After the completion of the second individual rehearsals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 for the countries of the first semi-final, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU-UER) has released the usual preview clips with the staging of the competing entries aiming to win the coveted glass microphone at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna.
Following the fifth and sixth rehearsal days on the Eurovision stage, the delegations have had another opportunity to continue refining their entries ahead of the jury rehearsals and, above all, the live shows of next week, in which they will first of all compete for qualification to the Grand Final on Saturday, May 16.
Following the strategy of previous editions, the organizers have shared the first fragments of the performances, as they will be shown on television. After offering a brief preview through photographs published the day after their first individual rehearsals, the highlight comes with the staging preview videos. In these 30 seconds, viewers can see the first details of the stage performances, camera movement across the stage, and brief glimpses of what has been prepared for the live shows.
Watch the video preview of the second individual rehearsals of the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, below:
01. Moldova: Satoshi – «Viva, Moldova!»
02. Sweden: FELICIA – «My System»
03. Croatia: LELEK – «Andromeda»
04. Greece: Akylas – «Ferto»
05. Portugal: Bandidos do Cante – «Rosa»
06. Georgia: Bzikebi – «On Replay»
07. Finland: Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – «Liekinheitin»
08. Montenegro: Tamara Živković – «Nova Zora»
09. Estonia: Vanilla Ninja – «Too Epic To Be True»
10. Israel: Noam Bettan – «Michelle»
According to the scheduled timetable, at 16:45 CEST, the Israeli representative Noam Bettan carried out his second individual rehearsal on the contest stage for 25 minutes.
11. Belgium: ESSYLA – «Dancing On The Ice»
12. Lithuania: Lion Ceccah – «Sólo Quiero Más»
13. San Marino: SENHIT Feat. Boy George – «Superstar»
14. Poland: ALICJA – «Pray»
15. Serbia: LAVINA – «Kraj Mene»
How do the Eurovision 2026 rehearsals work?
Each Eurovision Song Contest 2026 artist has two individual rehearsals, as is customary every year, in which they can perform multiple takes of their act.
As in 2025, the press will not have access to the individual rehearsals, which will continue until May 9, when the second individual rehearsals of the Big 4 countries (Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom) and Austria as the host country will conclude. Although they still perform live in the semi-finals, they continue rehearsing separately.
In the first individual rehearsals, each artist has 30 minutes to perform as many takes of their performance as possible. They can improve and adjust aspects of the staging and production after the stand-in rehearsals held the previous week. These are usually the most complex rehearsals because they are the first contact with the stage.
Next come the second individual rehearsals, where each country has 20 minutes to fine-tune any remaining details of the entry in order to ensure everything is perfect before the jury rehearsals. This second phase is usually more streamlined and serves to reinforce the performances with minor adjustments. From these rehearsals, the organizers will publish a staging preview video at the end of the day on YouTube.
Starting on May 11, the rehearsal shows begin. Each live show has three rehearsals. Of all of them, the most important is usually the second dress rehearsal, which takes place the day before in the same broadcast time slot as the live shows. In these cases, the accredited press will have access.