National juries begin voting at Eurovision 2026 Semi‑Final 1 dress rehearsal

Eurovision rehearsal week stops being just rehearsal week at this point. On Monday, May 11, the first Semi-Final jury show in Vienna became a live scoring event, with national juries watching the dress rehearsal and locking in half of the qualification vote before Tuesday’s televised semi-final. That changes the feel of everything. A shaky camera run or weak vocal is no longer just fan-discourse fuel — it can hit the scoreboard immediately. ### What actually happened on Monday? The key event was the jury show for Semi-Final 1 at the Wiener Stadthalle. The competitive semi-final itself is set for Tuesday, May 12 at 21:00 CEST, but the jury-facing dress rehearsal happened the night before so each country’s professional jury could submit its rankings. Eurovision has done this format before, but this year it matters again in the semis after a short break. (eurovision.com) ### Why is this a bigger deal than last year? Because juries are back in the semi-finals for the first time since 2022. In 2023, 2024, and 2025, qualification from the semis was decided by viewers alone. For Vienna 2026, the European Broadcasting Union changed that and brought professional juries back alongside televoting. So Monday’s “dress rehearsal” was really half of the contest for the 15 countries in Semi-Final 1. (eurovision.com) ### Who was in Semi-Final 1? There are 15 competing countries in the first semi: Moldova, Sweden, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Georgia, Finland, Montenegro, Estonia, Israel, Belgium, Lithuania, San Marino, Poland, and Serbia. The show opens with Moldova and closes with Serbia. Finland performs seventh — a useful middle slot — while other heavily watched entries include Sweden second, Croatia third, Greece fourth, and Israel tenth. (eurovision.com) ### Who looked strongest going into the jury show? Finland was the clear market leader before juries voted. In the overall winner market, Finland was sitting around a 47% implied win probability on Monday morning. In the Semi-Final 1 qualification market, Finland and Greece were both around 97%, with Sweden and Israel close behind at 96%. That is basically the “near-lock” tier. ### Which borderline countries were moving? (eurovision.com) Croatia was the eye-catching mover in Semi-Final 1. By Monday, bookmakers had Croatia around a 90% chance to qualify — behind the top four, but clearly stronger than the messy middle. Lower down, Serbia sat near 78%, Lithuania 69%, Poland 56%, and Montenegro 51%, with Portugal, Estonia, Belgium, Georgia, and San Marino chasing. That bubble is where one strong jury run can really matter. (eurovisioncentral.com) ### Where does Albania fit in? Not in this semi. Albania’s move was part of the wider rehearsal-week betting story, but Albania competes in Semi-Final 2, not Semi-Final 1. So if you saw Albania mentioned alongside Monday’s jury voting, that was market context from the broader contest — not a country being judged in Vienna’s first semi-final jury show. ### Why do fans obsess over the jury show? (eurovisionworld.com) Because juries reward different things. Televoters can swing hard for spectacle, chaos, or instant hooks. Juries tend to be tougher on vocals, arrangement, and overall polish. The jury show is where an entry finds out whether it works when the room is quieter and the performance has to hold up without the adrenaline of the live TV audience carrying it. (eurovision.com) ### So what should people watch for next? Tuesday’s live semi-final will reveal the ten qualifiers, but the real clue is whether the acts that surged in rehearsal chatter can convert that into a balanced jury-plus-televote result. Finland entered as the favorite, Croatia had momentum, and the lower bubble looked fragile. That means the first results night in Vienna is less about surprises from nowhere and more about whether rehearsal momentum was actually real. (eurovision.com) ### Bottom line? The important shift is simple — Eurovision’s first semi-final was already being scored on Monday night. In 2026, the “jury show” is not side content. It is the contest. (eurovoix.com)