Mark Savage
Music correspondent, at the Eurovision Song Contest

Image source, AFP via Getty Images)

For the start of her performance, Belgian pop star Essyla is trapped in an on-stage blizzard. What you don’t see on TV is that this effect is achieved by a stagehand pointing a leaf blower directly at her face.

This is another pneumatic pop number with crisp production and a lyric - “Call me queen / Though I’m not royal” – that’s already become a meme.

Helen Bushby
Culture reporter

Image source, gett

As Graham Norton just mentioned, there is an age-old question among Eurovision fans - being second in the running order, like Germany are this year.

Some argue that being second in the running order dents a country's chances of winning - no-one has ever won Eurovision from that slot.

BBC Bitesize says is has been called the "draw of doom", although Dr Liam Brierley from the Universities of Liverpool and Glasgow told them a couple of years ago it could just be "due to chance". It's also worth noting that Croatia's Dino Jelusić was the winner of 2003's Junior Eurovision, external - from the second song slot.

But tonight, we will just have to wait and see...

Mark Savage
Music correspondent, at the Eurovision Song Contest

Image source, AFP via Getty Images)

Who amongst us hasn’t wanted to emerge on stage from the centre of a giant spinning diamond? Well, Israel’s Noam Bettan is living that dream, as he performs Michelle, a song of obsessive desperation.

During the semi-final, Noam was booed and heckled by sections of the audience who oppose Israel’s military action in Gaza.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent, at the Eurovision Song Contest

As the contest begins in earnest, the media centre next to Vienna's Wiener Stadthalle is packed.

There are reporters and accredited fans from more than 50 countries here.

Some have settled in to watch the show. Others are broadcasting live updates. Most (like me) are hovered over their laptops in a flurry of fingers.

But everyone stops when their country performs. I'll grab a video when it goes really nuts later.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent, at the Eurovision Song Contest

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Get ready for another singer on a box.

This time, it’s Germany’s Sarah Engels, who’s full of sass on the crunchy pop number Fire.

For those of you playing the costume-change drinking game, this will be your first shot of the night. And watch out for the trust fall Sarah does halfway through her song.

It’s a lot further down than it looks on TV.

You can watch live at the top of this page.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent, at the Eurovision Song Contest

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Here we go! Denmark’s Søren Torpegaard Lund grew up in the small town of Gudme, and started acting in musical theatre at the age of 10.

He’s starred everything from West Side Story to Kinky Boots, and now he’s opening the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.

Our setting is the kinkiest John Lewis window display of all time, where Soren grinds and gyrates with leather-clad dancers over a throbbing club track.

You have to wonder why they didn’t keep this one ‘til after the watershed.

After a blasting orchestral rendition by Austria's 2025 winner JJ, and an introduction to all 25 finalists, it's almost time for the acts to bring the music.

First up, it's Denmark's Søren Torpegaard Lund performing Før Vi Går Hjem. It's not one to be sat down for, that's for sure.

You can watch live at the top of this page, and we'll keep bringing you text updates. Now, let's have some fun!

If you're in a participating country, you can now vote for your Eurovision favourites. Head to those online-polls, and cast your ballots.

No need to rush, though, as voting will be open until after the final song is played out.

• Here's our handy guide to voting

For those in the UK, you need to vote online via Eurovision’s official website esc.vote.

Emma Saunders
Culture reporter

Sam Battle - Look Mum No Computer - bounced on to the stage waving the flag with his usual high energy, jumping up and down and getting a great reception from the crowd. He's singing Ejns, Zwei, Drei for the UK.

Whatever happens tonight, he's clearly popular with the Eurovision fans.

Fingers crossed!

Image source, Getty Images

Helen Bushby
Culture reporter

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski are taking us through tonight's contest, helping with the celebrations for its 70th year.

Victoria Swarovski works as a TV presenter, entrepreneur, model, designer and singer, after choosing to do something different, rather than join her family's hugely successful crystal business. She won the TV show Let's Dance in 2016 and not long afterwards became the youngest judge on Das Supertalent, the German version of Britain's Got Talent.

Michael Ostrowski is most famous in Austria for his comedic roles, but has also written film screenplays and directed, as well as appearing on TV.

He also works regularly as a presenter, and hosts awards as well, not least tonight's upcoming show!

Ryan tells us he's really looking forward to watching the show tonight with British Sign Language interpreters on the BBC.

You can see Live Audio description and live signing on BBC iPlayer and the Red Button.

He's obviously not the only one, and adds: "Rylan did say this on Thursday night [at the semi-final], "If you are not watching Eurovision with BSL, you are missing out because they do such a fantastic job."

You can read more here about BSL interpreter Clare Edwards, who was hailed last year for her energetic performances at Eurovision and Glastonbury - she said just wants to make music accessible to deaf people.

Emma Saunders
Culture reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Swedish act Felicia, who made it through to the final with her song My System, fainted backstage in Vienna following the second dress rehearsal on Friday, the star has confirmed.

