Ten acts advance from Vienna Semi‑Final 1 to Eurovision Grand Final

Eurovision is back in full competition mode now — not just rehearsals, odds charts, and fan hype. The first semi-final in Vienna on Tuesday, May 12, turned 15 hopefuls into 10 finalists, and the countries moving on are Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Greece, Israel, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Serbia, and Sweden. (eurovision.com) Five acts are out — Estonia, Georgia, Montenegro, Portugal, and San Marino — and that already reshapes the field before Thursday’s second semi-final. (eurovisionworld.com) ### Who actually got through? The qualifiers from Semi-Final 1 were Belgium’s ESSYLA, Croatia’s LELEK, Finland’s Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen, Greece’s Akylas, Israel’s Noam Bettan, Lithuania’s Lion Ceccah, Moldova’s Satoshi, Poland’s ALICJA, Serbia’s LAVINA, and Sweden’s FELICIA. (eurovision.com) The official Eurovision event page lists those 10 as the countries qualified for Saturday’s Grand Final in Vienna. ### Who didn’t make it? Five countries fell short on the night — Estonia, Georgia, Montenegro, Portugal, and San Marino. That is the whole point of the semi-final system: trim a crowded field before the Grand Final, where the automatic finalists join the survivors. For those five delegations, the contest run is basically over apart from the post-show fallout and fan debate. (eurovision.com) ### Why is this semi a bigger deal than usual? Because the voting system changed again. For the first time since 2022, professional juries returned to the semi-finals, joining televoters at home. There was also the “Rest of the World” online vote, which Eurovision treats as one extra voting bloc. (eurovision.com) So this was not just a popularity sprint — it was a mixed test of live vocals, staging, jury appeal, and public reaction. ### How many countries were competing? There were 15 competing countries in the first semi-final. Italy and Germany also performed during the show, but they were not competing because they were already qualified for the Grand Final. That distinction matters — viewers saw more than 15 performances, but only 15 countries were actually fighting for those 10 open spots. (eurovision.com) ### Why does Vienna matter here? Vienna is hosting the 70th Eurovision Song Contest, with the live shows set for May 12, May 14, and May 16 at the Wiener Stadthalle. Austria is hosting after last year’s win, and this first semi-final was the contest’s first proper elimination night. In other words, this is where Eurovision 2026 stopped being preview season and started producing real damage. (eurovision.com) ### What stood out beyond the results? The show leaned hard into Eurovision history. It opened with a film about a fictional Austrian life lived alongside the contest, then brought Vicky Leandros to the stage to perform “L’amour est bleu,” tying the night back to Vienna’s earlier Eurovision history. (eurovisionworld.com) That kind of nostalgia is not filler — it reminds viewers that this year is an anniversary edition, and the producers are framing it that way. ### What happens next? The second semi-final takes place on Thursday, May 14, with another 15 countries competing for the remaining 10 Grand Final places. Then the full lineup will be set for Saturday, May 16. Only after the Grand Final will the detailed semi-final points be published, so for now we know who qualified, but not the exact ranking or score gaps. (eurovisionworld.com) ### Bottom line? Tuesday night gave Eurovision 2026 its first real winners and losers. But the bigger thing is structural — the semis are now jury-and-public contests again, which means getting to Saturday may reward a different kind of act than the recent televote-only era did. (eurovision.com) (esctoday.com)