Today the rehearsals for Eurovision 2026 continue in Vienna. Countries rehearsing on Day 2 include Montenegro, Estonia, Israel, Belgium, Lithuania, San Marino, Poland, and Serbia. The second to rehearse today is Estonia’s Vanilla Ninja.
What did we learn about Vanilla Ninja’s staging?
The staging for Vanilla Ninja has largely remained the same compared to their Eesti Laul performance, as the trio return to the Eurovision stage after 21 years. The song itself has been revamped slightly to give a stronger rock feel to appeal to the public and juries.
Vanilla Ninja also have upgraded their outfits from the Eesti Laul ensemble, which only heightens their rock-ish feel the trio are bringing to the Eurovision stage. It also seems that audience participation will be a very important compontent of their performance as the track has been edited to ensure a “hype moment” in the middle-eight.
The performance is also set to include a lot of hand clapping, as well as a large blast of pyrotechnics in the last few seconds of the song.
Who are Vanilla Ninja?
Vanilla Ninja is a three-piece female band formed in Tallinn in 2002. The band is currently formed of Kerli Kivilaan, Lenna Kuurmaa and Piret Järvis, and first shot to fame after their 2003 Eurovision effort “Club Kung Fu”. In 2005, Vanilla Ninja represented Switzerland at the Contest with “Cool Vibes”, finishing in 8th place, earning acclaim across German-speaking countries. The band disbanded in 2008, but reunited in 2026 for Eesti Laul, winning the competition.
Estonia’s Eurovision Journey
Estonia has appeared at almost every Eurovision since their debut in 1994. They have won the contest once with Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL in 2001, singing Everybody. Other notable Estonian entrants include 3rd placer Sahlene with Runaway in 2002 and Ines with Once In A Lifetime in 2000, who placed 4th. More recently, their highest-placing entries have been Urban Symphony with Rändajad in 2009 and Ott Lepland with Kuula in 2012, both of which finished in 6th place.
In 2025, Estonia elected to send Tommy Cash through Eesti Laul to the Contest with “Espresso Macchiato”. They successfully qualified for the final and finished in 3rd place with 356 points. Of these, 258 points came from the televote, while 98 came from the juries.
What do you think of “Too epic to be true”? Does Vanilla Ninja stand a chance of winning? Let us know your thoughts! Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as we prepare for Eurovision 2026!
News Source: EBU
Photo Credit: Vanilla Ninja
Giwrgos Oiko