“The dress rehearsal yesterday felt great. But it was so incredibly hot in the green room and the more time went by I felt like I was getting more and more dizzy and when I got to the dressing room I was very weak. I got great help from the medical staff on site. Now I have slept well, drunk as much water as I can and have eaten. So now I am super ready for the day," Felicia said in a statement on Saturday.

According to the Swedish delegation, the incident was caused by a drop in blood pressure and dehydration.

As a precaution, Felicia will skip the flag parade - where all the entries enter the hall ahead of the contest waving their country's flag - and avoid sitting in the green room while in costume.

Felicia had voice problems earlier this week but Swedish media have said the fainting incident was linked to this.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent, at the Eurovision Song Contest

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Just like the Olympics, the contest opens with a flag parade featuring all 25 of tonight’s contestants.

Realising that absolutely not many really enjoy this part of the show, the producers have broken it up with another performance by JJ – this time, playing Wasted Love in a fetching gold puffer jacket, while acrobats swing from the rafters.

If you’re getting impatient for the contest itself, don’t worry. We only have five minutes before the first song.

Mark Savage
Music correspondent, at the Eurovision Song Contest

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

The show has just started, and first up is last year's winner JJ. He’s the reason we’re all here in Vienna.

We flash back to that night in Basel, Switzerland, as JJ lifts the trophy. Posing for photographers the next morning, he drops his good luck charm – a tiny paper boat, representing the castaway vibes of his winning song.

But the paper boat makes its way home, travelling over the Black sea and into the Danube River, before being picked up by a sparrow and dropped into the Wienerstadthalle.

Cutting to the arena, we hear the sound of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, accompanying JJ on a performance of Mozart’s Night’s Queen, that segues into his new single Unknown.

It's the time we've all been waiting for, the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 has begun.

You can watch live at the top of this page, and we'll bring you the glitz, glam, rock, pop, orchestra, and everything else in between right here.

The stage is set, the crowd is buzzing, and we've got live updates flowing. But first, here's a brief overview of how the night is set to pan out.

First it's time for The Queen of the Night - the opening performance from last year's winner JJ.

As he performs, out come the 25 finalists who are introduced through the flag parade.

Next, meet your hosts, Austrian stars, Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski.

Then...showtime.

There's 25 acts to get through, one by one - buckle up and grab your snacks.

If your country is competing, voting opens just before the first song is performed, and will be open for around 40 minutes after the last song, so there's a lot of time for viewers to pick their favourites.

Then, it's time for the winners. For those in the UK, La Voix, a former Strictly Come Dancing and RuPaul's Drag Race UK contestant, will be the UK's first Eurovision "spokesqueen", delivering the national jury results live from Salford during Saturday's final.

Get your scorecards ready, it's almost time.

Kris Bramwell
BBC News

Image source, Scott Taylor

Scott will be watching Eurovision in Monza, Italy with his girlfriend Andreea, 53.

"After an introduction by a mutual, Italian friend in 2021, we bonded over Eurovision before meeting in person and starting our relationship in February 2024," explains Scott.

"We texted on and off to say happy birthday or happy new year but always tuned in to Eurovision together. “Those were our first 'dates' where we learned a lot about each other and our mutual taste for international culture, art, music."

Tonight Scott will be watching Eurovision at Andreea’s apartment in Monza after years of watching it separated by 800 miles!

Emma Saunders
Culture reporter

We're less than 10 minutes away from Eurovision starting, and here's a reminder that Graham Norton will be taking the helm on BBC One for the 18th time!

The comedian and presenter has had us giggling in our sequins with his repartee ever since he replaced the late, great Sir Terry Wogan as the BBC's Eurovision TV commentator in 2009.

He's treated us to some classic zingers over the years, including this one about Bulgara's 2018 song, On Bones: "Some people love the song. I haven't met any of them, but that's what I'm told."

Serbia's 2021 trio Hurricane were treated to this corker: "Less Destiny’s Child. More Destiny’s Inappropriate Aunt."

And one year, when the French jury gave the UK one point, Graham quipped: "One. We built a tunnel to your country!"

When he's not watching Eurovision, Graham can be found presenting The Graham Norton Show, or judging the acts on RuPaul's Drag Race UK.

There are five countries boycotting the contest this year - Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain, after it was decided that Israel could compete.

They were among a number of countries who had called for Israel to be excluded from the competition over the war in Gaza, and accusations of unfair voting practices.

Ireland's RTÉ said it felt that its "participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk."

But at a meeting in Geneva where a vote was held on new safeguards, a "large majority" of members agreed there was no need for a further vote on participation and that Eurovision 2026 could proceed as planned, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said.

Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song Contest, said he was "pleased" that members had been given an "opportunity to debate" Israel's place in the contest before the vote.

• Learn more about the five countries boycotting this year

Helen Bushby
Culture reporter