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Eurovision kicked off the first semi-final on Tuesday (May 12), and viewers were left in tears only minutes into the live show.

This year, Vienna is hosting the 70th Eurovision Song Contest following Austria's victory in 2025, when JJ won with the operatic ballad Wasted Love.

Rylan Clark and Angela Scanlon are taking viewers through the proceedings of two of the semi-finals on Tuesday and Thursday (May 14) on BBC One, ahead of the Eurovision Grand Final on Saturday 16 May, where Graham Norton is the master of ceremonies.

15 countries in each Semi-Final will battle for a coveted spot in Saturday night's Grand Final. The Top 10 countries from each Semi-Final will progress to join the five pre-qualified countries.

Look Mum No Computer is flying the flag for the United Kingdom with his track Eins, Zwei, Drei, and won't have to battle it out in the semi-finals for a spot.

The UK is part of an elite group of countries known as the Big Five, along with France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, which are the biggest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organization behind Eurovision.

Under Eurovision rules, they receive an automatic Grand Final place, meaning their acts skip the public and jury votes in the semi-finals.

The 2026 competition opened with an emotional introduction featuring the music of past winners, told through the story of a boy growing into an older man, leaving fans in tears.

Introducing the segment, Rylan said: "The opening film and performance celebrates 70 years of the Eurovision contest, and I'm not going to lie to you, it's very emotional. This is the life of Tony."

Taking to X, one person wrote: "It's been two minutes, and I'm already crying #Eurovision", while a second added: "Sake!! I'm already crying at #Eurovision !!!! xx."

"Why is this SO SAD #eurovision", asked another as one viewer echoed the sentiment and penned: "Why am I crying at that old couple on the sofa."

Another exclaimed: "Perfect, I got emotional with the welcome video#Eurovision #EscIta."

The Eurovision 2026 Semi-Finals take place on Tuesday 12 and Thursday 14 May 2025 on BBC One and iPlayer