What countries have qualified for the Eurovision 2026 Grand Final?

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Only 25 performers will compete in Saturday night’s event in Vienna, Austria. After two tough semi-finals decided by public vote, 10 countries were unfortunately eliminated.

The countries that qualified will compete in the Grand Final alongside last year’s champions, Austria, and the traditional powerhouses of the competition: France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

Spain has consistently been a major participant in the Eurovision Song Contest, competing 64 times since its debut in 1961 – traditionally as one of the ‘Big Five’ countries. However, for the first time, Spain will not compete in 2026, having chosen to boycott the event. Joining them in this decision are Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland.

So, who else will be performing on Saturday’s live finale? Here’s a look at the performers.

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?

Sadly, some acts didn’t advance past the finale. Here are the performers who were eliminated after 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.

As a huge Eurovision fan, I’m thrilled to hear Graham Norton is returning to do commentary – he’s been the voice of the contest for me since 2009! And this year, Rylan Clark and Sara Cox will be joining the fun, offering their expert opinions over on BBC Radio 2. It’s going to be a great broadcast!

Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski, both well-known TV personalities, will host the show live from Vienna, Austria.

The Eurovision Song Contest has received a lot of criticism for letting Israel participate this year, given the current war happening in Gaza.

Several countries are choosing not to participate in the contest this year because the European Broadcasting Union decided against banning Israel from competing.

In December 2025, the EBU held a meeting where members voted to establish rules preventing governments or outside groups from unfairly boosting certain songs to sway voting results. However, they did not vote on whether Israel would be allowed to participate in the competition.

The European Broadcasting Union announced that most of its members decided another vote on whether to participate wasn’t necessary. They confirmed that the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest will go ahead as scheduled, with extra safety measures added.

After that, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland announced they wouldn’t be competing in Eurovision this year.

Ireland’s public broadcaster, RTÉ, has decided not to participate in this year’s competition due to the tragic loss of life and ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which continues to endanger civilians.

The BBC, the UK broadcaster of the competition, stated its support for the EBU’s decision. According to a BBC statement, the decision is about upholding the rules of the competition and ensuring inclusivity.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 final will take place on Saturday 16 May 2026.

You can find a complete list of Eurovision winners, as well as see how many times the United Kingdom has been victorious in the competition.

Authors

Phoebe Kowhai BarnesFreelance Writer

Phoebe Kowhai Barnes is a freelance writer specializing in pop culture and entertainment for TopMob. Before that, she was a Senior Assistant Editor at The Tab, where she oversaw their local team. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Nottingham.

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2026-05-13 01:07