Eurovision 2026 Vienna: Mapping All 35 Countries (and When to Watch Worldwide)

The 70th Eurovision Song Contest returns to Austria after eleven years away, anchored at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna on the back of JJ’s 2025 win for the home country with “Wasted Love.” Thirty-five nations are bringing acts to the stage — three returning, five sitting it out, and the entire Big Five intact apart from Spain. Below is the full map of who’s in, who’s on which night, and exactly when the Grand Final airs in your time zone.

The Map: 35 Countries Heading to Vienna

Thirty countries are competing across the two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May 2026. Five more — the Big Five automatic qualifiers (Italy, France, Germany, the UK) plus host country Austria — go straight through to the Saturday Grand Final on 16 May. The map shades all 35 by their route to the final, and flags the five European broadcasters that have stepped back from this year’s contest.

Vienna, the Host City

This is the third time Austria has hosted Eurovision, after Vienna 1967 and Vienna 2015, and the second time at the same venue. Austria won the right to host with JJ’s falsetto-driven entry in Basel last May — “Wasted Love” — and ORF moved fast to confirm Wiener Stadthalle’s vast Halle D, the largest event hall in the country.

• Venue: Wiener Stadthalle, Halle D, 15th district of Vienna
• Capacity: Up to 16,000 spectators (about 10,500 seated for ESC, with standing room)
• Hosts: Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski (main stage); Emily Busvine (green room)
• UK commentary: Graham Norton, BBC One and BBC iPlayer
• Live shows: First Semi-Final 12 May · Second Semi-Final 14 May · Grand Final 16 May — all 21:00 CEST

Big Five + Host: Direct to the Saturday Final

Four Big Five nations plus the host carry their entries straight into Saturday’s show. Spain, normally a Big Five fixture, has withdrawn — but the rest are in.

First Semi-Final — Tuesday 12 May 2026

Fifteen countries compete on the opening night, with the top ten advancing to the Saturday Grand Final. Italy and Germany also perform their Big Five entries during the show but don’t need votes — they’re already through. Running order announced by the EBU on 2 April:

Second Semi-Final — Thursday 14 May 2026

Another fifteen countries on Thursday, with three Big Five performances slotted in for staging rehearsals: France after Czechia, Austria after Cyprus, and the United Kingdom after Ukraine. Top ten qualify.

When to Watch: Show Times Around the World

All three live shows start at 21:00 Central European Summer Time (UTC +2). For the Grand Final on Saturday 16 May, that means a comfortable Saturday-night slot across most of Europe, mid-afternoon on the US East Coast, lunchtime on the West Coast, and a very early Sunday breakfast for viewers in Australia and New Zealand.

Who’s Not There: Five Withdrawals

Five European broadcasters declined to send an act this year — the largest boycott since 1970 — citing Israel’s continued participation during the Gaza conflict. Two of the five (Iceland and the Netherlands) will still air the contest; the other three are off the schedule entirely.

• 🇮🇸 Iceland — RÚV will broadcast all three shows but is sitting the contest out.
• 🇮🇪 Ireland — RTÉ will neither compete nor broadcast — a first since 1965.
• 🇳🇱 Netherlands — AVROTROS pulled the entry; NPO will still air the shows.
• 🇸🇮 Slovenia — RTVSLO is fully out — no entry, no broadcast.
• 🇪🇸 Spain — RTVE withdrew, ending one of the longest unbroken participation streaks.

Three Returning Nations

Working in the other direction, three countries are back on the Eurovision schedule after taking time off:

• 🇧🇬 Bulgaria — first entry since 2022, with Dara performing “Bangaranga.”
• 🇲🇩 Moldova — back after one year out, opening Semi-Final 1 with Satoshi’s “Viva, Moldova!”
• 🇷🇴 Romania — first appearance since 2023, with Alexandra Căpitănescu’s “Choke Me.”

Mark the Calendar

Two semi-finals on the second week of May, a Saturday final, and 35 acts representing one of the most geographically stretched lineups in years — from Iceland’s and Ireland’s notable absence to Australia’s eleventh consecutive entry on the other side of the world. The action lands in Vienna for one week, and then a 36th country gets the chance to host in 2027.

More Mapped: Europe in 2026

If you came for the maps, here are three more recent Mappr stories on the continent's biggest 2026 events.

Mapped: All 48 Countries That Qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup The other big map of who's in and who's out for 2026 — this time, the 48 nations heading to North America for the World Cup.

Mapped: Eurozone Manufacturing PMI Hits Near-4-Year High in April 2026 All eight surveyed members are in expansion territory — a rare moment of European industrial alignment.

Mapped: Hungary's 2026 Election — Orbán Falls, TISZA Wins Supermajority How a single April vote redrew the EU's political balance — and what it means for everything from sanctions to subsidies.