Today, the sad news came to us that Finnish singer Laila Halme passed away. Laila Halme, born Laila Soppi in the Finnish town of Jääski, was a Finnish singer and actress. She began her career in the 1950, singing in several orchestras. Her first single “Kaunis rakkaus” was released in 1959. In 1960, she released several singles and EP’s at the Philips label. In 1961 she debuted as an actress in two films: “Penkki” and “Tähtisumua”.
In 1963, she participated in Euroviisut, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Olen mikä olen”. She became 3rd, while the song “Muistojeni laulu” won and Irmeli Mäkelä was chosen to sing it in the Eurovision Song Contest. However, Finnish broadcaster YLE decided to let Laila Halme sing it in the international final. She did not receive any point at all. A year later, Laila Halme represented Finland in the festival of Sopot in Poland. She released a couple of singles but left showbusiness in 1967. We only saw her back in 1987, when she hosted Euroviisut. Her son Jussi Halme is also a singer, he took part in Euroviisut in 1990.
Laila Halme was 87 years old.
Eurovision 2026 reactions after second semi-final
The Eurovision 2026 reactions continued immediately after Thursday night’s second semi-final in Vienna. Bulgaria, Ukraine, Norway, Australia, Romania, Malta, Cyprus, Albania, Denmark and Czechia qualified for Saturday’s Grand Final. Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Armenia, Switzerland and Latvia did not make it through. Since Eurovision will only reveal the detailed ranking after the final, the “winners” of the night are again the ten qualifiers. Social media quickly filled with tears, hugs and short messages from the green room. Qualifiers celebrate their Grand Final place Bulgaria’s DARA was the first name announced, and her disbelief was clear. In a filmed reaction, she said she “could not believe” it, while also underlining how much she loved being on stage with “Bangaranga”. Ukraine’s LELÉKA reacted with a softer kind of joy. She said she felt happy, hopeful and “lightful” after taking “Ridnym” to the final. Australia’s Delta Goodrem also moved quickly into gratitude mode. After qualifying with “Eclipse”, she called the moment “pure magic” and thanked fans for every vote, message and bit of love. Norway’s Jonas Lovv sounded equally relieved. Speaking to Norwegian press, he said the result felt “insanely” good and joked that his celebration plan was to go straight to bed. Malta’s AIDAN gave one of the most emotional reactions of the night. He said he was “genuinely so happy” and pointed out that the Maltese language was back on the Eurovision stage after 54 years. Denmark’s Søren Torpegaard Lund described himself as overwhelmed and happy, while Czechia’s Daniel Zizka said he was grateful, tired and still trying to understand what had happened. Albania’s Alis also remained emotional after “Nân” reached the final. Cyprus’ Antigoni thanked everyone who supported “JALLA” and said she had felt confident Cyprus could qualify. Romania’s Alexandra Căpitănescu also celebrated online after “Choke Me” secured Romania a place in the Grand Final. For all ten qualifiers, the mood immediately shifted from nerves to preparation for Saturday. Non-qualifiers thank fans and look back For the five non-qualifiers, the Eurovision 2026 reactions were more reflective. Luxembourg’s Eva Marija looked back with pride after “Mother Nature” missed the final. She said she had given everything, was proud of herself and felt grateful for the Eurovision adventure. Azerbaijan’s JIVA ended her performance by thanking Europe, but “Just Go” did not qualify. Armenia’s SIMÓN, Switzerland’s Veronica Fusaro and Latvia’s Atvara also stayed in the semi-final. Their latest Eurovision messages focused on the performance itself, the meaning behind their songs and the support around them. That made their reactions quieter, but not less meaningful. The second semi-final therefore showed the familiar two sides of Eurovision: pure celebration for the qualifiers and gratitude, disappointment and pride for those whose Vienna journey ended before Saturday.
