Eurovision 2026 final in Vienna

The Eurovision Song Contest holds its 2026 Grand Final in Vienna on Saturday, with 25 countries competing at Wiener Stadthalle in the 70th edition of the event. The European Broadcasting Union and host broadcaster ORF scheduled the final for 21:00 CEST on May 16 after semi-finals on May 12 and May 14. Eurovision’s official site lists Denmark opening the show and host country Austria closing it in slot 25. Finland entered the night as the bookmakers’ favorite, while the contest also arrived under renewed political pressure over Israel’s participation. ### Which countries are in the final, and how was the lineup set? Eurovision’s official 2026 final page lists 25 acts: host Austria, the automatic finalists Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, plus 10 qualifiers from each semi-final. Eurovisionworld said ORF, as producer, set the final running order after an allocation draw split countries between first half, second half and “Producer Decides” categories. (eurovision.com) The published running order puts Denmark first, followed by Germany and Israel, with Australia eighth and Finland seventeenth. Austria had already drawn slot 25 as host country, Eurovisionworld reported. ### Why is Finland the act to watch on Saturday? Eurovisionworld’s odds page showed Finland first on Saturday with a 42% implied winning chance for Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen’s “Liekinheitin.” Australia’s Delta Goodrem was second on 19%, followed by Greece on 8% and Israel and Romania on 6% each. (eurovision.com) Denmark was listed next on 3%. International prediction markets and fan media often shift through final rehearsal week, but the odds page showed Finland holding the shortest prices across multiple bookmakers in the final hours before the show. (eurovision.com) Eurovisionworld’s table listed Finland at roughly 1.91 with several operators it tracks. ### What changed in the voting rules this year? The EBU announced in November 2025 that professional juries would return to the semi-finals for 2026 and that the voting cap would be halved. (eurovisionworld.com) The EBU also said the “Rest of the World” audience vote would count as one additional voting country, giving the audience 50.7% of the weight and juries 49.3%. Martin Green, the Eurovision Song Contest director, said at the time that the changes were meant to reinforce “trust, transparency and audience engagement.” The EBU also said it would strengthen enforcement against disproportionate promotion campaigns, including those backed by governments or government agencies. ### Why are Spain and Ireland not taking part or broadcasting? (ebu.ch) RTVE reported in December 2025 that Spain withdrew from Eurovision 2026 after the EBU decided Israel would be allowed to participate. RTÉ reported in December 2025 that Ireland would not take part in the contest and would not broadcast it if Israel remained in the lineup. RTÉ said on May 11 that Ireland, Slovenia and Spain would not show Eurovision this week as they boycotted the event over Israel’s participation. (ebu.ch) France 24 reported the same day that the Netherlands and Iceland had also pulled out of the 2026 event in Vienna. ### What has the EBU said about the dispute over Israel? The EBU said on July 3, 2025 that member broadcasters had held an “open and constructive discussion” about Eurovision and the “increasingly complex global context” around participation. (rtve.es) The statement said members also supported the work and independence of Israeli broadcaster Kan while a former senior television executive was asked to lead further consultations and report back with recommendations. (rte.ie) The EBU said in its November 2025 voting-rules announcement that the contest “should remain a neutral space and must not be instrumentalized.” That statement accompanied the rule changes that apply to the Vienna contest now concluding on May 16. ### What happens next, and where are the results posted? Saturday’s Grand Final begins at 21:00 CEST, according to Eurovision’s official event page, and the official website hosts both a live scoreboard and voting data page for the final. (ebu.ch) The winner will be determined after national jury points and public votes are added. Eurovision’s official page names COSMÓ for Austria as the closing act in slot 25, after Romania performs twenty-fourth. (ebu.ch) The final results are due later on May 16 on Eurovision’s scoreboard page once voting is complete. (eurovision.com)