Eurovision 2026 Semi-Final 2 Dress Rehearsals Live Commentary

Live from Vienna, it is the semi-final 2 jury show
178 countries will take the stage tonight (15 semi-finalists and 23 automatic qualifiers)

The running order for semi-final 2:

• 1. 🇧🇬 Bulgaria: DARA – Bangaranga
• 2. 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan: JIVA – Just Go
• 3. 🇷🇴 Romania: Alexandra Capitanescu – Choke Me
• 4. 🇱🇺 Luxembourg: Eva Marija – Mother Nature
• 5. 🇨🇿 Czechia: Daniel Žižka –Crossroads
• AQ. 🇫🇷 France: Monroe – Regarde!
• 6. 🇦🇲 Armenia: SIMÓN – Paloma Rumba
• 7.🇨🇭 Switzerland: Veronica Fusaro – Alice
• 8. 🇨🇾 Cyprus: Antigoni – Jalla
• AQ. 🇦🇹 Austria COSMÓ – Tanzschein
• 9. 🇱🇻 Latvia: Atvara – Ēnā
• 10. 🇩🇰 Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund – Før Vi Går Hjem
• 11. 🇦🇺 Australia: Delta Goodrem – Eclipse
• 12. 🇺🇦 Ukraine: LELÉKA – Ridnym
• AQ. 🇬🇧 UK: LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER – Eins, Zwei, Drei
• 13. 🇦🇱 Albania: Alis – Nân
• 14. 🇲🇹 Malta: AIDAN – Bella
• 15. 🇳🇴 Norway: JONAS LOVV – YA YA YA

The article will be updated along with the show

1.🇧🇬 Bulgaria: DARA – Bangaranga

• Dara is wearing a black skirt, black belt, and black knee-high boots, with a short pink top and elbow-length pink gloves. The two parts are linked via black and pink fur trim that appears on both the belt and the gloves.
• 5 dancers on stage accompany Dara on stage,
• The performance starts with an upside-down camera angle.
• The dancers next to her are sitting on chairs in the same row, wearing clown-like makeup and masks. They are shown in a view of a wooden house with different rooms. Later on, they will remove their masks.
• The lighting is based on purple, blue, white and orange lights, including a flickering lamp light.
• The song and the performance are inspired by ancient Bulgarian Kukeri tradition.
• The staging includes a home setting on stage, in a , of Oz-style. At some point, they will sit on red chairs.
• Dara and the dancers will walk along the stage as the song progresses.
• The second part of the song has been revamped, so the production is sharper. There, the dance moves will be more synced.
• It is like a view of sophisticated entertaining exorcism ceremony

2. 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan: JIVA – Just Go

• Jiva is wearing a dress with sequins of black, red and blue shimmer throughout her performance.
• Jiva starts the performance emerging from a cloud of smoke.
• The main prop is a billowing fabric sheet.
• The song starts with lovely piano playing. Jive eye shadow looks like she was crying before (to increase the drama), it is like red lines going under her eye.
• The drapes blowing in the wind will be presented both in the video art and physically.
• She is alone on stage in the first half of the show. The video backdrop LED shows dramatic views.
• The lighting is mostly white and yellow.
• The staging will highlight the differences between the black and white footage of the broken relationship scene of the backdrop and her shiny dress.
• Ever since the second chorus, the song is performed in Azeri.
• The dancers appear around her. She pushed him away from her at the peak point
• In the final part of the song, the man behind the misery appears on stage, joining JIVA for a short time.
• She marches triumphantly down the stage away from him and this break-away moment is represented beautifully in the staging.

3.🇷🇴 Romania: Alexandra Capitanescu – Choke Me

• Alexandra is wearing a black leather outfit: a corset with a collar and shoulders, strappy extensions coiled around her arm and long black leather boots.
• She is accompanied on stage by her 4 band members and another female dancer covered in white fabric
• The performance starts with a sharp intake of breath by Alexandra. The closure will be at the end of the song, where she exhales.
• One of the props is pipes lit in neon light, which Alexandra will hold attached to her. Those will be held by her dancers on the other edge.
• The scene is quite dark, and features some blue, white, and gray lighting.
• Alexandra is chained to her band members via the pipes.
• In the second verse, she kneels and crawls on stage, while turning her back to the audience.
• The mysterious character looks captivating to her, until Alexandra makes her disappear and takes her place on stage,
• The staging concept relies on sophisticated camera angles, as well as the battle between Alexandra and her inner thoughts, and rich facial expressions.
• The performance is electrifying and so powerful. Vocals are really good!

