Every year, singers from around the world compete in an international competition called Eurovision. Despite the name, several countries outside of Europe, including Australia, Israel, and Armenia, participate in the competition. This year, in the 70th edition of Eurovision, 35 countries competed. Here are some highlights, top contestants, and previous winners.
May 12, 2026: Semi-Final One
The initial semi-final produced the classic combination of chaos, camp, and truly impressive performances, one would expect from a Eurovision event. The vast majority of the contestants leaned towards dramatic staging, visual theatrics (stage props), and energy (high-energy) as strongly as possible for this first semi-final to appear more like a concert than an actual singing competition. The overall energy and visual drama of Finland’s and Croatia’s performances separated them from the rest of the performances. Moldova embraced the whimsy of the Eurovision Song Contest through their presentation of their upbeat, proud entry, full of energy and theatrics, to be intentionally dramatic.
Israel completed the group of ten performers who advanced to compete in the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest with Noam Bettan’s “Michelle,” a multicultural, soft emotional ballad, distinctly different from many of the louder and more visually impressive performances of the event on this night. The atmosphere at semi-final one could only be described as unpredictably messy—i.e., very pleasantly and surprisingly chaotic—which was typical for what one usually expects from a Eurovision event; a combination of humorous, light-hearted moments with serious vocal performances.
Overall, both the vibe and atmosphere of semi-final one were reflective of the chaotic nature and joyous, cheery spirit often found at Eurovision events, as illustrated above. The group of 10 contestants from semi-final one lined up to become first-time finalists as follows: Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Greece, Israel, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Serbia, and Sweden.
May 14, 2026: Semi-Final Two
While semi-final two felt much more polished and competitive (several countries had established fan bases before this semi-final), many of the performers presented radio-friendly pop songs, while others presented emotional ballads. One of the biggest highlights of semi-final two was Delta Goodrem’s performance for Australia, with her song “Eclipse” embodying a dramatic presentation, great vocals, and a 480-degree atmospheric effect that made it feel like an arena-sized show from start to finish. Many reviewers have stated that “Eclipse” was one of the most anticipated entries this year (there typically are multiple big-name entertainers that have songs entered).
Romania’s “Choke Me” was one of the most surprising of all the performances to take place that night, and Bulgaria’s DARA gave a commanding performance of her explosive club-pop hit “Bangaranga,” which became an audience favorite almost immediately due to its high-energy combination of explosive staging and club-pop energy. Denmark, Ukraine, Norway, Malta, and Albania also qualified, providing a final lineup with many different musical genres and styles to choose from—in addition to various emotional styles of presentation using all of the styles listed above (and much more). The second semi-final was significantly more polished than semi-final 1, and gave the viewer a far better idea of who may have a real chance to win.
May 16, 2026: Grand Finals
The Grand Final truly exemplified Eurovision’s signature style of entertainment, with glittery costumes, dramatic staging, emotional ballads, dance tracks, and periods of utter chaos incorporated into a shared experience for all the contestants who had qualified to participate. The discussions surrounding Eurovision focused on how unpredictable the voting would be this year due to the fact that both jury and public votes would determine a contestant’s ranking within the grand final. While many contestants would gain quite a bit of support from jury members through polished vocal performances and technical execution, others would gain a significant amount of support from the general public due to the energy of the audience during an individual performance and how memorable the contestants’ staging was. Eurovision continued its tradition of having a variety of emotional styles—some contestants’ performances were emotional, heartwarming, and cinematic, while others were loud, ironic, or intentionally bizarre.
Eurovision 2026 Top 10
- Bulgaria: Dara – “Bangaranga”
- Israel: Noam Bettan – “Michelle”
- Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu – “Choke Me”
- Australia: Delta Goodrem – “Eclipse”
- Italy: Sal Da Vinci – “Per sempre sì”
- Finland: Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – “Liekinheitin”
- Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund – “For the Love of It”
- Moldova: Satoshi – “Viva, Moldova!”
- Ukraine: LELÉKA – “Andromeda”
- Greece: Akylas – “Echoes”
Previous 10 Winners
2025: JJ (Austria)
2024: The Code (Switzerland)
2023: Loreen (Sweden)
2022: Kalush Orchestra (Ukraine)
2021: Måneskin (Italy)
2019: Duncan Laurence (Netherlands)
2018: Netta (Israel)
2017: Salvador Sobral (Portugal)
2016: Jamala (Ukraine)
2015: Måns Zelmerlöw (Sweden)