the performance.

Linda and Pete take the stage as Pete is petrified in the confessional booth on the catwalk, and Linda stands on an elevated stage with upside-down chairs on it. Linda plays live during parts of the performance. Peta’s vocal performance sounds okay. The elevated stage Linda was standing on bursts into flames, and there are napkin-like objects on the stage ceiling catching fire, and so does the confessional booth. Linda joins Pete on the other side of the booth as all the chairs burn behind her, along with napkin-like things falling and burning from the stage ceiling, and runs back to the stage for the end of the song together with Pete. There is a reasonable chance we just watched the winners, but it is clear that they are saving their best for the live broadcast. Loud applause from the journalists in the audience at the end of the performance.

18. Poland: Alicja – “Pray”:

Alicja begins the performance in the center of the catwalk with spotlights aimed at her, with a very dramatic voice. The singer turns her back to the camera, while on the main stage there is a white sloped stage with four dancers on it, towards whom Alicja marches. They continue to dance on the sloped stage, and later join Alicja, and then she also steps onto the slope. A lot of white lighting accompanies the performance, while on the LED screens, a silhouette of Alicja appears in a blurry black. The vocal performance is excellent, and ciao to Natalia!

19. Lithuania: Lion Ceccah – “Sólo quiero más”:

The Lithuanian stage is not ready on time, a few shots of the audience before the performance.

Lion Ceccah begins the performance inside a large black puppet with a cape. Intense close-up shots of Lion, and he makes robotic movements with his hands. His lips are not done in silver makeup, which makes the performance even more intense. The vocal performance is not good at all (as usual). Lion’s hands are also not done with makeup. He exits the puppet, which collapses without being touched during the performance. Lion advances to the center of the stage, and then to the catwalk. A disappointing vocal performance.

20. Sweden: FELICIA – “My System”:

Felicia begins the performance entirely alone with a sparkling mask on her face, with a smoke-filled floor in red and white colors. The recorded backing vocals are heard more than the live vocals. Four dancers join the performance and perform synchronized movements. Red lasers are seen projected from the stage ceiling, and white lasers draw a square around her on the floor. The entire stage is in red and black colors. In the c-part, the camera films her from above. The singer does not perform the high notes in the singing at all, and sounds muted compared to previous performances. Felicia switches from the mask to glasses, and looks as if she is stepping out of the LED screens. A weak stage performance.

21. Cyprus: Antigoni – “JALLA”:

The Cypriot stage is not ready on time, a few shots of the audience.

22. Italy: Sal Da Vinci – “Per Sempre Si”:

The Italian stage is not ready on time, a few shots of the audience before the performance. The green room host shares a few facts about Italy at Eurovision.

Sal da Vinci is dressed in a white suit, with a clothing rack in the background, the groom dressed only in underwear, and two companions. The groom gets dressed during the performance, which looks very much like something out of a musical. The two companions dance with each other. The companions and the groom perform ballroom-style dances behind Sal during the chorus. The groom is almost ready, with a mirror on the side of the stage. On screen, they didn’t show us the part where the dancer is in front of the mirror, so there is no way to know whether the cameraman or the dancer is visible. The wedding floor changes to black and white checkered squares as the three perform impressive acrobatic moves. The bride arrives to Sal and continues toward the groom. The bride turned around as part of her dress was removed, revealing that the Italian flag was inside her dress. She almost got stuck inside the dress. The bride and groom kiss and dance with each other. At the end of the performance, Sal’s iconic movement and the ring are performed, of course. The vocal performance is not one hundred percent accurate, but it definitely gets the job done.

Did you miss the song “Unknown” by JJ? We sure did! Now it is being played for only the third time in the competition, while a video is screened showing the best moments of hosting the Eurovision so far – visuals of the branded city of Vienna, clips from the turquoise carpet, clips from the Euroclub and Eurovillage, and more. The songs “Espresso Macchiato” and “Serving” are also played.

Now a video of the previous times Vienna hosted the contest- 1967 and 2015 is being played.

