Eurovision 2026 moves into its first live Semi-Final on Tuesday 12 May at 8pm BST, with 15 countries competing for 10 places in the Grand Final and the first night opening with a time-travel sequence called 70 Years of Love.
Rylan and Angela Scanlon will present the show on One and iPlayer, while Sara Cox covers the night on Radio 2 and Sounds. The opening segment will feature a 70-member choir performing a tribute to L’amour Est Bleu, the song performed when Vienna first hosted Eurovision in 1967.
For UK viewers, there is one immediate catch: they cannot vote in the first Semi-Final. The countries that do vote on Tuesday include Italy and Germany, the two pre-qualified Big Four acts appearing in that round. France, Germany, Italy, the UK and last year’s winner Austria are already through to the Grand Final, but they still appear in the Semi-Finals to perform and vote in designated shows.
The contest returns two days later for the second live Semi-Final on Thursday 14 May at 8pm BST, when the UK audience can vote. France and the United Kingdom are the Big Four countries taking part in that show, and Austria is also set to perform. The two nights together will decide which 20 countries join the five automatic qualifiers in the Grand Final on Saturday 16 May, when 25 countries will compete.
coverage this year is built around more than just the stage show. Live Audio Description will be available on iPlayer and One broadcasts of all three live shows, live British Sign Language interpretation will run on the Red Button and iPlayer, and subtitles will be available throughout One and signed coverage on iPlayer. Graham Norton will present the Grand Final on Saturday 16 May on One and iPlayer.
The first Semi-Final also includes an interval act aimed squarely at one of Eurovision’s oldest jokes. Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski will host a segment on how to distinguish Austria from Australia, with Go-Jo joining after representing Australia in Basel, Switzerland in 2025. It is a neat reminder that Eurovision’s live shows still lean on spectacle, but the route to the final remains simple: 15 acts per Semi-Final, 10 qualifiers from each, and no vote from the UK on Tuesday night.
By Thursday, that changes. The second Semi-Final gives UK viewers a say, and by Saturday the full field is set for the Grand Final in which the continent’s biggest pop contest will again hand out one of the year’s most watched live TV nights.
