Greece’s entry on Tuesday evening secured its place in Saturday’s Eurovision grand final in Vienna, as Akylas delivered one of the most visually distinctive performances in this year’s competition with “Ferto,” confirming the strong momentum and odds-makers’ predictions throughout the past week.
Akylas’ performance was the first to be announced for qualification for the final in Tuesday’s semi-final out of a total of 15 entries. A second semi-final will be held on Thursday. Under Eurovision rules, the qualifiers are announced in random order during the broadcast rather than by ranking position, meaning viewers do not immediately know who finished first, who barely qualified or the televote/jury point total.
Qualifying from Tuesday’s semi-final and through to the grand final are, besides Greece, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Israel, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Serbia and Sweden.
Akylas: ‘On Saturday, we’re going to tear it up!’
“Let’s go, Greece! They told me not to scream, but I’m so happy, so excited. I really believed in it, but it’s completely different when you actually hear it announced,” he said, just minutes after “Ferto” advanced from the first semi-final.
“On Saturday, we’re going to absolutely tear it up! There’s no way my heart is going to stop racing now — it’ll probably be like this for a whole week,” he added.
The 27-year-old artist also revealed how surreal the performance itself felt from the stage.
“While I was up there, I honestly don’t know what I was feeling. When I came off stage, I was like, ‘What did I just do? What just happened?’ I can barely remember anything.”
“I want to go watch the video now — to see how I did and what actually happened. But it felt incredible. The crowd was screaming and that gave me so much strength…
“It’s nothing like the rehearsals when the arena is empty,” Akylas said in his first statements after qualifying.
Watch Akylas’ performance in Vienna below:
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The qualification marked one of the most convincing Eurovision performances by a Greek entry in recent years and has already prompted comparisons with some of the country’s strongest appearances in the contest, from Helena Paparizou’s 2005 victory with “My Number One” to the high-energy entries of the late 2000s and early 2010s that established the country as a consistent Eurovision contender.
Unlike many previous Greek entries built around ethnic-pop formulas, Akylas approached Eurovision with a more contemporary and theatrical aesthetic, blending multilingual lyrics, electronic production and stylized Mediterranean imagery into a performance that stood out in a crowded semi-final field.
Akylas, representing Greece, performs “Ferto” during the first semi-final of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, in Vienna, Austria, May 12, 2026. REUTERS/Lisa Leutner.
Over the past week, increasingly positive reactions from rehearsals and Eurovision press audiences in Vienna, where Akylas and Ferto steadily emerged as one of the semi-final’s strongest qualifiers.
The successful qualification also reflects a broader shift in Greek Eurovision strategy. Rather than relying exclusively on traditional motifs, this year’s entry embraced the cyber-era visual language that increasingly defines the contest — extremely fast-paced staging, strong symbolism and immediate televote appeal.
International media coverage over recent days has described Akylas as one of Eurovision 2026’s surprise breakout acts, with outlets including the BBC and Eurovision-focused European broadcasters highlighting the Greek state broadcaster’s (ERT) sharp staging, multilingual lyrics and strong audience response in Vienna.
Several commentators noted parallels with the contest’s growing preference for visually bold, genre-crossing performances.
