Eurovision 2026: Australia is the audience favorite ahead of the final
Following the second dress rehearsal for the Eurovision 2026 Grand Final in Vienna, the results of the traditional Eurovision Audience Poll were released, which gauges the public’s preliminary preferences ahead of the final show.
This was reported by the Eurovision Audience Poll.
According to the results of the vote at the Wiener Stadthalle, the top favorite was Australia’s representative Delta Goodrem with the song “Eclipse,” who received 562 votes.
A total of 3,620 audience members participated in the poll, evaluating all of the contest’s finalists.
The top five also included:
- Bulgaria — DARA “Bangaranga” (417 votes)
- Finland — Linda Lampenius & Pete Parkkonen “Liekinheitin” (365)
- Moldova — Satoshi “Viva, Moldova!” (296)
- Greece — Akylas “Ferto” (294)
Denmark, Austria, Norway, and other participants followed in the rankings.
Ukraine’s representative, Leléka, with the song “Ridnym,” took 21st place, receiving 41 votes.
Full Eurovision Audience Poll rankings
- Australia — 562
- Bulgaria — 417
- Finland — 365
- Moldova — 296
- Greece — 294
- Denmark — 215
- Austria — 206
- Norway — 182
- Sweden — 130
- Romania —
120… - Ukraine — 41
(followed by the United Kingdom, Belgium, Albania, and Lithuania)
Organizers and analysts emphasize that the Eurovision Audience Poll is an important indicator of viewer sentiment but does not guarantee the final result.
In previous years, there have been both matches and discrepancies:
- in 2023, the poll leader, Finland, won only silver;
- in 2024, the results almost completely matched the contest’s final standings;
- in 2025, the audience favorite finished only fourth.
The final result of “Eurovision 2026” will be determined by the votes of viewers and national juries during Saturday’s grand final in Vienna.
The final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take place on Saturday, May 16, in Vienna (Austria). Twenty-five contestants representing their countries will compete in the grand final.
As a reminder, Romania advanced to the Eurovision 2026 final, but Alexandra Capitanescu’s performance and her song “Choke Me” sparked controversy due to the lyrics and repetitive phrases, which some experts and viewers deemed controversial. Despite the criticism, the country still secured a spot in the grand final.
Eurovision organizers issued a warning to Israel for violating voting rules.
Bulgarian singer DARA will open the second Eurovision semi-final today. The artist has long been considered one of the leading stars of the modern Bulgarian pop scene—her tracks garner millions of streams, and she regularly tops music charts not only in Bulgaria but also across the Balkans.
Azerbaijani singer JIVA will perform today in the second Eurovision semi-final. This is not the artist’s first time in the contest—back in 2011, she was among the finalists in Azerbaijan’s national selection, and now she returns as one of the country’s leading music stars.
Romanian singer Alexandra Căpitănescu will take the stage in the second Eurovision semifinal today. The artist rose to fame after winning “The Voice of Romania” in 2023 and is now considered one of the country’s most promising young performers.
Eva Marija will represent Luxembourg in the second Eurovision semi-final today. Her musical journey began at the age of three—after she saw Oleksandr Rybak win Eurovision 2009 with the song “Fairytale.”
23-year-old Daniel Zizka will represent the Czech Republic in the second Eurovision semi-final today. The young artist is already being called one of the most promising new voices on the Czech music scene.
SIMÓN will represent Armenia in the second Eurovision semi-final today. The artist has come a long way from being a dancer in show business to becoming one of the country’s most prominent young singers.
Veronica Fusaro will represent Switzerland in the second Eurovision semi-final today. The singer has long been hailed as one of the strongest and most recognizable voices on the contemporary Swiss music scene.
Antigoni will represent Cyprus in the second Eurovision semi-final today. The singer has long been building her career between London, Cyprus, and the Greek music scene, and now she is taking the stage at one of Europe’s biggest events.
Atvara will represent Latvia in the second Eurovision semi-final today. The singer rose to fame on TikTok, but in just a few years has managed to become a full-fledged star of the Latvian music scene.
Søren Torpegaard Lund will represent Denmark in the second Eurovision semi-final today. The artist came to the music contest already well-known in Denmark’s theater world—as a singer, actor, and dancer.
LELÉKA will present her project today in the second Eurovision semifinal. Her music blends Ukrainian roots, a modern sound, and a very personal view of the world, in which home always remains the main point of return.
Alis will represent Albania in the second Eurovision semi-final today. He is a young artist who has quickly risen from a television contest to major festival stages and national recognition.
AIDAN will represent Malta in the second Eurovision semi-final today. He is an artist who, in just a few years, has become one of the country’s most recognizable pop figures and transformed the local scene into a platform for major shows.
JONAS LOVV will close out the second Eurovision semi-final today, performing last among the 15 contestants. He is an artist from Norway who, in a short time, has transformed from a TV show contestant into one of the most prominent new performers on the Scandinavian scene.
Monroe is representing France today in the second Eurovision semi-final, where 15 contestants will take the stage. She is a young artist who, at just 17, has already gone from being a television discovery to a full-fledged representative of one of Europe’s major music nations.
LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER takes the stage today in the second Eurovision semifinal, where 15 contestants are performing. His act looks like a combination of a concert, a laboratory, and a performance, where music is literally born from mechanisms and strange devices.
COSMÓ takes the stage as an artist who defies genre boundaries and constantly evolves his sound. His journey from children’s competitions to the professional stage in Austria demonstrates just how quickly a new generation of European performers can emerge.