4.🇱🇺 Luxembourg: Eva Marija – Mother Nature

• The performance remained similar to the one from the national final, but with some upgrades.
• Eva is wearing an earth-colored outfit. However, she removed the visible trousers, which were replaced by a floaty, layered gown.
• The scene is quite dark. The performance features rich lighting, and the LED video displays many elements, such as stars, birds, and trees.
• The performance is dynamic, with Eva exploiting almost every inch of the stage. She will run and walk along it.
• Her dress will enable her to move almost effortlessly.
• Nature’s elements are flowering all around her during the performance: butterflies, birds, and blossoming buds. Some of them presented in neon lights.
• She “plays” the piano at the peak point of the song.
• Vocally, it felt like she was a bit stressed.
• It was simple and sweet, but not sufficient

5. 🇨🇿 Czechia: Daniel Žižka –Crossroads

• Daniel is dressed in a light, baby-blue shirt and trousers. He might change his outfit before the show. He will be barefoot on stage.
• At the starting oh the performance he is sitting on the floor, barefoot.
• The main prop piece is being moved into (and out of) place as the performance progresses. It is built with multiple-mirror staging, ensuring that viewers are treated to lots of visual effects. This will make us see Daniel’s character more than once.
• The staging features some tricky light and camera artwork.
• The scene itself is quite dark with sone flickering soft lights.
• In the bridge of the song, the mirrors are moved to another position, the background LED show orange and blue background.
• Vocally, it was as impressive as in the studio cut.

AQ. 🇫🇷 France: Monroe – Regarde!

• Monroe is dressed entirely in white for her performance, in a style that combines modern and traditional fashion of the French Romantic era.
• Her outfit is based on a bell-shaped skirt is tailored over a petticoat, while on top the singer is wearing a shirt, tie and waistcoat combo
• She appears among a thick cloud of smoke in the beginning, and performing on a small podium at the back of the stage.
• 5 dancers (3 females and 2 males) will accompany her on stage. They are all wearing black outfits.
• The dancers will dance Ballet behind her during the first chorus. Later on, they will switch to more modern dance/
• During the performance, she walks along the stage until she ends on a different platform at the very front of the stage.
• Part of the performance will be executed via a steady camera.
• Later on, the dancers will hold her back. The smoke intensifies as the battle progresses.
• Towards the end, we get fireworks in the graphics and pillars of smoke erupting from the stage.
• It was really accurate vocally, and the performance is kinda cinematic.

6. 🇦🇲 Armenia: SIMÓN – Paloma Rumba

• SIMÓN will be accompanied by 5 backing dancers on stage.
• The office theme from the video clip will be the foundation of the Eurovision performance.
• SIMÓN is wearing a classic office uniform, which is later on removed and symbolizes freedom. The remaining outfit is quite thin, showing more of his body.
• It starts with a prop that looks like an elevator. They are quite dense in this space, and perform a diverse hand choreography.
• Once they get out of this elevator, they are freer and wild.
• The LED video shows some lyrics in yellow, as well SIMÓN‘s face.
• The performance symbolizes the moment when he trashes the office after handing his resignation letter to the boss. The office visuals include elements like 16 boxes of paper piled high. The papers won’t stay there for long.
• SIMÓN showcases his abilities as a dancer, performing some acrobatics routine, like backflips.
• He starts the performance being hung upside down by his dancers.
• He even takes the camera into his own hands during the performance
• Towards the end, they kick a tower of office paper boxes.
• The song ends with SIMÓN on top of his dancers, delivering a victory pose on top of them.
• It is chaotic but very emotional. I couldn’t always understand the sung lyrics.

7.🇨🇭 Switzerland: Veronica Fusaro – Alice

• Veronica is wearing a cropped military jacket of her black trouser suit, which runs down the side of her legs too. Her outfit also features feather-trimmed shoulders, adding an extra touch of glam.
• She is accompanied on stage by 4 backing dancers and Alice.
• She starts alone on stage with a very dark scene, with a rope microphone and vertical line of lights.
• After the first chorus, we can see more red colors on stage.
• The general palette is red, orange, green, black, and turquoise.
• Veronica Fusaro is playing tug of war with the viewer, as her microphone takes the form of a rope and it’s the singer at one end and the cameraman on the other.
• In the first chorus, she will go to the rope-based mini arena she has on stage. She will struggle get herself out of those ropes (it is planned)
• Veronica will accompany herself with an electronic guitar at the peak point.
• The production utilizes red rope as a central motif for entrapment. Four dancers lead Veronica to a large cubic prop: a climbing frame encased in rope netting that symbolizes the suffocating ‘prison’ of an abusive relationship.
• The staging reaches its climax when Veronica breaks free with a guitar-led finale.
• The performance concludes with a striking overhead shot of Veronica on her knees, having fashioned the rope to spell out the name ‘Alice,’ cementing the song’s dark narrative.
• The staging concept ifs on of the strongest this year!

