With just 25 places available for Saturday night’s big event in Vienna, Austria, sadly 10 countries were knocked out of the running after two brutal semi-finals to cut down the acts, as voted for by the public.
Those who got through will now join last year’s winners, Austria, as well as the ‘Big Four’ in the Grand Final – France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
Spain usually makes up the ‘Big Five’ and has competed in the singing competition 64 times, every year since it first entered in 1961. However 2026 will mark the first year Spain will not be not be participating in Eurovision as it chose to boycott the competition. Ireland, The Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland also decided not to take part.
But who else can we expect to see performing un Saturday’s live finale? Here’s what the line-up looks like.
Eurovision Song Contest 2026: Which countries have qualified for the Grand Final?
The Eurovision Song Contest finale will be made up of 25 acts. These are:
- Austria – Tanzschein by COSMÓ (winner’s qualification)
- France – Regarde! by Monroe (automatic qualification)
- Germany – Fire by Sarah Engels (automatic qualification)
- Italy – Per Sempre Sì by Sal Da Vinci (automatic qualification)
- United Kingdom – Eins, Zwei, Drei by LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER (automatic qualification)
- Greece – Ferto by Akylas
- Finland – Liekinheitin – Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen
- Belgium – Dancing on the Ice – ESSYLA
- Sweden – My System – FELICIA
- Moldova – Viva, Moldova! – Satoshi
- Israel – Michelle – Noam Bettan
- Serbia – Kraj Mene – LAVINA
- Croatia – Andromeda – LELEK
- Lithuania – Sólo Quiero Más – Lion Ceccah
- Poland – Pray – ALICJA
Who has been eliminated from the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 so far?
Unfortunately, not everyone made it through finale, with the following acts knocked out after performing in the semi-finals:
- Portugal – Rosa – Bandidos do Cante
- Georgia – On Replay – Bzikebi
- Montenegro – Nova Zora – Tamara Živković
- Estonia – Too Epic To Be True – Vanilla Ninja
- San Marino – Superstar – SENHIT
When is the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final?
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 final will take place on Saturday 16 May 2026.
It will kick off from 8pm on BBC One, broadcasting live from Vienna, Austria.
Graham Norton will be back in the commentators box, a role he has held since 2009 whilst Rylan Clark and Sara Cox will be giving their input for BBC Radio 2.
Victoria Swarovski (TV presenter and model) and Michael Ostrowski (TV presenter and actor) will be presenting the show on stage in Vienna, Austria.
The Eurovision Song Contest has faced significant criticism over its decision to allow Israel to take part in the event due to the ongoing war in Gaza.
This year, a number of countries will boycott the contest following the European Broadcasting Union’s decision not to expel Israel from the competition.
At the EBU general assembly in December 2025, a vote was held to introduce new rules that would stop governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting songs to influence voters. No vote was held on Israel’s participation.
The EBU said in a statement: “A large majority of members agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation and that the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 should proceed as planned, with the additional safeguards in place.”
Following this, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland confirmed they would not participate in this year’s Eurovision.
Irish broadcaster RTÉ said: “RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.”
The BBC, which broadcasts the competition in the UK, has said it supports the decision made by the EBU. “This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive,” it said in a statement.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 final will take place on Saturday 16 May 2026.
You can also check out the full list of Eurovision winners and how many times the UK has won Eurovision.
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