Semi‑Final 2 sends 10 countries to Eurovision Grand Final

The European Broadcasting Union completed the second semi-final of Eurovision 2026 in Vienna on Thursday, filling the last 10 places in Saturday’s Grand Final. Fifteen countries competed at Wiener Stadthalle, with three pre-qualified finalists — Austria, France and the United Kingdom — also performing during the show but not taking part in the vote. (eurovision.com) The contest’s official schedule set the live show for May 14, with the Grand Final on May 16. Eurovisionworld’s published results page said the qualifiers were Albania, Australia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Malta, Norway, Romania and Ukraine. (eurovisionworld.com) ### Which countries made it through from the second semi-final? (eurovisionworld.com) Eurovisionworld listed 10 qualifiers from the May 14 show: Albania, Australia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Malta, Norway, Romania and Ukraine. The same page said 15 contestants had competed for the last 10 places in the Grand Final. The published result left Azerbaijan, Armenia, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Latvia out of the final from that semi-final, according to Eurovisionworld’s results table. The site said detailed points from the semi-final would be released only after the Grand Final on Saturday, May 16. (eurovision.com) ### How was Thursday’s show structured in Vienna? Wiener Stadthalle hosted the second semi-final on May 14, with Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski as hosts, according to Eurovisionworld’s event page. The running order published earlier by Eurovision’s official site had Bulgaria opening the competitive lineup and Norway closing it. (eurovisionworld.com) Austria, France and the United Kingdom appeared in the broadcast as pre-qualified finalists and voting countries for the second semi-final. Eurovisionworld said those three countries performed but did not compete, while the official Eurovision site had earlier listed all three in the show order alongside the 15 competing entries. (eurovisionworld.com) ### Who was eligible to vote in the second semi-final? The 15 participating countries in the second semi-final could vote, Eurovisionworld said, along with viewers in Austria, France and the United Kingdom and online voters in the “Rest of the world.” The site said each national jury and televote awarded points from 1 to 8, then 10 and 12. (eurovisionworld.com) The official Eurovision site had said on April 2 that professional juries returned to the semi-finals for the first time since 2022, joining audiences at home in deciding which acts advanced. That change applied to both live semi-finals in Vienna. (eurovisionworld.com) ### How does this fit into the full Eurovision 2026 lineup? Thirty-five countries are taking part in Eurovision 2026, according to Eurovisionworld’s contest overview. Twenty-five countries will appear in the Grand Final: host Austria, the Big 4 — France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom — plus 10 qualifiers from each semi-final. (eurovisionworld.com) The European Broadcasting Union’s semi-final draw, published on January 12, had set the two-show split for the 30 non-automatic finalists. That draw also assigned Austria, France and the United Kingdom to vote in the second semi-final, while Germany and Italy were assigned to the first. (eurovision.com) ### What happens before Saturday’s final? May 16 is the date of the Grand Final in Vienna, according to Eurovisionworld and Eurovoix’s calendar. Eurovoix also reported on May 15 that the Grand Final running order had been announced and that a jury show was scheduled for Friday night, when 50% of the result would be determined. (eurovisionworld.com) Austria is already locked into slot 25 in the Grand Final, Eurovoix reported in March, after a draw at the heads of delegation meeting. The remaining finalists’ full order was to be set by producers after the semi-final allocation process. (eurovoix.com) (eurovisionworld.com) (eurovision.com)