The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 has completed its first semifinal at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna. This Tuesday, May 12, the live shows officially began, in which 35 countries will compete for the iconic crystal microphone.
Of all of them, only the countries of the Big 4 (Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom) along with Austria, as the host country, are directly qualified for the grand final on Saturday, May 16. They are joined by the ten finalists selected in the first semifinal, and will later be joined by the ten from the second semifinal.
After the first semifinal of Eurovision 2026, a draw was held to determine in which half of the grand final show each act will perform on stage. Let us remember that Austria will perform in 25th place, following a previous draw that is always carried out with the host country during the Heads of Delegation meeting in March.
In which half of the Eurovision 2026 final will each finalist perform?
As in previous editions, six positions have been allocated for the first half, another six for the second half, and 12 for “producer’s choice”.
It is worth remembering that the full running order of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 grand final will be determined by the contest producers once all finalists are known, and will be announced in the early hours of Thursday 14 to Friday 15 at an unspecified time.
Relive the results of the half draw below:
This article will be updated on Thursday, May 14 with the remaining 10 finalists
| Country | Artist | Song | Stage allocation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | Akylas | «Ferto» | 1st half |
| Belgium | ESSYLA | «Dancing On The Ice» | 1st half |
| Serbia | LAVINA | «Kraj Mene» | 1st half |
| Germany | Sarah Engels | «Fire» | Producer’s choice |
| Italy | Sal Da Vinci | «Per Sempre Sì» | Producer’s choice |
| Moldova | Satoshi | «Viva, Moldova!» | Producer’s choice |
| Finland | Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen | «Liekinheitin» | Producer’s choice |
| Croatia | LELEK | «Andromeda» | Producer’s choice |
| Israel | Noam Bettan | «Michelle» | Producer’s choice |
| Sweden | FELICIA | «My System» | 2nd half |
| Lithuania | Lion Ceccah | «I Only Want More» | 2nd half |
| Poland | ALICJA | «Pray» | 2nd half |
| Austria | COSMÓ | «TANZSCHEIN» | 25th position |
What does the category ‘Producer’s Choice’ mean?
In 2024, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided to introduce a new category called ‘Producer’s Choice’ in the draw to determine the running order of the Eurovision Song Contest grand final.
Thus, 24 of the 25 finalist countries will have the possibility of drawing this option, along with the already traditional options of first half or second half used in the draw.
The country that receives the ‘Producer’s Choice’ category may be placed in the running order at the producers’ discretion, either in the first or the second half.
Finally, the producers will determine the complete running order, always ensuring that all songs receive the same level of prominence. In addition, the technical and artistic benefit of the show will always be taken into account.