Eurovision 2026, semi-final 1. The Republic of Moldova and Israel go to the grand final / What happened to the great favorite
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 has begun, with the first semi-final of the anniversary edition marking 70 years since the launch of the biggest European music contest. The first to go on stage was Satoshi, the representative of the Republic of Moldova, with the song “Viva, Moldova!”. 10 finalists have qualified for the grand final scheduled for May 16.
HotNews.ro transmitted the main moments of the evening:
The suspense ended in Vienna. The organizers of Eurovision 2026 have started to announce, one by one, the countries that get the tickets for Saturday's grand final, in random order.
The delegations that go further in the competition are:
- Greece
- Finland
- Belgium
- Sweden
- Republic of Moldova
- Israel
- bondage
- Croatia
- Lithuania
- Poland
Another 15 contestants, including Alexandra Căpitănescu, representing Romania, will perform in the second semi-final, scheduled for Thursday, May 14, when ten more finalists will be selected.
The grand final takes place on Saturday, May 16.
Public voting for the first semi-final of Eurovision 2026 has ended after approximately 20 minutes in which viewers could vote via SMS, phone call or online. The 10 countries that qualify for Saturday's grand final are to be announced.
15 countries competed in the first Eurovision 2026 semi-final, but only 10 qualify for Saturday's grand final.
The public can vote immediately after the end of all performances, via SMS, phone call or online, on the official esc.vote platform. At this year's edition, the organizers changed the rules and reduced the maximum number of votes from 20 to 10 for each payment method.
Serbia, the last country in the competition order of the first Eurovision 2026 semi-final, took the stage in Vienna. After the end of all the performances, the official opening of the voting and the announcement of the 10 countries that qualify for the grand final on Saturday.
Israel took the stage of the first semi-final of Eurovision 2026, after the performances of the representatives of Montenegro and Estonia. Israeli representative Noam Bettan performed the song “Michelle”, with lyrics in Hebrew, French and English.
At the beginning of the performance of the representative of Israel, chants from the audience were heard on the official Eurovision broadcast on YouTube.
Israel's participation in this year's edition has sparked controversy and spawned the biggest boycott in the contest's 70-year history. In parallel with the two semi-finals and the grand final, demonstrations are announced in Vienna both in support of and against Israel's presence at Eurovision.
Finland, considered the main favorite to win Eurovision 2026 by bookmakers, took to the stage of the first semi-final in Vienna. Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen performed the ballad “Liekinheitin”.
After the performances of the representatives of Portugal and Georgia, the representative of Italy, Sal Da Vinci, also performed on the stage of Eurovision 2026, with the song “Per Semper Si”. Italy is automatically qualified for the grand final, along with the other countries contributing to the organization of the competition.
After the representative of the Republic of Moldova, the Swedish Felicia, with the song “My System”, and the Croatian band Lelek, who performed the song “Andromeda”, took to the Eurovision 2026 stage. Greek rapper Akylas, one of the favorites of the edition, is currently performing with the song “Ferto”.
The representative of the Republic of Moldova, Satoshi, opened the first semi-final of Eurovision 2026 with the song “Viva, Moldova!”, on the stage in Vienna.
The Speaker of the Chisinau Parliament, Igor Grosu, sent a message of support on Facebook: “Saluti a tutti – Moldova is on duty! Come on, Satoshi! Come on, Moldovans everywhere, let's unite and vote for number #01 Satoshi.”
The official stated that voting will be opened immediately after the last performance and will last 30 minutes.
The first Eurovision 2026 semi-final kicked off in Vienna, with the competition being presented by Victoria Swarovski and actor Michael Ostrowski. The representatives will go on the stage of the competition in this order:
- Republic of Moldova
- Swedes
- Croatia
- greece
- Portugal
- GEORGIA
- Finland
- MONTENEGRO
- Estonia
- IsRael
- Belgium
- Lithuania
- San Marino
- Poland
- Serbia
The show will be opened by the representative of the Republic of Moldova, Satoshi, with the song “Viva, Moldova!”, a song that combines modern influences with elements from Moldovan folklore, according to Moldova1. The artist originally from Cahul is rated with chances of qualifying in the grand final.
Moldovan Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu sent him a message of support before going on stage in Vienna. “We're holding our fists, Vlad! And to all Moldovans at home and in the diaspora – let's be united and support the Republic of Moldova tonight,” urged the leader from Chisinau.
Another 15 contestants, including Alexandra Căpitănescu, representing Romania, will perform in the second semi-final, scheduled for Thursday, May 14, when ten more finalists will be selected.
Eurovision 2026. What are the favorites of the edition
After Satoshi, two of the edition's favorites, Finland and Greece, will perform.
Finnish ballad “Liekinheitin”, performed by Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen, is considered the main favorite to win the Eurovision 2026 trophy, according to bookmakers.
Although they are automatically qualified for the finals, being contributors to the organization of the contest, the representatives of Germany, Sarah Engles with the song “Fire”, and Italy, Sal Da Vinci, the winner from San Remo, with the song “Per Semper Si”, will also evaluate on Tuesday evening.
The 20 countries that will qualify for the Eurovision 2026 final will be joined by the representatives of Germany and Italy and France, Great Britain and Austria, the winner of last year's trophy.
Greek rapper Akylas' song 'Ferto' is also on the shortlist for possible winner.
Eurovision 2026. Israel enters today's semi-final
Also on Tuesday evening, Israel participates in the first semi-final of the Eurovision 2026 contest, which is shaken this year by the most important boycott in its 70-year history, due to the presence of this country, AFP also notes.
Among the contest's favorites is the song “Michelle” sung by Israeli representative Noam Bettan, with lyrics in Hebrew, French and English, according to France Presse. Bookmakers place Israel's song in fifth place in the list of favorites.
In addition to the two semi-finals of the contest on Tuesday and Thursday, the Austrian capital will also witness rallies both in support and in protest of Israel's participation.
About 3,000 people are expected at a rally in Resselpark on Friday to mark Palestinian Nakba Day, commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 war that preceded the creation of the state of Israel.
On the day of the grand finale, Vienna police said they expected around 3,000 people to take part in a protest march under the motto “Solidarity with Palestine”.
A counter-demonstration titled “12 points against anti-Zionism – for Israel's participation in Eurovision” has also been announced, with between 50 and 100 participants expected.
Eurovision 2026. Voting method, changed
According to a recent poll for the Austrian newspaper Der Standard, only 26% of those surveyed agreed with the statement that Eurovision “brought Europe closer”, while 52% said hosting the event was too expensive for Austria.
In the past two editions of the contest, Israel has scored very well in the public vote, but the Israeli government's heavy promotion of artists through social media channels has drawn criticism.
Thus, the organizers decided to change the rules for the 2026 edition. The maximum number of votes was reduced from 20 to 10 per each paid option, such as online, SMS or phone call.
