The final of the Eurovision Festival 2026 takes place this Saturday, May 16, in the city of Vienna (Austria). An edition marked by the controversial presence of Israel, which has once again broken the contest rules these days, and by the unprecedented voluntary absence of Spain as a form of protest, after 65 years of uninterrupted participation. The Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia, and Iceland have joined as countries that have preferred not to participate. Finally, only 35 countries have participated and only 25 will reach the final, the lowest number since 2004.
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The semifinals have been held this week and, after them, besides the host country, Austria, and the members of the Big Four (United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy), the names of the other 20 who will finally perform this Saturday are already known: Albania, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Israel, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, and Ukraine.
RTVE has announced that it will not broadcast the contest due to the presence of Israel in it, but will offer another option in its programming. The public broadcaster will air a special of La casa de la música presented by Jesús Vázquez, with live performances by Ana Belén, Chanel, Guitarricadelafuente, Manuel Carrasco, Mónica Naranjo, and Raphael. It will be from 22:00 on La 1.
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When and where to watch Eurovision
Those who want to watch the festival can see it on the official Eurovision channel on YouTube, which will broadcast the contest live. It will be in English and can be enjoyed on Saturday, May 16 from 22:00 hours.
