{"id":672631,"date":"2026-05-15T13:27:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/672631\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T13:27:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:27:19","slug":"can-delta-goodrem-win-eurovision-for-australia-and-what-happens-if-she-does-a-guide-to-the-2026-song-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/672631\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Delta Goodrem win Eurovision for Australia and what happens if she does? A guide to the 2026 song contest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soapie star, award-winning singer and songwriter, The Voice coach, cancer survivor, Australia\u2019s sweetheart.<\/p>\n

By tomorrow morning, there might be another way to describe Sydney\u2019s Delta Goodrem \u2014 \u201cEurovision Song Contest winner\u201d.<\/p>\n

Our own girl next door became one of Australia\u2019s best prospects of taking home the crystal microphone when she breezed through Thursday\u2019s semi-final with her knock-out performance of her song Eclipse.<\/p>\n

Goodrem rocketed up the betting odds after performing a big piano ballad with big vocals to match to a rapturous Vienna crowd, which, amid the tension of the current world climate, can be tough to please.<\/p>\n

Goodrem, of course, handles her big notes with aplomb and joins a list of seasoned Aussie Eurovision entrants capable of handling the gruelling list of shows, which will see them perform to a live audience at least six times by the final.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Her song signifies the imperfect timing for love, in keeping with this year\u2019s Eurovision theme \u201cUnited by Music\u201d and features a classic Eurovision key change and goosebump-inducing high notes.<\/p>\n

Goodrem\u2019s three-minute performance sees her elevated on a pedestal flicking her hair against wind machines, wearing a glittering gold gown adorned with 7,000 Swarovski crystals. Oh, and there\u2019s fireworks too!<\/p>\n

After all, this is Eurovision, where extravagance is far from a dirty word.<\/p>\n

THE COMPETITION<\/p>\n

Delta will be joined in the grand final by performers from 19 countries.<\/p>\n

The semi-final qualifiers were Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Malta, Romania, Ukraine, Norway, Greece, Finland, Moldova, Belgium, Croatia, Israel, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia, Sweden.<\/p>\n

\"FinlandCamera IconFinland duo Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen are firm favourites to win Eurovision, and are Delta\u2019s biggest competition. Credit: picture alliance\/dpa\/picture alliance via Getty I<\/p>\n

United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany gain automatic entry to the final as member of the \u201cBig Five\u201d, which contribute the most to the funding of Eurovision through their broadcasters.<\/p>\n

Austria also gets automatic entry as the host nation.<\/p>\n

THE FAVOURITES<\/p>\n

On Friday, Goodrem was within a whisker of securing the win as second favourite to win Eurovision with betting odds of $4.50.<\/p>\n

Finland duo Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen are her biggest competition with odds of just $1.90. The pair\u2019s fiery performance includes a live violin solo and is a firm favourite among international fans.<\/p>\n

The Finns have landed a second-half position in the grand final running order, which traditionally leads to higher scores from the public vote, while Goodrem has landed a less-favourable eighth in the line-up.<\/p>\n

In a world in desperate need of some light relief, Greece is also an outside chance to win with a novelty act from Akylas with his song \u201cFerto\u201d \u2014 a zany dance number featuring furry tiger ears, video game effects and a dancing statue.<\/p>\n

Danish entrant S\u00f8ren Torpegaard Lund with his lively electro-pop number and French 17-year-old Monroe\u2019s operatic ballad Regarde are also likely to land in the top 10.<\/p>\n

\"GreeceCamera IconGreece is also an outside chance to win with a novelty act from Akylas with his song \u201cFerto\u201d. Credit: Christian Bruna\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s inclusion in the contest triggered an exodus of performers, Israel has put forward an incredible entry in Noam Bettan, who could attract some interesting results in the public vote.<\/p>\n

THE GRAND FINAL ITSELF<\/p>\n

Aussie Eurovision fans are used to running on little sleep with the grand final televised live on SBS at the ungodly hour of 3am WA time.<\/p>\n

The show lasts about four hours, including a \u201chalf-time show\u201d which gives the public time to vote and time for them to be counted before the winner is announced.<\/p>\n

The winner performs their song to close the show, usually while holding the coveted crystal microphone and yelling \u201cthank you, Europe!\u201d<\/p>\n

Performers must sing live in Eurovision and can sing in any language, but most these days sing in English. Their song must be an original song (no covers!) and no longer than three minutes.<\/p>\n

