Can Delta Goodrem win Eurovision for Australia and what happens if she does? A guide to the 2026 song contest
Soapie star, award-winning singer and songwriter, The Voice coach, cancer survivor, Australia’s sweetheart.
Tomorrow morning might be another way to describe Sydney’s Delta Goodrem as the “Eurovision Song Contest winner”.
Our girl next door survived Thursday’s semi-final with an outstanding performance of her song Eclipse, making her one of Australia’s best chances of taking home the crystal microphone.
Goodrem upped the ante after performing a big piano ballad with big vocals to suit the enthusiastic Vienna crowd, which can be hard to please amid the tension of the current world climate.
Goodrem, of course, handles her big notes with aplomb and joins the list of experienced Australian Eurovision entrants who can tackle the demanding list of shows that will see them perform to a live audience at least six times in the final.
Her song expresses imperfect timing for love, in keeping with this year’s Eurovision theme “United by Music”, and features a classic Eurovision key change and goosebump-inducing high notes.
Goodrem’s three-minute performance sees her wearing a sparkling gold dress adorned with 7,000 Swarovski crystals, blowing her hair towards wind machines on a pedestal. Oh, and there are fireworks!
This is Eurovision, after all, where extravagance is far from a dirty word.
COMPETITION
Artists from 19 countries will participate in Delta’s grand finale.
Those who made it to the semi-finals were Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Malta, Romania, Ukraine, Norway, Greece, Finland, Moldova, Belgium, Croatia, Israel, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia and Sweden.
The United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany automatically qualify for the final as members of the “Big Five”, which contribute the most to Eurovision’s financing through their broadcasters.
Austria also receives automatic entry as the host country.
FAVORITES
On Friday, Goodrem was close to securing victory as the second favorite to win Eurovision with betting odds of $4.50.
Finnish duo Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen are his biggest rivals with odds of just $1.90. The duo’s fiery performance includes a lively violin solo and is a firm favorite among international fans.
The Finns were placed in the second half of the grand final rankings, which traditionally lead to higher scores in the public vote, while Goodrem occupied a less advantageous eighth place in the rankings.
In a world in desperate need of some relief, Greece also offers a chance to win outside with Akylas’ innovative performance of the song “Ferto,” a frenzied dance number featuring furry tiger ears, video game effects and a dancing statue.
Danish entrant Søren Torpegaard Lund is also likely to reach the top 10 with his lively electro-pop song and opera ballad Regarde by 17-year-old Frenchwoman Monroe.
Although his inclusion in the competition has triggered an exodus of artists, Israel has an incredible entry in Noam Bettan, which could attract some interesting results in the public vote.
THE GRAND FINALE ITSELF
Australian Eurovision fans are used to running on very little sleep, with the grand final airing live on SBS at 3am WA time.
The show lasts approximately four hours and includes a “halftime show” that gives the public time to vote and for the votes to be counted before the winner is announced.
The winner usually ends the show by holding the coveted crystal microphone and shouting “thank you Europe!” He sings his song while shouting.
Artists are required to sing live at Eurovision and must be able to sing in any language, but nowadays most sing in English. Their song must be an original song (no covers!) and no longer than three minutes.
Performances are limited to six people on stage, including dancers, musicians and celebrity guests (San Marino even brought Boy George along this year). Instruments are often played on a backing track to limit hiccups during the live finale and allow for tight turnaround between performances.
This means there will likely be very few opportunities for Goodrem to show off her impressive live piano playing abilities – boo!
TRANSACTIONS, HOW IT WORKS
To qualify for the grand final, players must place in the top 10 in one of the two semi-finals.
Getting there requires winning the support of the public as well as the “jury” of seven music industry representatives from each country.
Judges award scores based on a criterion that includes vocal ability, performance, composition and originality, and is designed to prevent block voting and voting based solely on popularity, accounting for 50 percent of the total score.
The public voting during the live show contributes the other 50 percent of the scores, and the results are often wildly different from those of the judges.
While audiences at home only watched the televised semis and grand finals, the artists actually performed to a live audience three times for each event.
A non-televised show is held for the judging panel, and a second “family-friendly” show is also held for each of the semi- and grand finals.
WHY IS AUSTRALIA IN EUROVISION AND WHAT HAPPENS IF WE WIN?
Although we are not explicitly part of Europe, Australia was offered entry to Eurovision in 2015 due to national broadcaster SBS being a member of the European Broadcasting Union.
The Europeans love us so much that they keep letting us come back!
Even though we had an automatic place in the grand final in our first year with Guy Sebastian, since then we’ve had to get to the semi-finals and we’ve always failed to get through!
The country that wins Eurovision is usually given the right to host it for the following year, but unfortunately this does not mean that country will come to Australia if we win.
If Goodrem gets the crystal microphone, we will likely co-host next year’s event in another European country, possibly the UK or Germany.
Hosting rights were last lost in 2022, when the Ukrainian law reached the height of the country’s conflict with Russia. For its part, the United Kingdom hosted prominent Ukrainian artists at the event.
DISCUSSIONS
Amid political unrest and conflict around the world, this year’s theme for United By Music has never been more appropriate.
While Eurovision has strict rules about remaining apolitical, such issues, including controversial block voting and protests during live events, inevitably find their way into the show.
Eurovision powerhouse the Netherlands, as well as Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia and the big five Spain, have withdrawn from this year’s competition after organizers refused to disqualify Israel due to the ongoing war in Gaza.
This year’s live shows will likely be subject to increased security measures, but despite this, protesters were able to chant and jeer throughout much of Israel’s performance, and boos were heard throughout.
FAVORITES
1. Finland
2. Australia
3. Greece
4. Denmark
5. Israel
OUR PICK FOR THE TOP 3
1. Australia
2. Sweden
3. Finland
GRAND FINAL
Where: Wiener Stadthalle. Vienna, Austria
Start time: Sunday, 3:00 WA time
Time winner announced: Around 7am
