After Goodrem’s Eclipse performance in the semi-final, the country’s odds shot up to second. But what would an Australian win mean for Eurovision – and what happens next?
As a beautiful woman with big hair and a bigger voice, armed with a nonsensical, precision-engineered power ballad, Delta Goodrem was always going to appeal to the camp tastes of Eurovision; she’s Olivia Newton-John 2.0.
And after her performance of Eclipse in Eurovision 2026’s second semi-final on Thursday, Australia’s odds shot up from fourth to second, rocketing past Greece and Denmark to rank behind the favourite to win, Finland.
Australia’s pre-eminent scholar of Eurovision, Jess Carniel, who is an associate professor at the University of Southern Queensland, predicts Australia will make the top five, bar any disasters.
“I don’t like being overly enthusiastic about it because I’m the kiss of death – if I say they’re gonna win, they don’t win,” Carniel says. “Finland’s probably got it, which means I’ve just condemned them to lose.” So congratulations Australia!
