Delta Goodrem is the pride of Australia right now!
The 41-year-old sailed through the Eurovision 2026 semi-final in Vienna with her fiery ballad ‘Eclipse’, wowing the crowd flanked by wind machines as she made her way toward her piano to belt out the track to fans around the world.
She is now through to the grand final and is firmly among the favourites to take the title.
But while her voice and performance was magical, it was her dress that made jaws drop.
Delta’s breathtaking Eurovision gown was designed exclusively for the star by Australian designers Velani and jewellers House of Emmanuele as a couture creation and a visual interpretation of ‘Eclipse’ itself.
Designer Nicky Apostolopoulos tells New Idea exclusively, “Designing Delta’s Eurovision gown has truly been a dream come true.”
Online estimates say that Velani custom couture pieces typically start at $8,000, with intricately beaded designs starting around $15,000.
For a one-of-a-kind creation featuring 500 hours of handiwork and thousands of individually placed crystals made for one of the biggest stages in the world, it’s likely this gown’s worth is much higher!
In fact, our expert Ernesto Buono, the founder of Ernesto Buono Fine Jewellery in Sydney, estimated that the crystals alone would have a market worth of millions!
“If they were average cut and size diamonds, they would be valued at $10 million for natural and $1.7million for lab,” he exclusively tells us.
“Swarovski retails approximately anywhere from $70,000 – $210,000 – which means her dress was very expensive.”
But, when it comes to the value of the dress, designer Nicky adds, “This journey has been an extraordinary creative milestone, and the value of this piece lies far beyond a monetary figure.”
And looking at it, you can see why.
The illusion tulle gown features a sculpted second-skin silhouette, more than 7,000 hand-applied Swarovski crystals, intricate beadwork completed over approximately 500 hours and a dramatic bespoke Swarovski crystal eclipse brooch at the heart of the look.
There’s also metallic silver and gold detailing runs throughout, designed to capture movement and radiance under the immense stage lighting — embodying what Velani describes as “celestial duality,” merging the strength of the sun and the moon.
Delta was involved in the creative process, too.
“I just kept saying I really want it to represent silvers and golds of like all the world and being full, whole hearted,” she said in a pre-performance interview.
She added that with so much work to do “everyone got involved”, and that designer Nicky’s passion for Eurovision shone through every stitch.
After Delta’s semi-final performance, designer Nicky took to Instagram with an emotional response.
“Delta Goodrem, you were absolute perfection. You didn’t just perform, you created a moment that will stay in hearts forever.”
The wardrobe at the Eurovision Song Contest is usually the same for the semi-finals and the final, so thankfully, we can expect to see this beautiful creation one more time!
Delta performs in the Eurovision Grand Final this Sunday May 17, airing on SBS and SBS On Demand from 5am.
