The United Kingdom will take its place on the night of Eurovision 2026's First Semi-Final in Vienna, as the contest builds toward a Grand Final that will feature 25 songs. The 70th Eurovision Song Contest will open with Vicky Leandros singing a new arrangement of her 1967 entry L'amour Est Bleu.

Fifteen artists will compete in the First Semi-Final on Tuesday 12 May 2026 at 21:00 CEST for 10 places in the Grand Final, with France, Austria and the United Kingdom also set to perform that evening. Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski will present the show, while the Second Semi-Final follows on Thursday 14 May 2026 at 21:00 CEST and the Grand Final is scheduled for Saturday 16 May 2026 at 21:00 CEST.

Austria is hosting after JJ won the 2025 contest with Wasted Love, bringing Eurovision back to Vienna and the Wiener Stadthalle for the 2026 edition. The contest's timeline is already fixed, and the first major marker for viewers is the opening night, where the UK's appearance will land alongside the competing acts rather than in the final itself.

That structure matters because the First Semi-Final is not just a launch pad for the competition but a packed broadcast night, with Italy and Germany also performing as part of the Big 4 in the Grand Final and the celebration continuing across the week. The Grand Final Celebration! interval act will bring together Alexander Rybak, Erika Vikman, Kristian Kostov, Lordi, Max Mutzke, Miriana Conte, Ruslana and Verka Serduchka, a lineup that underlines how Eurovision likes to turn its own history into part of the show.

For viewers tracking the uk eurovision entry 2026, the key point is simple: the UK's performance is scheduled for the First Semi-Final in Vienna, and the road to the final runs through that 21:00 CEST broadcast on Tuesday 12 May. By the time the lights go up at the Wiener Stadthalle, the contest will already have its shape, its host duo and the first major answer to which songs will survive into the Grand Final.