Eurovision juries start voting as live dress rehearsals begin for Semi‑Final One

Eurovision is in the part of the week where everything stops being theoretical. Rehearsal clips are done. Fan rankings are done. On Monday, May 11, the first Semi-Final shifted into full dress rehearsals in Vienna — and the evening jury show became a real scoring moment, not just a practice run. That matters because 2026 is the year juries came back to the semi-finals after a three-contest break. ### Wait — juries are back in the semis? Yes. For the first time since 2022, professional juries are again part of deciding who qualifies from the semi-finals. That means the old Eurovision split is back earlier in the week — industry jurors on one side, public voters on the other, plus the online Rest of the World vote. It is not just a televote sprint anymore. ### So what actually happened on May 11? (eurovision.com) Monday was the transition from closed rehearsals into live-show simulation for Semi-Final One. The rehearsal calendar had already run through first rehearsals from May 2 to 5 and second rehearsals from May 6 to 9. By May 11, delegations were no longer tweaking broad concepts — they were locking camera cuts, vocals, costumes, props, and pacing for the jury-facing run. (eurovision.com) ### Why does the jury show matter so much? Because juries tend to reward control. Big televote entries can survive a little chaos if the room goes wild. Juries usually do not. They notice shaky vocals, messy framing, weak harmonies, and songs that feel stronger in a 30-second rehearsal clip than across the full 3 minutes. Basically, this is the night where “looks amazing on social media” has to become “lands cleanly in the arena and on camera.” (eurovisionworld.com) ### Who is actually in this semi? Semi-Final One has 15 competing countries: Moldova, Sweden, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Georgia, Finland, Montenegro, Estonia, Israel, Belgium, Lithuania, San Marino, Poland, and Serbia. Italy and Germany also perform in the show as automatic finalists, but they are not competing for one of the 10 qualification spots. ### Which acts come in with the most heat? (eurovision.com) Finland is the big one. Bookmakers have Finland’s Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen at roughly a 38% chance to win the whole contest, well ahead of the field. Greece is next at about 13%, and Denmark sits around 10%. That does not guarantee anything in a jury show, but it tells you where expectations are sitting before the points start to bite. ### Does staging still swing this? (eurovision.com) Absolutely. Eurovision scoring is about the song, but the camera tells the story. A great example of how rules can reshape a package came from Norway’s Jonas Lovv, who had to rework “Ya Ya Ya” because Eurovision requires heard vocals to be sung live. That is the kind of constraint every delegation is navigating now — how to keep the performance huge without losing technical cleanliness. (eurovisionworld.com) ### Why is this a bigger deal than last year? Because the pressure arrives earlier. In a televote-only semi, a delegation could focus on broad impact and save some perfectionism for later. With juries back, Monday night’s dress rehearsal has more consequence. A song that is sleek, vocally secure, and legible on first watch can bank real advantage before the televised semi-final on Tuesday, May 12. (eurovoix.com) ### Bottom line? Eurovision week always starts with rehearsals, but this year the first real sorting mechanism starts before viewers see the semi on TV. Monday’s jury show is where hype meets execution — and where a favorite can steady itself, or wobble. (eurovoix.com) (eurovision.com)