ORF has announced the artists and performers that will be taking to the stage in Vienna as Opening and Interval acts for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
Semi-Final One
The first Semi-Final on May 12 will open with ’70 Years of Love’ showing a love story set to the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. A choir will also perform a tribute to “L’amour Est Bleu” which was performed at Eurovision 1967 when the contest was first held in Vienna.
The interval act for the Semi-Final is titled ‘Kangaroo’ and will play on the confusion that some people have between Austria and Australia. Hosts Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski will feature in the performance alongside Go-Jo who represented Australia at Eurovision 2025 with “Milkshake Man”
Semi-Final Two
Semi-Final Two will see hosts Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski open the show with a performance of “Wasted Love”, however things will not go as planned. The interval act will see JJ take to the stage to perform a new song.
Grand Final
The Grand Final will be opened by JJ who took victory in Basel, Switzerland with “Wasted Love”. The performance will see viewers finding out that the paperboat from JJ’s performance was accidentally left in Basel and must travel down rivers and across mountains to make it to Vienna for the show. ‘The Queen of the Night’ performance will see JJ perform songs blending Mozart-inspired elements and his own songs, joined by 40 dancers, including acrobats. This performance will take place as the 25 finalists are announced.
As viewers around the world vote for their favourites in the final, three interval acts are performing. ‘Celebration!’, will feature a selection of Eurovision stars performing songs from the contests 70 year history. Performing as part of this section will be Verka Serduchka (Ukraine 2007), Erika Vikman (Finland 2025), Lordi (Eurovision 2006 winners) and Il Volo (Italy 2015).
This will be followed by Parov Stelar taking to the stage with his electro-swing sound. While Eurovision 2018 representative César Sampson will perform a cover of Billy Joel’s “Vienna” before the results are announced.
Eurovision 2026
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will be held in Vienna following JJ’s victory for Austria with “Wasted Love” in Basel. 35 countries are set to take part. Both semi-finals are scheduled for May 12 and 14, while the Grand Final will take place on May 16. The contest will be hosted in the Wiener Stadthalle, the same venue used in 2015, which can accommodate up to 16,000 spectators.
Source: Eurovision.com/ ORF