8. 🇨🇾 Cyprus: Antigoni – Jalla

• Antigoni is dressed in a short, white, beaded Aphrodite dress.
• She is accompanied by 5 dancers.
• The main prop is a very large table; there are some chairs on it as well. The Cypriot team will walk along the table and perform some choreography on it. The table has some plates on it, delivering a Greek tavern in its realness.
• She starts off alone of the table, sitting, standing and then dancing.
• The dancers will join her later on. Their choreography will include some engagement with napkins and plates.
• In the second chorus. She will dance on the table, while her dancers will dance on the floor.
• At the peak point, she will lie on the table with upper camera angles.
• The table includes a runner made of an LED strip, which will enable them to create the text “you want more?.
• At a certain point, they will leave the table and utilise the catwalk, while the staging will feature fire and pyro elements.
• The backdrop LED features giant, ancient pillars lit in blue.
• It ends with huge fire elements and lights.
• Vocally, she wasn’t accurate with some lack of energy in the choruses. It seems like the song has the right formula to be likable, but singing isn’t professional

AQ. 🇦🇹 Austria: COSMÓ – Tanzschein

• COSMÓ is wearing a black leather trousers, a black rhinestone shirt and a mirrorball-inspired breastplate with matching disco armour
• The performance starts with COSMÓ and his crowd of animals lying down on the stage floor.
• The floor will be lit in pink background and black and white graphics.
• During the performance, COSMÓ and his team will perform their choreography on the center stage.
• They will perform their dance routine in line or atop the huge black climbing frames that are lowered from the arena ceiling onto the stage floor,
• Later on, the guitarist will be shown on stage, with red guitar and a king of eye blindfold.
• The gorillas’ views and clouds will be part of the LED video.
• In part of the performance, we will see them on the catwalk.
• We will see the description “Dance away your inner animal.” on the LED.
• Club strobe lights will light up around his at the final scene.
• Overall, it felt messy at some points, I am not sure about the concept.

9. 🇱🇻 Latvia: Atvara – Ēnā

• The performance has remained quite faithful to the one from “Supernova 2026”
• Atvara will perform alone on stage.
• She is wearing a similar black outfit to the one she had in the national final, but gems sewn onto her dress have multiplied, with them now spreading further down the side to her waste and almost covering her left arm.
• Will see the alcohol glass much clearer on the LED video (as well as its explosion)
• The staging exploits the stage size, and therefore the swirling glass effects have been extended and run on. a greater scale.
• Her vocals are a masterclass. The performance is intimate and lovely. I hope it will be enough.

10. 🇩🇰 Denmark: Søren Torpegaard Lund – Før Vi Går Hjem

• The basis of the performance is quite similar to the one we’ve seen on “Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2026″.
• The aquarium box was shipped as it is to Vienna!
• Søren will perform on stage, accompanied by 5 dancers
• Søren is wearing black leather trousers, topped with an aquamarine silk chiffon shirt. Later on in the performance, we will have an outfit reveal, which is executed as the removal of the top part and showing black mesh top underneath
• The color palette is more green-blue most of the song, ans replaced to drarmtic red in the end
• Søren interacts with the aquarium box during the performance. He performs outside of it at the beginning, showing his back to the audience. Later on, he climbs on top of it and is pulled down inside by the dancers.
• Inside the box, red tube lights intensify in sync with the song’s progression, creating a stifling, high-pressure atmosphere by the second chorus. This heat serves as a visual climax to the engaing choreography, which has notably been dialed up since the first verse.
• As he finally emerges from the glowing enclosure toward the end of the set, the stage floor and LED screens are engulfed in a sudden, swirling storm.
• For the final 20 seconds, the digital landscape ignites into a blazing inferno, bringing the performance to a scorching conclusion.
• Vocally, it was quite good. The audience cheered him at the end with a lot of applause

11. 🇦🇺 Australia: Delta Goodrem – Eclipse

• A giant, sideways crescent moon will be the main prop on stage.
• Harpist will join Delta on stage.
• Delta is wearing a custom couture gown, which is adorned with approximately 7,000 Swarovski crystals. Around 500 hours were invested in making it happen.
• The performance starts with a close-up on the harp. Delta in standing on the stage with the circular element behind her
• She will walk on stage after the first chorus, along the catwalk. As the second chorus, she will reach the golden piano and will sing using a microphone stand,
• She will perform some piano rituals at a time when we can hear the piano chords.
• Thereafter, she will stand on a wide black pole platform that will automatically go up and make her like floating in the air!
• Delta’s performance follows a stunning evolution from a lunar landscape into a solar spectacle, building toward a climax that elevates the song’s concept to breathtaking heights.
• She’s debuting a specialized pyrotechnic effect that won’t be seen in any other act at Vienna 2026!

