VIDEO // Moldova to compete at first semi-final of Eurovision 2026

Moldova will perform at the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, according to the results of the draw held on January 12, at Vienna City Hall. The event marked the official start of the 70th edition of the European music competition.

According to the organizers, the first semi-final will take place on May 12, and Moldova has been placed alongside Georgia, Portugal, Croatia, Sweden, Finland, Greece, Montenegro, Estonia, San Marino, Poland, Belgium, Lithuania, Serbia, and Israel.

The second semi-final, scheduled for May 14, will bring together Armenia, Romania, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Albania, Denmark, Cyprus, Norway, Malta, Australia, Ukraine, and Latvia.

The exact running order for each night will be determined by the end of March. At Eurovision 2026, qualification for the final will be decided by both public voting and the votes of professional juries. The top ten countries from each semi-final will advance to the Grand Final, scheduled for May 16.

Countries that are directly qualified for the final also took part in the draw. Austria, as the host country, along with France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, do not compete in the semi-finals, but their public and juries will vote. Germany and Italy will award points in the first semi-final, in Moldova is competing, while Austria, France and the United Kingdom will vote in the second semi-final.

The event in Vienna was hosted by Alexandra Maritza Wachter and artist Cesár Sampson, who placed third at Eurovision 2018. The draw was supervised by the leadership of the European Broadcasting Union and by representatives of the Austrian public broadcaster ORF. The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 marks 70 years since the launch of the competition, and the organizers are announcing an anniversary edition, with the participation of broadcasters from Europe and beyond, and with a global audience estimated at hundreds of millions of viewers.