06 May 2026

Yes, the Eurovision Song Contest of 2026 is upon us, with rehearsals already under way. Next week, on May 12, 14 and 16, begins the contest itself in Vienna, Austria, which will be its 70th anniversary. Unlike the addition into the grand final of Australia for a special “one off” invitation for the 60th anniversary edition in 2015, this 70th edition will be known more for the subtraction of several countries after a petulant boycott over the continued participation of Israel’s broadcaster, KAN. These countries are already long forgotten as the excitement of Eurovision enters full swing, and with Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania returning, the net loss is just two from last year. The 35 participants actually allows for the convenient situation of two semi finals with 15 songs in each, and exactly a two thirds chance for every song to reach the grand final.

One major change for this year’s Eurovision is the return of juries for the semi finals. It was always a foolish decision when they were removed in 2022 because they acted as a lure for more artistic songs and artists over the frivolous stuff that the public prefers. Consequently, we do have a good mix of entries this year and with nothing that’s outright ridiculous.

Semi Final 1 – My Top 10

01 Moldova – Satoshi – Viva Moldova
02 Sweden – Felicia – My System
03 Croatia – Lelek – Andromeda
04 Greece – Akylas – Ferto
05 Portugal – Bandidos do Cante – Rosa
06 Georgia – Bzikebi – On Replay
07 Finland – Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin
08 Montenegro – Tamara Zivkovic – Nova Zora
09 Estonia – Vanilla Ninja – Too Epic To Be True
10 Israel – Noam Bettan – Michelle
11 Belgium – Essyla – Dancing On The Ice
12 Lithuania – Lion Ceccah – Solo Quiero Mas
13 San Marino – Senhit – Superstar
14 Poland – Alicja – Pray
15 Serbia – Lavina – Kraj Mene

Those in bold I really hope to make the grand final. There’s six: Sweden, Croatia, Finland, Estonia, Belgium and San Marino. The latter two were borderline. We’ll take them anyway! Filling my top 10 are Montenegro, Israel, Lithuania and Serbia. The decision was close between Poland and Serbia for the final spot, and I’m really not fussed either way. Moldova and Greece, as fan favourites, are likely to be songs to displace two of my preferred entries, and I suspect Belgium, Lithuania and Serbia are most at risk.

While I’m obviously biased towards Estonia because Vanilla Ninja are my favourite band ever, I suspect they will be quite safe due to the above revamp that Too Epic To Be True received (it gained a stronger rock sound and now lives up to its epic opening melody), and that it’s so catchy and highly distinctive among this bunch.

Semi Final 2 – My Top 10

01 Bulgaria – Dar – Bangaranga
02 Azerbaijan – Jiva – Just Go
03 Romania – Alexandra Căpitănescu – Choke Me
04 Luxembourg – Eva Marija – Mother Nature
05 Czechia – Daniel Zizka – Crossroads
06 Armenia – Simon – Paloma Rumba
07 Switzerland – Veronica Fusaro – Alice
08 Cyprus – Antigoni – Jalla
09 Latvia – Atvara – Ena
10 Denmark – Søren Torpegaard Lund – Før Vi Går Hjem
11 Australia – Delta Goodrem – Eclipse
12 Ukraine – Leleka – Ridnym
13 Albania – Alis – Nân
14 Malta – Aidan – Bella
15 Norway – Jonas Lovv – Ya Ya Ya

Six songs, again, I really hope to see in the grand final. They are Romania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Australia, Ukraine and Albania. These are all strong picks too, unlike Belgium and San Marino from the first semi. The other four pick themselves because I simply don’t like Armenia, Malta and Norway, still can’t remember anything about Czechia, and Cyprus is more about titillation than scintillation, and there are actually times when that simply isn’t enough. I believe Bulgaria and Denmark are strong chances to qualify anyway, leaving Azerbaijan and Switzerland most at risk of losing their place to two of the other five.

Automatic Grand Finalists

01 France – Monroe – Regarde
02 Germany – Sarah Engels – Fire
03 Austria – Cosmo – Tanzschein
04 Italy – Sal Da Vinci – Per Sempre Si
05 United Kingdom – Look Mom No Computer – Eins Zwei Drei

This is my rank of the five songs. France is easily the best. Not that the rest are inherently bad. They actually comprise quite a decent group with the United Kingdom my lowest ranked song at 26 in my Top 35 for this year. France is at 6 while Germany is second highest at 19

Betting Market

As usual, I capture the market before the rehearsals start, and this snapshot was taken on 30 April. Remember, the odds are a reflection of the public betting, not some sort of expert “what the bookies say” prediction. People bet for many reasons, with national pride being among them. Therefore, larger countries will attract more bets for that very reason. People bet on reputation too. Sweden is always among the favourites even before any songs are released.

Unlike last year’s mega flop suggesting that Sweden (Kaj – Bara bada bastu) would be the easy winner, this year looks good for those betting on Finland. Remember, to win Eurovision, a song needs the support of the jury and the public, and Finland will definitely get that. Like Sweden last year, I have no idea how anyone believes Greece will get sufficient jury votes this year. Bets on Greece must simply be from the many fans of the song. I don’t see Denmark or France being strong enough, while Australia notoriously gets trashed by the public in the grand final. Delta Goodrem would really need to weave her magic to reverse that. With juries returning for the semi finals and therefore attracting more artistic songs, Delta, along with Denmark and France, will take jury votes off each other too. This won’t be a year like recent ones where the jury has effectively decided the winner of Eurovision all by itself.

Mr Eurovision Jury

Myself, my sister, and someone called Z, who this year we found trying to steal the battery from my car, scored each song out of 10, and produced this result.

Estonia 25.5 (9/10/6.5)
Luxembourg 24.5 (8/7.5/9)
Latvia 23 (8/8/7)
Ukraine 22.5 (7/7/8.5)
Finland 22 (8/7/7)

Australia 21.5 (8/6/7.5)

Bulgaria 21 (7/7/7)
Romania 21 (7/7/7)
Croatia 21 (7/6/8)
San Marino 21 (7/6/8)

Sweden 20 (7/6/7)

That’s probably a top three you won’t see from any other group of people!

Eurovision Winner – Prediction

01 Finland – Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin
02 France – Monroe – Regarde
03 Estonia – Vanilla Ninja – Too Epic To Be True

I struggle to think of anything that realistically could challenge Finland this year. Of course, we are yet to see the performances, so there could be surprises. The jury will ensure that Israel has no chance (plus I doubt the diaspora will be as enthusiastic as the last two years). Perhaps France could challenge if Monroe can really leave the viewers breathless. Something like Croatia could be a surprise, especially as their style of music is quite unique and been well received recently. If Delta Goodrem was representing another country, I would rate her the strongest challenger. Of course, I can’t forget my girls, those awesome ladies from Estonia and Vanilla Ninja, and creating an epic shock to finish third.

Vienna 2026: My Top 35 – All Songs Reviewed

Is my boycott of Australia at Eurovision over now that Delta Goodrem is the participant for 2026?