After several weeks since the National Final season ended , the big fortnight is here and it’s time to get on with the serious business of Eurovision 2026, taking place, as we all know by now , in Vienna, Austria . While some of us are already out in Vienna, taking in all things Austrian , there are those of us,like myself who will still be providing coverage from the comforts of our own homes and we are looking forward to taking you through the next couple of weeks .

But there’s no Ireland this year? I hear you shout ! Don’t worry, they might not be in Vienna but as it’s the 70th anniversary show this year, we will be featuring them in some way when we have a look back at the last 70 years as they do have a significant part in the contest’s history!

As with previous years, we don’t have access to the press centre in Vienna as yet so until then, we are reliant on the EBU live blog of rehearsals that has been set up on REDDIT ,

You can find the link for the EBU live blog of the fourth day of rehearsals, which was yesterday HERE

Over the next few days, I’ll be giving my views on the rehearsals as reported and seen in the pictures on REDDIT . Note that the first rehearsals are only technical rehearsals, which gives the artists the opportunity to make any adjustments or change anything they think needs improvement , so all we will get at the moment is pictures courtesy of the EBU.

Day Four saw the first rehearsals of those performing in the second half of the second semi final.

Cyprus: Antigoni – Jalla

Think back to 2012 when Ivi Adamou represented Cyprus in Baku, Azerbaijan .There was table dancing and according to the REDDIT blog, Antigoni is taking us back in time to do more of the same .However, this is a mega big table , which not only has Antigoni on it but her four backing dancers as well !There’s an LED table runner , fire and pyros , stage backdrop of blue pillars and Antigoni dressed in a short , white beaded aphrodite dress .All sounds very Cypriot !!

Latvia: Atvara – Ena

Looks like little has changed from the National Final performance and sometimes it’s not such a bad thing to keep things that won the tocket to Eurovision for you. Atvara has taken that on board but the slight changes made are effective . More gems on her dress, reaching up to her left arm and further down to her waist.Lots of glass on stage . Will be good to see live footage of this .

Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund – Før vi gå hjem

Now I may be a bit biased because of my Danish family roots but this is my absolute favourite song this year and I do have high hopes for Denmark this year. The good news, according to REDDIT is that Søren has brought his huge box from the National Final, all the way to Vienna!He wears black leather trousers and an aquamarine shirt in silk chiffon. This is ripped off to reveal a sparkly black mesh top underneath .There’s red tube lights inside the box and as Søren leaves the box, we get a storm and then the big fire, like in the National Final, I can ‘t wait to see this live and am so glad they kept the song in the Danish language!

Australia: Delta Goodrem – Eclipse

Now with a seasoned pro like Delta, you aren’t going to get much wrong with her performance .Delta wears a gown with Swarovski crystals .Not just that but shes also brought a harpist with her too! The REDDIT blog tells us that Delta’s performance moves between a moon world and a sun world .The ending is being kept very secret for now but it’s apparently something that hasn’t been done at Eurovision before.

Ukraine: LELÉKA – Ridnym

According to REDDIT ,  LELÉKA starts the performance on a white catwalk and walks towards a man, Yaroslav Dzhus,who accompanies her on the bandura. We are told that this is an ode to Ukrainian culture. Leleka wears a white dress over white trousers. We have dark staging focusing on just her , then it becomes more colourful and turns to red at the end . I always like to see countries bring some of their own culture to the contest , so look forward to seeing live footage of this .

Albania: Alis – Nan

Alis starts the performance in darkness , on his knees. He’s dressed in black .Albanis are keeping tabs ion what they have lined up for their performance until later down the line .

Malta: AIDAN – Bella

Malta have apparently brought a large sized prop with them , it’s “classic architectural design with a modern glow up ” according to REDDIT . Aidan walks in and around this giant prop . His outfit is a Versace design with cowboy boots. We are apparently also going to get an interpretation of Aidan giving the image of doing a romantic dance with the viewers.

Norway: JONAS LOVV – YA YA YA

Red is the theme colour for Jonas’s staging and the performance is very much as in the National Final .There’s pyros at the end . This will be a good ending to Semi Final 2

So that’s Day 4 . I’ll be back later and will give my thoughts on Day 5, which has happened today , where we have those performing in the first half of the 1st Semi doing their second rehearsals and this time we should get some short clips of the performances

Let us know what you think of Eurovision 2026 by leaving us a comment below and you can find us on our Facebook, X , Instagram and Bluesky feeds .

Author : Sarah Rudman

Source: EBU /REDDIT

Visual Sources : EBU /Corinne Cummings/Sarah Louise Bennet/Alma Bengtsson