Delta Goodrem’s Historic Eurovision 2026 Performance
Delta Goodrem made a lasting impression during her grand final performance at Eurovision 2026, bringing the house down with a powerful rendition of her song Eclipse. Her performance was so captivating that it placed her on the brink of a historic victory, although she ultimately fell just short. The singer delivered a show-stopping act that featured bright lights and a wind machine, creating an unforgettable atmosphere for the audience.
Goodrem was one of the top contenders to win the final in Vienna on Saturday night (Sunday morning AEST). After finishing her performance, she immediately called Today entertainment editor Richard Wilkins. “She's such a sweetheart,” he said. “She asked, 'Did I do all right?'”
Wilkins added, “She's sung the song a thousand times and she finds something new in it every time. What I think she has done is the performance of her career so far... This takes her to a whole new level.”
During the video call, Wilkins told her, “You're the Matildas, you're Cathy Freeman... the whole of the country is just holding its breath and sending its love, it's incredible.” In response, Goodrem said, “Oh thank you, I felt everybody with me in this entire journey and I just wanted to make everybody proud and do what I do. The crowd was insane, they were chanting my name as they came out and I was like, how many people flew from Australia... it was definitely a lot of love.”
UK star Graham Norton, who was reporting from the ground, confirmed the same sentiment. He noted, “If the audience could crown a winner right now, they would give it Australia. I hope her star power doesn't go against her,” according to the Liverpool Echo.
Australians cheered her on from home, including former Eurovision contestant Dami Im, who took the stage in 2016. Im encouraged her fellow representative with a message: “COME ON YOU'VE GOT THIS.” GoJo, Australia’s contestant from last year, also sent a message of support: “YOUVE GOT IT IN THE BAG!!!❤️”
One of the biggest messages of support came from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who posted on X: “Good luck at the Eurovision Grand Final, Delta. You've already made Australia proud. We'll all be cheering you on.”
Despite her incredible performance, Goodrem finished second behind Finland’s Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen with their song Liekinheitin. TAB and Sportsbet both have Australia as the second favorite to win, with odds at four to one.
Finland is the favorite, likely because Australia has never won Eurovision before, and the very idea of a non-European nation winning makes some fans of the contest squirm. However, the whole nation is backing Goodrem after her incredible performance in the semi-final that sent her flying into the finals.
She made it to the Grand Final alongside countries including Malta, Denmark, Norway, Albania, and Cyprus. Other countries in the Grand Final include Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Romania. The "big four" automatically in the Grand Final are France, Germany, Italy, and the UK.
Betting companies aren’t the only ones who think Goodrem is in with a chance to win. Fans flooded social media proclaiming she’s Australia’s best chance of “bringing it home” since Dami Im’s performance of The Sound of Silence in 2016, which put her in second place.
Before jetting off to Vienna, Goodrem spoke to Nine.com.au about her entry. She said she “loved” all the positivity around her song. “I love it, I love the passion, the positivity,” she told Nine.com.au. “I'm gonna take all this incredible good energy and vibes with me and fly over to Vienna with it all.”
Traditionally, the winner of Eurovision hosts the following year’s contest in their home country. However, Eurovision has stated that if Australia were to win, it wouldn’t be able to host the concert Down Under. Instead, SBS would co-host the broadcast in collaboration with another European broadcaster.
Goodrem, however, believes an exception should be made. “We'd be an amazing host,” she said. “Everyone coming to Australia, we've got the most beautiful country, we'd be great... we'd put on an incredible hosting.”
She also pays no attention to such remarks. “I think that we saw was an awesome music show... I'm really happy that we're a part of it. We're there for a great time, and we give it a go!” she said. “When [Eurovision] had seen how involved Australia was when it came to getting involved with the contest from a far, it made logical sense [to invite us]. I think we're the only country part of it that's not part of Europe… we're always visiting anyway!”
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