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Expect JJ’s returning paper boat and a (not-especially-funny) Austria-versus-Australia joke. It can only be ORF’s first major reveal for Vienna.
Sticking to the line that Eurovision is only ever about the music – despite ever more elaborate evidence to the contrary on Thursday, Austria’s broadcaster ORF unveiled the opening and interval acts for this year’s contest at the Wiener Stadthalle, where the semi-finals and grand final will take place on 12, 14 and 16 May. The theme is unapologetically heavy on this being the 70th Eurovision Song Contest.
ORF’s chosen umbrella motto is “The Big Show!”, which does at least have the virtue of honesty. The overall message is nostalgia, camp and the kind of scripted chaos that’s hard to pull off when English isn’t your mother tongue.
The first semi-final will open with a film titled 70 Years of Love, described as a time-travelling story of a couple’s life unfolding against the backdrop of Eurovision history, before a 70-member choir performs L’amour est bleu, the song associated with Vienna’s first hosting in 1967. The interval act in the first semi-final is titled Kangaroo and promises to “settle” the distinction between Austria and Australia (no seriously, this is a thing, ORF insists it is). Australia’s 2025 representative Go-Jo will join hosts Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski.
JJ rules Vienna
Austria’s reigning winner, JJ rules the second semi-final. The hosts will open with a performance of his winning song Wasted Love, though ORF has already hinted that not everything will go to plan (totes hilair, right – bet you the boat sinks). Later in the show, JJ will return to perform a brand-new song.
The grand final is where ORF appears to have put most of what used to be called Schillings. In the opening act, JJ’s paper boat from the 2025 performance (again) is reimagined as a runaway prop stranded in Switzerland, travelling along the Rhine and Danube before finally making it to Vienna. The number itself, titled The Queen of the Night, will reportedly blend Mozart-inspired elements with JJ’s own material, feature more than 40 dancers and acrobats, and accompany the introduction of the 25 finalists. It sounds grand, faintly bonkers and the perfect time to pop those oven-ready snacks in to cook or occupy yourself mixing cocktails. We’re also promised the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna.
The voting window
During the ever-increasing voting window, the organisers are promising a three-part interval sequence that moves from Eurovision nostalgia to broader Austrian showmanship. If you don’t fancy it, there’s easily enough time to catch a movie. First comes Celebration!, an all-star medley of songs from across the contest’s history. ORF’s own announcement names Verka Serduchka, Erika Vikman, Lordi and Il Volo among the performers involved. It’s exactly how an anniversary show ought to be… if only we didn’t see exactly this last year.
After all that, Austria’s electro-swing figurehead Parov Stelar takes the stage, before Cesár Sampson performs Billy Joel’s Vienna. At some point they’ll have to go to the results – likely just as the viewer gives up the ghost.
“Professor Eurovision” will apparently answer obscure questions nobody thought to ask. A “Eurovision Quiz” will have Michael Ostrowski testing contestants’ knowledge with clips from the previous 69 contests. Hint- they’ve loved it ever since Abba won, even though most of their parents weren’t even born then.
I’m still not ready to talk about Auri. Don’t ask me to.
