Eurovision Song Contest 2026: COSMÓ on the turquoise carpet at the „Opening Ceremony“
The 70th Eurovision Song Contest is officially opened. OnSunday, May 10, 2026, the show week was kicked off with a ceremony at Vienna City Hall, the walk of all participating acts across the turquoise carpet, and the subsequent opening party – also COSMÓ's official start to the ESC in Vienna.
COSMÓ: “It was so great to be on the turquoise carpet, meeting all the fans and all the other acts. The ‚Opening Ceremony’ marked the beginning of Eurovision week, and now we're ready and very excited for everything that's to come. The fans here were amazing, and it's a great honor to be able to represent Austria at the ESC in Vienna."
COSMÓ and Sandro Humitsch (guitarist/manager) presented a styling by Flare Talents on the turquoise carpet – between Viennese classicism and Berlin club culture: With ruffled shirts and handmade latex from Epic Couture, the outfits bridged the gap between Mozart and modern dance floors.
Preparations for COSMÓ's big performance are in full swing. On Saturday, May 9, 2026, the second rehearsal took place at the Stadthalle. He performed his song „Tanzschein“ three times on the big ESC stage. The staging of a visual journey through club history with the four dancers – a gorilla, a gazelle, a lion, and a rhinoceros – and guitarist Sandro Humitsch received its final touches.
COSMÓ: “The Stadthalle already feels almost like home. The second rehearsal focused mainly on final improvements, including the ESC special edition of the blue star. My feel for the stage is getting better and better, and I can hardly wait for the next rehearsals in front of an audience.”
COSMÓ's upcoming schedule until the finale of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026:
- Thursday, May 14: Semifinal 2 - live on ORF 1 and ORF ON (from 9:00 PM) - where COSMÓ will present his song „TANZSCHEIN“ non-competitively for the first time
- Friday, May 15: Final rehearsal - international juries award their points
- Saturday, May 16: Finale - entry number 25 - live on ORF 1 and ORF ON (from 9:00 PM)
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 live and varied supporting program on ORF 1
ORF accompanies COSMÓ's exciting time at the Eurovision Song Contest across all its media (TV, radio, and online) and offers a comprehensive program surrounding ESC 2026 with documentaries, broadcasts, and live reports.
The world's biggest TV entertainment event is taking place over three evenings: the first semi-final is on Tuesday, May 12, the second semi-final- where Austria's representative COSMÓ will perform- is on Thursday, May 14, and the final is on Saturday, May 16, live from the Vienna Stadthalle, each starting at 9:00 PM on ORF 1 and ORF ON. The two semi-final evenings will be opened at 8:15 PM by ORF commentator Andi Knoll with „Mr. Song Contest proudly presents.“ On the final evening, Barbara Schöneberger will host the two ORF/ARD/SRF broadcasts "ESC – The Countdown„ (8:15 PM) and “ESC – The Aftershow" (12:55 AM) live from the MuseumsQuartier Vienna.
(May 10, 2026)