12. 🇺🇦 Ukraine: LELÉKA – Ridnym

• LELÉKA will be on stage together with the Bandura player Yaroslav Dzhus.
• LELÉKA is wearing a white dress over white trousers, with small strands of fabric layered and attached in a way that responds well to her movements. The fabric will support her movements.
• The performance starts with her stepping on a white catwalk to walk across and proceed to the Bandura player.
• The LED floor will be white at the beginning,
• The performance will switch between blue and orange lights.
• After the first chorus has been performed, the staging becomes dark, with LELÉKA taking centre stage and shifting all the focus towards her.
• Thereafter, the staging becomes colorful again. We will see a special visual moment when the long high note is performed.
• The wind machine will be activated during the long notes, increasing the tension.
• The graphics will be quite dramatic, with a red theme at the end, like the closing of a theatre curtain.
• Vocally, she nailed this. It was a simple conceptual performance, maybe even with a limited budget, but very effective and emotional.

AQ. 🇬🇧 UK: LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER – Eins, Zwei, Drei

• LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER is dressed in his trademark boiler suit. It is dusky pink with silver zips and Doc Marten boots.
• We will see 12 tables on stage, which will be flopped, rotated, and moved along the performance.
• He will be accompanied on stage by 4 dancers who are wearing a turquoise two-parts suits
• The concept of the performance is similar to that of the video dlip.
• In the beginning, we see rows of desks on the stage, to demonstrate the office structure.
• The dancers (co-workers) with him are wearing computer monitors for heads, to enhance the message of the song.
• The dancers will close on him with the boxes, making it look like it is really narrow inside the office.
• During the performance, he escapes from the office,
• The office desks become a choreography centre-piece as LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER and his co-workers transform their space.
• The tables will transform to keybaords and synth elements
• The stage transforms into LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER’s signature synthesizers and keyboard. Those musical props were built by the signer himself.
• People in the arena seem to enjoy it. This is one of the best UK’s efforts recently, staging wisely for sure.

13. 🇦🇱 Albania: Alis – Nân

• Alis is wearing a black outfit with a shimmering gem finish and black sunglasses.
• The scene itself is dark and mysterious.
• At the beginning of the performance, Alis is on his knees before rising among clouds of smoke. The song starts with the dramatic instrumental introduction, where we can see his mother on the backdrop video.
• The backdrop LED video presents many women behind him. They symbolize Albanian women and mothers; some of them are wearing traditional Albanian costumes.
• We will have those women (created by video effects) standing by him, and some of them on the backdrop LED
• Their appearances are interspersed with alternative graphics – the sons singing along to Nân, assuring their mothers that all will be well and that this is just how things are right now.
• His performance will feature English-language subtitles on screen to make the story more understandable to the viewers.
• We will see a woman with him on stage (in this his mother?) who will stand quite far from him. Later on, she will step next to him, touch his face, and then he will remove his sunglasses. She will hold his hand and will grant him a pendant or amulet.
• Sonically, it sounds like the backing vocals are more dominant.

14. 🇲🇹 Malta: AIDAN – Bella

• Aidan’s outfit is a blend of Western Americana and 70s rockstar style, featuring a mixed-media vest crafted from black denim and ornate, studded leather panels. The look is anchored by slim-fit leather trousers detailed with side-seam fringe and metallic conchos for a dramatic, elongated silhouette. Finished with gold-crested hardware and pointed-toe boots, the outfit perfectly captures a bold, “stage-ready” modern cowboy aesthetic.
• The performance features a massive prop: A giant arched construction that represents classic architectural design with a modern glow-up. This is probably the biggest prop of the year.
• In some part of the performance, the prop takes the form of a huge zoetrope with shots from above showing us the Bella subject of the song dancing around our performer.
• The tornado of red rose petals from the national final will be part of the performance as well. It is upgraded via the use of a steadicam.
• In the second chorus, it will look like he is spinning round raposly, we will see wind machine effects as well.
• The final minute of the performance is delivered in one shot. At a certain point, it gives the illusion of partaking in a romantic dance with the viewers. The prop is engineered for construction, which means that AIDAN is rotating quite rapidly.

15. 🇳🇴 Norway: JONAS LOVV – YA YA YA

• The performance remained quite similar to the one from the national selection.
• JONAS LOVV will be on stage with his band crew. He is wearing a pair of high-waisted pants with 90 diamond-shaped panels that the trousers, fashioned out of black leather and sequins in a patchwork technique. He will perform shirtless.
• The backdrop will show “YA YA YA” in big letters.
• A huge row of red lights is lowered and raised throughout to maximize the view of what’s unfolding on stage.
• He will jump and run along the stage in the second chorus and after.
• The performance will focus on the singer’s charisma, and some light effects (including strobe lights).
• During the final 20 seconds of the performance, JONAS is pointing and posturing among the pyro, ending the performance in a triumphant pose in which the light behind him paints him as a revered rock god.
• I must say the performance is bit underwhelming compared to the national selection

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