Miriana Conte among Eurovision stars to perform in Vienna Grand Final

Miriana Conte will serve once more on the Eurovision Song Contest stage, this time during the competition's Grand Final in Vienna on May 16.

Conte placed 17th in the competition held in Switzerland last year with her track Serving.

The singer was one of the contest’s most controversial entries, having had to retitle her song Kant to Serving after the European Broadcasting Union’s decision not to allow her to use the word Kant in the song. While Kant translates to singing in Maltese, the sound is similar to an English swearword referring to a woman’s genitalia.

Despite the controversy, Conte ended Malta’s losing streak by qualifying for the Grand Final following her performance in the second semi-final. 

On Monday, Austria’s national public broadcaster, ORF, announced the return of eight “Eurovision icons” to the stage for the 70th Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final.

On the night, Conte will perform alongside the Finnish heavy metal band Lordi, who won the 2006 competition with their track Hard Rock Hallelujah, and 2009 Eurovision Song Contest winner Alexander Rybak, the Norwegian violinist who won Europe’s heart with his track Fairytale.

Both artists have also performed in Malta, with Rybak performing in the 2025 Malta Eurovision Song Contest.

Other artists set to perform on the big night are Finland’s Erika Vikman, who performed Ich Komme in 2025, Ukraine’s 2004 winner Ruslana, known for her full energy track Wild Dances, Bulgaria’s 2017 artist Kristian Kostov, known for  Beautiful Mess, Germany’s 2004 representative Max Mutzke and Ukraine’s Verka Serduchka, who placed second in 2007 for their track Dancing Lasha Tumbai.

Last weekend, Malta's Eurovision hopeful Aidan set off for the competition's host city together with the rest of the delegation, following a 12-country promotional tour promoting his song Bella. 

He will be the 14th contestant to perform in the competition's second semi-final on May 14.

This year's Eurovision Song Contest has been mired in controversy over the participation of Israel, which has faced widespread condemnation, with several countries, including Spain, Iceland, and the Netherlands, boycotting the competition in protest at Israel's killing of civilians in Gaza.