Delta Goodrem wins Belgian pre-Eurovision competition

Image: Songfestival.be

Australia’s Delta Goodrem has taken out an annual fan and jury-voted pre-Eurovision competition in Belgium, winning De Stem van Songfestival.be 2026 with her entry Eclipse.

The annual online contest, run by Songfestival.be (who organise ESC 250 each year), simulates the Eurovision voting format and features fan and jury input including semi-final qualification.

This year marked the 11th edition of the competition, with the last two winners being KAJ for Sweden in 2025, Baby Lasagna for Croatia in 2024 and Loreen for Sweden in 2023.

Photo finish victory

In a dramatic result, Australia finished tied on 173 points with Denmark’s Søren Torpegaard Lund.

However, Delta secured the win thanks to a stronger public vote, handing Australia its first-ever victory in the competition.

Finland rounded out the top three in what was described as a tightly contested final.

Strong public support

In an unusual turn of events, Australia's win was driven heavily by audience backing.

In the semi-final stage, she placed second overall but dominated the public vote, receiving significantly more audience support than her competitors.

That momentum carried into the final, where the public once again played a decisive role in separating Australia from Denmark.

Eurovision-style format

The 2026 edition introduced a revamped format closely mirroring the Eurovision Song Contest itself.

Ten countries from each semi-final advanced, with results determined by a 50/50 split between jury and public voting in the semis, and a combined professional jury and public vote in the final.

An 11-member professional jury contributed half of the final score, including Belgian singer-songwriter Anna Winkin, drag performer and Drag Race Holland winner Vanessa Van Cartier, VRT music coordinator and Eurovision commentator Els Germonpré, podcast creators Chiel Troost and Jeroen Smits, and Sorbonne communications professor Sébastien Appiotti, alongside the Songfestival.be editorial team and other industry figures

Australia’s first win

This is the first time Australia has won De Stem van Songfestival.be.

The result adds further momentum to Australia’s Eurovision 2026 campaign ahead of rehearsals beginning this week.

Full results from the competition can be found here.

For continued updates on all the Eurovision Song Contest news follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Bluesky Threads and TikTok. All links at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet