Day four of first rehearsals at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest is underway in Vienna. The final eight countries of Semi-Final 2 step onto the Wiener Stadthalle stage for the very first time today, Tuesday 5 May. First rehearsals remain closed to press; three approved images per country will be published approximately 24 hours after each performance. The official Eurovision subreddit is providing live descriptions throughout the day. Eurovision Universe sought additional detail through national broadcaster coverage, social media, and press reports. All five countries below compete in Semi-Final 2 on Thursday, May 14.
🇨🇾 Cyprus — Antigoni, “Jalla”
Running order: 8 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 09:00–09:30 CEST | Second rehearsal: 9 May
Antigoni has been promising she would dance on the table. This morning at the Wiener Stadthalle she delivered in a way nobody quite anticipated. The centrepiece of the staging is a table of extraordinary scale: large enough for all four dancers to join Antigoni on top of it, large enough to function as a full catwalk, and large enough that the chairs do not go beside it but on it. This choreography is tight and deliberate. The dancers even work with plates. And the whole setup directly brings to life the song’s most iconic lyric. It is a reference with Eurovision history behind it: Ivi Adamou danced on a table for Cyprus at Baku 2012, but the 2026 version operates on an entirely different scale.
The table itself has a table runner made from an LED strip, which comes into its own during the “you want more?” section of the song. From there, Antigoni steps off the table and onto the catwalk with a purposeful strut, before the staging closes out with fire and pyrotechnics more commonly associated with rock entries than Mediterranean pop. The backdrop features giant ancient pillars lit in blue. Antigoni wears a short white beaded dress.
Staging is by Sacha Jean-Baptiste, whose Eurovision credits include “Fuego” (Cyprus 2018) and the 2023 winner “Tattoo” for Sweden. Antigoni Buxton, 29, is a British-Cypriot singer-songwriter from North London who gained wider recognition after Love Island UK in 2022. CyBC selected her internally in November 2025. “Jalla”, meaning “more” in the Cypriot dialect, was co-written with Charalambous Kallona, Connor Mullally-Knight, Demetris Nikolaou, Claydee, Paris Kalpos, and Trey Qua. Cyprus competes 8th in Semi-Final 2.
Sources: r/eurovision live thread / CyBC / Eurovoix / Instagram @antigoni
🇱🇻 Latvia — Atvara, “Ēnā”
Running order: 9 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 09:40–10:10 CEST | Second rehearsal: 8 May
Latvia’s first Vienna rehearsal delivers a scaled-up version of the performance that won Supernova 2026 in February. If the subreddit’s reporters are to be believed, it translates powerfully to the larger Wiener Stadthalle stage. Atvara completed three full run-throughs of “Ēnā.” The core concept remains unchanged: an intimate, atmospheric performance built around the song’s cinematic ballad structure and Atvara’s vocal. What has changed is the detail. Atvara is wearing a newly designed gown decorated with sparkling stones. They now extend further down the side and along her left arm.
Speaking to Latvian broadcaster LSM ahead of Vienna, Atvara confirmed that the team had worked to adapt the Supernova concept to the Eurovision scale. They refined technical elements while leaving the core performance intact. Her stylist Inna Bertāne described the new dress in Latvian press as a deliberate step up. Atvara rose to prominence on TikTok via her debut single “Pie Manis Tveries” and later sold out 22 solo shows in Latvia in 2025. She won Supernova on 14 February, taking both the jury and public votes. Latvia competes 9th in Semi-Final 1.
Sources: LSM / Supernova / Latvian Radio / Instagram @atvara.liene
🇩🇰 Denmark — Søren Torpegaard Lund, “Før vi går hjem”
Running order: 10 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 10:20–10:50 CEST | Second rehearsal: 9 May
The Melodi Grand Prix staging has arrived in Vienna completely intact, and apparently quite literally so. The box that defined Søren’s breakthrough performance in Frederikshavn was not dismantled and rebuilt for the Wiener Stadthalle; it was shipped as-is. When something works that well, you don’t take risks with it.
That said, what is inside the box has been elevated for Eurovision. Søren opens in black leather trousers and an aquamarine silk chiffon shirt, before ripping it off mid-performance. The singer than reveals a sparkly black mesh top underneath. The outfit reveal lands as a proper moment. Inside the box, red tube lights illuminate and intensify as the performance builds, so that by the second chorus the whole structure is radiating heat, matching the choreography. This has been noticeably scaled up from the national final, particularly the thrusting during the first verse.
When Søren finally steps out of the box towards the end of the song, a storm takes over the stage floor and the backdrop behind him. The respite is brief: the graphics transform into blazing fire for the final twenty seconds.
Søren Torpegaard Lund, 27, is a trained musical theatre actor who graduated from the Danish Stage Arts School and played Tony in West Side Story at the Copenhagen Opera House in 2021–22. He co-wrote “Før vi går hjem” with Clara Sofie Fabricius, Thomas Meilstrup, and Valdemar Littauer Bendixen, winning Melodi Grand Prix on 14 February with both the jury and public votes. Denmark competes 10th in Semi-Final 2.
Sources: r/eurovision live thread / DR / ESC Insight / Instagram @sorentorpegaardlund
🇦🇺 Australia — Delta Goodrem, “Eclipse”
Running order: 11 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 11:00–11:30 CEST | Second rehearsal: 9 May
The biggest name in this year’s contest steps onto the Wiener Stadthalle stage and, by all accounts, does not disappoint. Delta Goodrem’s first Vienna rehearsal for “Eclipse” is a significant production. The staging is developed by Black Skull Creative, the team behind the entire Liverpool 2023 contest, alongside creative director Paul Clarke. It is described as one of the most technically ambitious performances in Vienna this year. The concept tracks a journey from a moon world into a sun world, culminating in a pyrotechnic effect.
Delta wears a custom couture gown adorned with approximately 7,000 Swarovski crystals, requiring around 500 hours of construction. This is a deliberate nod to Vienna’s heritage. She is joined on stage by a harpist, reflecting her own background as a classically trained pianist. Posting on Instagram before departing for Vienna, Delta said she was taking everyone with her in spirit. Telling TV WEEK Australia the contest marks the start of a new chapter: she has a new album incoming, and “Eclipse” is the first single. Delta Goodrem, 41, is from Sydney and has sold multiple platinum albums since her 2003 debut Innocent Eyes, which topped the ARIA chart for 29 consecutive weeks. Australia competes 11th in Semi-Final 2.
Sources: SBS / TV WEEK / QNews / Instagram @deltagoodrem / Black Skull Creative via The Euro Trip Podcast
🇺🇦 Ukraine — Leléka, “Ridnym”
Running order: 12 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 11:40–12:10 CEST | Second rehearsal: 9 May
Leléka completed three run-throughs of “Ridnym” on the Wiener Stadthalle stage this morning. The staging begins with Leléka walking along a white catwalk towards bandura player Yaroslav Dzhus, who accompanies her on stage. It is the first time a bandura performer has featured in an act at the Eurovision Song Contest. The moment is framed as exactly that: a direct, unhurried introduction of the instrument to an audience of millions. To Leléka, the sound of the bandura means home, and the staging makes that feeling its starting point rather than its footnote.
After the first chorus, the staging goes dark. The visual noise falls away and everything narrows to Leléka alone at centre stage.The colour returns gradually, building towards the performance’s most significant moment: her sustained note, delivered during what the subreddit describes as a very special visual passage. Leléka’s costume is a white dress over white trousers, with small layered strands.
Leléka (Viktoria Kornikova) is a Ukrainian-German singer-songwriter and actress who founded her ethno-jazz band in Berlin in 2016. She won Vidbir on 7 February, taking both the jury and public votes. “Ridnym”, To the Dear Ones, was co-written with Adama Cefalu. Director Illia Dutsyk described the concept as a journey from fragmentation and disintegration toward integrity. Ukraine competes 12th in Semi-Final 2.
Sources: r/eurovision live thread / Suspilne / Eurovoix / Instagram @leleka.music
Second rehearsals for Cyprus, Latvia, and Ukraine take place on Saturday, 9 May. Denmark follows on Saturday, 9 May as well. Australia’s second rehearsal is also on 9 May. Official photos from today’s rehearsals will be published approximately 24 hours after each performance on Eurovision’s official Instagram and Facebook channels. All five countries compete in Semi-Final 2 on Thursday, 14 May 2026 at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna.
The second half of Tuesday’s first rehearsal block saw Albania, Malta, and Norway take the Wiener Stadthalle stage for the very first time. Rehearsals ran from 15:00–16:50 CEST. First rehearsals remain closed to press. Official images will appear approximately 24 hours after each performance.
🇦🇱 Albania — Alis, “Nân”
Running order: 13 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 15:00–15:30 CEST | Second rehearsal: 9 May
If the morning half of Tuesday belonged to spectacle, the afternoon opens with something entirely different. Alis steps onto the stage and the scene is immediately dark and intimate. He opens on his knees in smoke before slowly rising. He wears black with a shimmering gem finish. The backdrop fills with women — Albanian mothers, some in traditional costume. Their images alternate with graphics of sons reassuring their mothers that everything will be fine. English subtitles on screen make the story accessible to every viewer at home.
