The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest festivities are underway in Vienna after Sunday's glittering launch event. Thirty-five national delegations, including Luxembourg's own Eva Marija, made their first official appearance before a crowd of thousands and the global media at the traditional 'Turquoise Carpet' – an event that marks the start of ESC week.
For the artists, the Turquoise Carpet is one of their final opportunities to attract attention, pose for photos, and speak to reporters ahead of the competition's live shows. Many artists use this event to make a statement with bold or unique fashion choices – but others clearly prefer to let the music do the talking.
"For us, it is a bit of a challenge since Eva is mainly focused on her personality, but we have the advantage of her violin. Sometimes she likes to play with that", explains Jeff Spielmann, head of media for the Luxembourg delegation.
This year's carpet stretched from the Burgtheater to the Rathaus, with each country's delegation accompanied by a classical orchestra playing iconic songs from the participating nations. During Luxembourg's moment, the orchestra performed Feierwon, a Luxembourgish folk song written by Michel Lentz in 1859.
Eva Marija fully embraced the occasion, taking plenty of time to engage with fans and journalists. The 20-year-old singer described it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"It is crazy, like all of them were cheering and showing so much love", Eva Marija told RTL.
Eurovision fever is spreading across Vienna, with promotional posters visible throughout the city, staging and installations being finalised, and fans arriving from across Europe. An estimated 95,000 tickets have already been sold for the various shows, and around 10,000 fans gathered at Rathausplatz to celebrate as the contestants arrived on the scene.
Viewers can look forward to comprehensive Eurovision coverage on RTL, including live broadcasts and special programmes throughout the week. The first semi-final will take place on Tuesday, followed by the second on Thursday.
For Luxembourg to reach the grand final on Saturday, Eva Marija will need to secure a spot in the top 10 during Thursday's show.
RTL Today will stream the first semi-final at 9pm on Tuesday. The same goes for Thursday's broadcast, including English commentary from RTL Today Radio's Meredith Moss and Melissa Dalton, as well as ticker coverage from us here at RTL Today.
Saturday's final broadcast will kick off at 9pm with the grand final, again featuring English commentary and ticker coverage.
