Emotions and spectacle in Vienna, where the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest began. The first semi-final brings 15 contestants to the stage fighting for a place in the grand final, as Romania prepares to enter the competition in Thursday’s semi-final.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 kicked off on Tuesday night in Vienna, the city hosting the 70th anniversary edition of the world’s biggest televised music contest. Under the slogan “United by Music”, the competition brings together 35 countries this year, and the first emotions have already been felt at the Wiener Stadthalle, where the first semi-final began.
In Romania, the festival is broadcast by TVR 1.
The evening was opened by the representative of the Republic of Moldova, Satoshi, who took the stage with the song “Viva, Moldova!”, trying to get one of the ten available places for the grand final scheduled for Saturday, May 16.
In tonight’s competition, two of the rated names with important chances to win the trophy also evolve: Finland and Greece.
Contestants in the first semi-final of Eurovision 2026
Republic of Moldova – Satoshi – “Viva, Moldova!”
Sweden – Felicia – “My System”
Croatia – Lelek – “Andromeda”
Greece – Akylas – “Ferto”
Portugal – Bandidos do Cante – “Rosa”
Georgia – Bzikebi – “On Replay”
Finland – Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – “Liekinheitin”
Montenegro – Tamara Živković – “Nova Zora”
Estonia – Vanilla Ninja – “Too Epic To Be True”
Israel – Noam Bettan – “Michelle”
Belgium – Essyla – “Dancing on the Ice”
Lithuania – Lion Ceccah – “Sólo Quiero Más”
San Marino – Senhit – “Superstar”
Poland – Alicja – “Pray”
Serbia – Lavina – “Kraj Mene”
Although they are automatically qualified for the final, two of the countries of the “Big Five” group – Germany and Italy – present their artistic moments in front of the public tonight. Germany is represented by Sarah Engels, with the song “Fire”, and Italy by Sal Da Vinci, who performs “Per Semper Sì”.
Romania enters the competition on Thursday
Romania will compete in the second semi-final, scheduled for May 14, when Alexandra Căpitănescu will represent our country with the song “Choke Me”. The artist will take the stage live on TVR 1, from 22:00, and will compete for a place in the final alongside Albania, Denmark, Armenia, Cyprus, Switzerland, Norway, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Malta, Bulgaria, Australia, Ukraine, Czech Republic and Latvia.
Alexandra Căpitănescu has already attracted the support of Eurovision fans, being seen by many as one of the contestants with a real chance of entering the favorites of the edition.
Organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Eurovision Song Contest is one of the longest-running and most watched television shows in the world.
The first edition took place in 1956, in Lugano, in Switzerland, and over time legendary names such as ABBA, Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias or Johnny Logan have appeared on the stage of the contest.
