Day 2 of first rehearsals are done, and we now get the chance to see photos of the performances and excerpts from yesterday’s Reddit live blog.
The Eurovision Song Contest’s official Reddit account is running a live blog daily from the rehearsals with the latest developments. The rehearsals began with Moldova, and ending the day with Finland, with each performance being more exciting than the other.
In this article we bring you excerpts from Eurovision’s official Reddit account’s live blog:
Montenegro
Tamara Živković – Nova Zora
Representing Montenegro for Vienna 2026 is Tamara Živković. She’s dressed in a black corset bejewelled in black gems and topped off with a black ruff collar. Her make-up is seriously fierce; that face is painted! And the lipstick shade she’s chosen for the day is also black.
The Nova Zora singer starts her performance being draped dramatically across the stage floor by four shadowy figures. She then contorts herself into a standing position to really let the audience have it. And here’s where the show really begins! Tamara is now flanked by four dancers decked out in skintight black and mirroring their performer in the ruff collar department – but theirs are in contrasting white!
It’s a performance that takes place across three acts, signalled to the audience by roman numerals appearing on the screen behind her. Act I. Act II. Act III.
Throughout each act, we see our quintet of queens partake in some very intricate choreography, which ranges from the maniacal to the impressively synced. It’s difficult to pinpoint a favourite part because every new formation is so different to the last. And so eye-popping, too.
Estonia
Vanilla Ninja – Too Epic To Be True
Vanilla Ninja are representing Estonia at Vienna 2026 because they won the national final Eesti Laul. But the song they scored victory with – Too Epic To Be True – has received a rocked-up revamp especially for the Eurovision Song Contest. And it’s not just the music that has been given a glow-up!…
The vanilla-white outfits that the trio are wearing have also been given an upgrade for the international stage. The clothes fit the cool vibes of the song, emphasising the girls’ rock credentials. Remember – they were rocking the Eurovision stage before some of you were born.
There aren’t many of us here in the arena right now as the artists rehearse, but it was still very clear that the Vanilla Ninja vibe queens are going to be doing some excellent interaction with the Wiener Stadthalle audience once those Live Shows start. The middle-eight section of the song between the second and final chorus is being used as an opportunity to get the crowd hyped up – not that they will need any pointers with this banger blasting around the venue. Hand claps are encouraged.
The song ends with the most truly epic part of all… a pure pyro finish!
Israel
Noam Bettan – Michelle
Up next in the Wiener Stadthalle is Noam Bettan, rehearsing Michelle for Israel.
Right here in the arena, audiences will see a huge diamond object with a mirrored exterior take centre stage. And it’s inside this that the performance starts. Viewers watching at home will see Noam begin Michelle while surrounded by a reflective surface that gives the illusion of him being inside a crystal chamber.
Noam Bettan is wearing a black leather jacket over a black silk shirt, with the outfit completed by black leather trousers. His stylist informs us that these fabrics have been chosen as they pair visually well with the shine and reflection emanating from the crystal walls surrounding him.
Audiences in the Wiener Stadthalle don’t need to wait very long before they get to see Noam Bettan, however. He’s beckoned out from his giant diamond by a sole dancer (whom viewers might recognise from the Michelle music video), who takes him to the front of the stage where four more dancers await.
Complementing Noam’s ensemble, the quintet of dancers are also wearing leather – short jumpsuits that are dual in tone; one side cream, one side burgundy. The dancers don’t stray far from Noam throughout the remainder of the song, always flanking him with a series of hand choreography formations.
Belgium
ESSYLA – Dancing on the Ice
First impressions are going to be strong for Belgium as an ethereal ESSYLA greets the audience while coming face to face with a wind machine. This diva knows how to confront such a contraption however, and she’s got a cape of long fabric ready to flow regally behind her. The fabric is almost transparent, like a sheet of ice, and as gorge as it looks while she’s static, just wait until she commences her strut!
It’s a strut with some purpose, as she’s on a mission to join her four male dancers. Perhaps in an effort to not be upstaged by ESSYLA’s ice cape, her dancer dudes are quick to detach it from the rest of her outfit, tossing it to the side of the stage for it to melt away out of sight.
Now that she’s united with her crew, ESSYLA can join in on the choreography. We see her dancing on the ice as a floor of tiny crystals parts beneath her feet. Along with her four dancers, ESSYLA is dressed in an all-white ensemble. Laced-up leather is a theme running through her outfit; from the dress to the boots (or rather, just one boot, paired with a silver pump) to the over-the-shoulder armour that she’s wearing. The latter item has got long, sharp crystals jutting out of it – completing the ice-queen image she’s created for herself.
The elements play a big part in the performance too, with a battle between fire and ice going on throughout (no prizes for guessing which one is declared the winner!). On the third run-through of her song, we get the snow machine turned on, with ESSYLA now singing under snowfall at the start of her performance.