23. Norway: Jonas Lovv – “Ya Ya Ya”:

Jonas Lovv begins the performance with his back to the audience, while his musicians are on an elevated red stage. He joins them while waving hello to us, and the camera spins around him. As the performance starts, the sound shifts, and someone else is seemingly performing the high notes and additional vocals instead of him. The word “AY” appears on the LED screens, multiplied many times and spinning. During the chorus, the words “Ya Ya Ya” move across the LED screens to the beat of the song. It is possible that he is saving his voice for the live performance. The stage colors are red and white, with Jonas making several provocative movements (and this is after they censored his even more provocative moves). Jonas approaches his musicians and caresses them, exits the elevated stage onto the main stage, and then runs toward the catwalk. A firework shoots up from the stage floor, and Jonas does not perform the high note at the end of the song at all (nor does the backing vocalist). Jonas runs in an arc that surrounds the stage, and fireworks shoot up from the stage floor at the end of the song. An uplifting song, but not to my personal taste.

24. Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu – “Choke Me”:

The Romanian stage is not ready on time, as the host introduces the Romanian song and admits that the stage is not yet ready. Meanwhile, they are cleaning the stage in the process, for some reason. It takes a long time for the stage to be ready, and the host in the green room talks with delegations in the meantime.

Alexandra Căpitănescu begins the performance in the center of the catwalk with her back to the audience, while two of her band members hold her using white-lit ropes (which are connected to her on one side and to their guitars on the other), and the camera angles are blurry. The singer does not perform the third “Choke Me” in the chorus, but rather a recorded backing vocal (which is heard very faintly), and a mysterious figure wearing a white cape with a covered face is seen. The rest of the band has positioned themselves on the stage, and Alexandra also advances toward them but still with her back to the audience. It looks just like an exorcism ritual of Alexandra against the figure in white. A lot of electrical cables accompany the performance, and the white lighting accompanying the performance also looks like bars. Before the high note, there is a second-and-a-half pause, and she nails it wonderfully. At the end of the performance, the stage is lit in red as fire from the stage floor accompanies the performance. The performance is particularly captivating, both in terms of staging and television, and vocally.

25. Austria: Cosmó – “Tanzschein”:

The Austrian stage is once again not ready and the green room host stalls for time by speaking with the delegations.

Cosmo begins the preformance lying on the stage with a star painted on his eye, and the other dancers and lying on the floor around him, with masks of different animals. The floor has the writing “Dance away your inner animal” on it. Cosmo and the dancers stand up, move to stand in a single line and preform the iconic “Tanzschein” dance. Not all the dancers are well placed within the squares of the LED background. The dancers preform acrobatic moves while two wide fence like walls are being rolled onto the stage, on which the dancers climb. They preform the dance while on the walls as well. The LED screens have illustrations of animals on it. Cosmo runs along the cat-walk to his friend on the electric guitar, and the rest of the band follows. The vocal preformance is completely fine, a very nice closing of the evening. 

After all the songs have been preformed, the hosts come on the stage and talk to each other while refrencing different Eurovision songs. Afterwards, the first recap of all the songs is shown.

Interval Act and Voting

The first Interval begins with some iconic past Eurovision Artists (Erika vikman, Lordi, Alexander Rybak, Kristian Kostov, Verka Serduchka, Miriana Conte, Ruslana) each preforming a different Eurovision song than the one they originally preformed. The interval is set to be for the contest’s 70th anniversery.

Afterwards another recap of the participating songs is shown.

EuroMix team members’ Top 10 predictions based on the rehearsal (ordered from 1st to 10th place):

Avi: Finland, Greece, Israel, Australia, Denmark, Albania, France, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania

Tal: Finland, Australia, Israel, Greece, Denmark, Italy, France, Moldova, Ukraine, Albania

Noy: Finland ,Israel ,Greece, Romania, Australia, Denmark, Bulgaria, Italy, Moldova, Ukraine

Chacha: Finland, Israel, Greece, Australia, Romania, France, Italy, Denmark, Serbia, Ukraine

Thank you for staying with us!

Join us at 21:00 CET for the second dress rehearsal!

Eurovision 2026: the 70th edition of the contest will take place in Vienna, Austria, on May 12th, 14th, and 16th, 2026. The Wiener Stadthalle arena, which will host the event, is expected to accommodate around 16,000 spectators per show. The contest returns to Austria following the nation’s third historic win with the song “Wasted Love”, performed by JJ. It will be Austria’s third time hosting Eurovision, after previous editions held in the country in 1967 and 2015.