Eurovision semi‑final 1 tonight

Eurovision is back on live TV tonight, and the first big question is simple — what’s actually happening? Semi-Final 1 starts at 21:00 CEST on Tuesday, May 12, at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna. Fifteen countries are competing, 10 will qualify for Saturday’s Grand Final, and two automatic finalists — Germany and Italy — will also perform and vote. ### Why is Vienna hosting again? Austria is hosting because JJ won Eurovision 2025 with “Wasted Love,” which sent the contest back to Vienna for the first time since 2015. That gives this year an extra layer — it’s not just another edition, it’s the 70th Eurovision, staged in a city that already has recent host-history and knows how to put on the spectacle. (eurovisionworld.com) ### Who’s in tonight’s semi? The lineup is Moldova, Sweden, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Georgia, Finland, Montenegro, Estonia, Israel, Belgium, Lithuania, San Marino, Poland and Serbia. The running order matters more than fans like to admit, because it shapes momentum and memory. Moldova opens. Finland goes seventh. Israel is tenth. Serbia closes. Germany and Italy appear in the show but are not competing for qualification. (rte.ie) ### Who looks safest? The betting market is pretty blunt here. Finland’s Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen with “Liekinheitin” are the strongest projected qualifiers, followed closely by Greece’s Akylas with “Ferto” and Israel’s Noam Bettan with “Michelle.” Sweden and Croatia are also sitting in the high-probability group. That does not guarantee scoreboard reality — Eurovision loves a shock — but it tells you where expectations are concentrated going into airtime. (eurovisionworld.com) ### What’s the actual musical shape tonight? This semi looks unusually aggressive and high-energy. Even the favorites lean big — Finland is pitched as a flamethrower track, Greece is in the hard-driving camp, Croatia brings a dramatic “Andromeda,” and Sweden’s “My System” sits in the same punchy zone. Basically, if you were expecting a soft opening night full of safe ballads, this draw says otherwise. (eurovisionworld.com) ### Why is Israel dominating the conversation? Because Eurovision 2026 is opening under a political cloud that the contest can’t really pretend away. Several broadcasters, including Ireland’s RTÉ, pulled out after the EBU allowed Israel to compete. Protest plans are active in Vienna, and the wider fight over whether Eurovision can stay “apolitical” has become one of the main stories around the event. (eurovisionworld.com) ### What was the warning about? Israeli broadcaster KAN was formally warned after promo videos told viewers to “vote 10 times for Israel.” Eurovision director Martin Green said that kind of direct call was outside the rules and against the spirit of the contest, and the videos were removed after the delegation was contacted. That matters because it turns a simmering legitimacy argument into a concrete rules issue on show week itself. (rte.ie) ### What changes for viewers tonight? The main thing is that Eurovision stops being a rehearsal story and becomes a qualification story. By the end of the night, five acts are out, 10 are through, and the shape of Saturday’s final gets much clearer. But the catch is that tonight is doing two jobs at once — launching a pop spectacle and stress-testing whether Eurovision can still hold its center when the politics around it keep getting louder. (rte.ie) ### Bottom line? Tonight should be a strong semi on music alone. But Eurovision’s 70th birthday is opening with real noise outside the arena as well as inside it. (eurovisionworld.com)