BRIEFLY Eurovision 2026, semi-final 2. Alexandra Căpitănescu's message before appearing on stage / Countries fighting for a place in the final
Tonight, Romania takes the stage in Vienna, in the second semi-final of the Eurovision 2026 contest. Our country's representative, Alexandra Căpitănescu, who will sing the song “Choke Me”, will enter the contest third.
The Eurovision 2026 semi-final is broadcast live by TVR, from 22:00.
- HotNews will report in LIVETEXT format the main moments of the evening.
The first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 took place on Tuesday, and 10 countries have already qualified for the final of the music contest. The grand final takes place on Saturday 16 May and will bring together a total of 25 countries.
The main financial backers of Eurovision – Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy – secured a place in the final, alongside the host country, Austria.
Romania is now competing in the second semi-final of Eurovision 2026, held on Thursday evening, with contest number 03.
The representative of Romania, Alexandra Căpitănescu, will take the stage of the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna with her band and perform the song “Choke Me”.
The second semi-final will start at 22:00, Romanian time. Being third in the contest, Alexandra Căpitănescu is expected to go on stage around 10:10-10:15 p.m.
The message sent to the fans by Alexandra Căpitănescu, a few hours before the semi-final
A few hours before going on stage, in the second semi-final of Eurovision 2026, Alexandra Căpitănescu sent a video message to the Romanian fans, thanking them for their support and for choosing her to represent Romania in this popular music contest in Europe and beyond.
Which countries are competing in the second semi-final of Eurovision 2026
Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Romania, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Armenia, Switzerland, Cyprus, Latvia, Denmark, Australia, Ukraine, Albania, Malta and Norway take part in the second semi-final, in the order they entered the stage.
Of the 15 countries, only 10 will qualify for the Grand Final on May 16.
- Bulgaria: Dara – “Bangaranga”
- Azerbaijan: Jiva – “Just Go”
- Romania: Alexandra Căpitănescu – “Choke Me”
- Luxembourg: Eva Marija – “Mother Nature”
- Czech Republic: Daniel Zizka – “Crossroads”
- Armenia: Simón – “Paloma Rumba”
- Switzerland: Veronica Fusaro – “Alice”
- Cyprus: Antigoni – “Jalla”
- Latvia: Atvara – “Ēnā”
- Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund – “Før Vi Går Hjem”
- Australia: Delta Goodrem – “Eclipse”
- Ukraine: Leléka – “Ridnym”
- Albania: Alis – “Nân”
- Malta: Aidan – “Bella”
- Norway: Jonas Lovv – “Ya Ya Ya”
In the second semi-final, the representatives of France, Great Britain and Austria will also take the stage. The three countries are directly qualified for the Grand Final, but the public from these countries can vote in the semi-final on Thursday, including for Romania.
Semi-final II and the final of the competition will be broadcast live by Romanian Television, on TVR 1, on May 14 and 16, 2026, at 10 p.m.
How the Romanian public can vote
To reach the grand final on May 16, Alexandra Căpitănescu needs the votes of Romanians abroad.
The public in Romania can support their favorites via SMS or online, but according to the Eurovision Song Contest regulations, they cannot vote for their country's representative.
To vote, Romanian viewers must send an SMS to the number 1399, with the contest number of their favorite song. In the second semi-final, the Romanian public can vote for all songs with numbers 01–15, except for number 03, which belongs to the representative of our country. The cost of a vote is 5.10 RON + VAT, to which is added the standard message rate.
Online voting is available on the official Eurovision platform: ESC Vote.
Each user can give a maximum of 10 votes, distributed to a single competitor or to several participants.
Voting opens after the last song has been performed, and the audience has less than 20 minutes to do so.
Qualified countries after the first semi-final of Eurovision 2026
The music competition started on May 12, when the first finalists were appointed. These are Greece, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Moldova, Israel, Serbia, Croatia, Lithuania and Poland.
Thus, 10 countries qualified for the final of the Eurovision contest after the first semi-final on Tuesday, with another five being eliminated after the votes of the public and the national juries.
The 10 contestants who qualified for the first semi-final:
- Greece: Akylas, “Ferto”
- Finland: Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen, “Liekinheitin”
- Belgium: Essyla, “Dancing on the Ice”
- Sweden: Felicia, “My System”
- Republic of Moldova: Satoshi, “Viva, Moldova!”
- Israel: Noam Bettan, “Michelle”
- Serbia: Lavina, “Kraj mene”
- Croatia: Lelek, “Andromeda”
- Lithuania: Lion Ceccah, “Solo quiero mas”
- Poland: Alicja, “Pray”.
Who is Alexandra Căpitănescu?
Alexandra Căpitănescu is the winner of the Eurovision National Selection 2026. The general public got to know her in 2023, when she won the trophy of the show “Vocea României”, after a course that convinced both the jury and the public.
“A graduate of the Faculty of Physics and, currently, a master's student in medical physics, Alexandra combines an atypical academic profile with a burgeoning artistic career, building her musical identity around authenticity and direct expression. After winning the talent contest, the artist consolidated her presence on the music scene through her own releases and collaborations, developing a style that combines sensitivity with a strong stage energy,” according to a statement from TVR.
The song “Choke Me”, with which he will represent Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, addresses, in a metaphorical language, states of emotional pressure and inner blockage.
“The title does not have a literal meaning, but describes the feeling of being overwhelmed by one's own thoughts, fears or expectations from the outside. The message of the piece is one about awareness and overcoming: about the moment when you choose to face your vulnerabilities, accept your limits and find your balance. In this construction, fragility is not hidden, but becomes part of the strength to move forward”, mentioned TVR.
Eurovision 2026. Who are the favorites?
The main favorites for Eurovision 2026 are the representatives of Finland, Linda Lampenius and Peter Parkkonen, with the song “Liekinheitin”.
After several years of absence, Romania is credited with a place in the final. In Eurovision fan polls, Alexandra Căpitănescu's song is among the public's favorites. At the bookies, she is rated as the eighth favorite to win the trophy.
The Eurovision Song Contest, affected this year by the largest boycott in its history
After last year's competition, organized by Switzerland, was watched by 166 million viewers, organizers are hoping for an equally good result at the current Eurovision edition, rocked by the biggest boycott in its history due to Israel's participation.
Because of Israel's participation, five countries – Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia – withdrew this year from the world's largest televised and live music event. They reproach Israel for its behavior in the war in the Gaza Strip, triggered in retaliation after the attack committed on October 7, 2023 by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas on its territory.
On Tuesday, pro-Palestinian activists deposited coffins in central Vienna to protest Israel's participation.
Other events are planned in the Austrian capital until the final of the Eurovision contest, which will take place on Saturday evening.