The staging is a complete departure from Festivali i Këngës. Alis confirmed ahead of Vienna that the performance had been entirely reworked. Black Skull Creative leads the production. They confirmed a prop would feature and that red would be absent from the colour palette. Whether his mother — who appeared in the official music video — steps onto the Wiener Stadthalle stage remains an open question. Alis kept that deliberately vague in pre-rehearsal interviews with RTSH.
The emotional core of “Nân” is clear. Alis describes the song as a ballad for awaiting mothers, for children who leave, and for an eternal love beyond time and distance. The lyrics focus on a mother standing at the doorframe as her son departs — a scene deeply familiar to many Albanians. Alis Kallaçi, 21, is from Shkodër. He won the fifth season of X Factor Albania and placed third at Festivali i Këngës 63. He won the 64th edition with “Nân”, taking both the jury and public votes by a 50-point margin. “Nân” was co-written with Desara Gjini and produced by Erjet Barbullushi. Albania competes 13th in Semi-Final 2.
Sources: RTSH / ESCBeat / Eurovoix / Wikipedia / Instagram @alis_kk
🇲🇹 Malta — AIDAN, “Bella”
Running order: 14 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 15:40–16:10 CEST | Second rehearsal: 9 May
Malta brings one of the year’s most ambitious stagings to Vienna. The centrepiece is a massive arched construction — part architectural statement, part performance machine. ESCBeat describes it as probably the biggest prop of the year. At certain points it functions as a giant zoetrope, with overhead shots showing the subject of “Bella” dancing around AIDAN. The tornado of red rose petals from the Maltese national final returns, now upgraded with a steadicam. The final minute runs as a single unbroken shot, creating the illusion of a romantic dance with the viewer. AIDAN rotates rapidly within the engineered structure.
AIDAN’s outfit matches the scale. He wears a mixed-media vest of black denim and studded leather panels, slim-fit leather trousers with side-seam fringe and metallic conchos, gold-crested hardware and pointed-toe boots. The look reads as bold modern cowboy — Western Americana crossed with 1970s rockstar. Black Skull Creative, the team behind the UK’s second place in Turin 2022 and the entire Liverpool 2023 contest, leads the staging.
AIDAN arrived in Vienna after a high-profile send-off. He closed the Malta International Fireworks Festival in Valletta with a live performance of “Bella” under a choreographed pyrotechnic display. Aidan Cassar won Malta’s national selection in January with 283 points, beating Matt Blxck across both jury and televote. “Bella” was co-written with Joep Van Den Boom and Sarah Bonnici. Malta competes 14th in Semi-Final 2.
Sources: Newsbook.com.mt / Lovin Malta / ESCBeat / ESCToday / Instagram @aidancassarofficial
🇳🇴 Norway — JONAS LOVV, “Ya Ya Ya”
Running order: 15 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 16:20–16:50 CEST | Second rehearsal: 9 May
Norway closes both the Tuesday rehearsal block and Semi-Final 2 itself. Jonas Lovv takes the stage last on Tuesday afternoon and the performance builds directly on what won Melodi Grand Prix in Lillehammer on 28 February. One structural change stands out. Two live backing singers now perform offstage. Lovv explained to Nettavisen that Eurovision rules require all audible vocals to be sung live, and his track contains vocal effects that need live support. The singers stay out of sight. The energy, Lovv said, stays exactly where it was in Lillehammer.
Staging director Mona Berntsen, who has led Norway’s Eurovision productions for two consecutive years, shapes the Vienna performance. “Ya Ya Ya” is a crowd-participation song by design. Its refrain is immediate and physical. Lovv describes his core mission as breaking the barrier between stage and audience.
Jonas Lovv Hellesøy is a singer and songwriter from Bergen. He auditioned for Idol in 2014 and later fronted synth-pop trio Shuffle Baby. His national breakthrough came on The Voice Norway in 2025, where his vocal grit and stage presence turned all chairs. He won Melodi Grand Prix on 28 February with “Ya Ya Ya”, co-written with Sondre Skaftun, beating Alexander Rybak’s entry by 73 points across jury and public vote. Norway competes 15th and last in Semi-Final 2.
Sources: Nettavisen / NRK / Eurovoix / Wikipedia / Instagram @jonaslovv
Official photos from Albania, Malta, and Norway’s first rehearsals will appear approximately 24 hours after each performance on Eurovision’s official channels. Second rehearsals for all three countries take place on Saturday, 9 May. All three compete in Semi-Final 2 on Thursday, 14 May 2026 at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna.