\"DeltaCamera IconDelta Goodrem will likely have little opportunity to show her impressive live piano playing abilities. Credit: Christian Bruna\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Acts are limited to six people on stage, including dancers, musicians and celebrity guests (this year, San Marino even brought along Boy George). Instruments are often performed to a backing track to limit hiccups during the live final and allow a tight turnaround between acts.<\/p>\n

This means Goodrem will likely have little opportunity to show her impressive live piano playing abilities \u2014 boo!<\/p>\n

THE PROCEEDINGS, HOW IT WORKS<\/p>\n

To get to the grand final, performers must qualify in the top 10 acts in one of two semi-finals.<\/p>\n

Getting there involves winning over the public as well as the \u201cjury\u201d \u2014 a panel of seven music industry representatives from each country.<\/p>\n

The jury award points based on a criteria involving vocal ability, performance, composition and originality and count for 50 per cent of the total points, designed to prevent block voting and votes on popularity alone.<\/p>\n

The public, which votes during the live show, awards the other 50 per cent of the points \u2014 and the results are often wildly different to the jury\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\"DeltaCamera IconDelta Goodrem rocketed up the betting odds after performing a big piano ballad with big vocals to match to a rapturous Vienna crowd. Credit: Christian Bruna\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

While viewers at home only see the televised semi and grand finals, the performers have actually performed to a live audience three times for each event.<\/p>\n

One show is held for the jury panel, which is not televised, and a second \u201cfamily friendly\u201d show is also held for each of the semi and grand finals.<\/p>\n

WHY IS AUSTRALIA IN EUROVISION AND WHAT HAPPENS IF WE WIN? <\/p>\n

While we\u2019re clearly not part of Europe, Australia was offered entry into Eurovision in 2015 because national broadcaster SBS is a member of the European Broadcasting Union.<\/p>\n

The Europeans love us so much, they keep letting us come back!<\/p>\n

While we got an automatic spot in the grand final during our debut year with Guy Sebastian, we have been required to qualify through the semi-finals since \u2014 and we haven\u2019t always made the cut!<\/p>\n

\"DeltaCamera IconDelta Goodrem reacts during the second Semi-Final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest. Credit: Christian Bruna\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The country that wins Eurovision is usually awarded hosting rights for the following year, but, sadly, that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s coming to Australia if we win.<\/p>\n

If Goodrem takes the crystal mic, we\u2019ll likely jointly host next year\u2019s event in another European country, likely the UK or Germany.<\/p>\n

Hosting rights were forfeited last in 2022 when the Ukraine act won the height of the country\u2019s conflict with Russia. The United Kingdom hosted on its behalf with Ukrainian artists featuring prominently in the event.<\/p>\n

CONTROVERSIES<\/p>\n

Amid worldwide political unrest and conflict, this year\u2019s theme of United By Music has never been more appropriate.<\/p>\n

While Eurovision has strict rules around remaining apolitical, such issues inevitably creep into the show, including controversial block voting and protests during the live events.<\/p>\n

Eurovision powerhouse the Netherlands as well as Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia and big five nation Spain have pulled out of this year\u2019s contest due to the organisers refusal to disqualify Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\"NoamCamera IconNoam Bettan representing Israel performs during the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Several countries have boycotted this years\u2019 contest over Israel\u2019s war in Gaza. Credit: Christian Bruna\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s live shows are likely to be the subject of heightened security but, despite this, protesters were able to chant and jeer throughout a large proportion of Israel\u2019s performance and booing was heard throughout.<\/p>\n

THE FAVOURITES<\/p>\n

1. Finland<\/p>\n

2. Australia<\/p>\n

3. Greece<\/p>\n

4. Denmark<\/p>\n

5. Israel<\/p>\n

OUR PICK FOR TOP 3<\/p>\n

1. Australia<\/p>\n

2. Sweden<\/p>\n

3. Finland<\/p>\n

THE GRAND FINAL <\/p>\n

Where: Wiener Stadthalle. Vienna, Austria<\/p>\n

Time it starts: Sunday, 3am WA time<\/p>\n

Time winner announced: About 7am<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Soapie star, award-winning singer and songwriter, The Voice coach, cancer survivor, Australia\u2019s sweetheart. By tomorrow morning, there might…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,134,136,44,1346],"class_list":["post-672631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-news","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}