Bulgaria wins Eurovision Song Contest for the first time

Bulgaria's DARA has won the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 singing Bangaranga at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna.

Israel's Noam Bettan, singing Michelle, was second.

DARA - aka Darina Nikolaeva Yotova - finished the contest with a total of 516 points, ahead of Bettan on 343 points.

The victory is Bulgaria's first in the competition, on a night when Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Iceland, and Slovenia boycotted the contest over Israel's participation and the war in Gaza.

Romania's Alexandra Căpitănescu, with the song Choke Me, finished third on 296 points.

Presenting DARA with the trophy, last year's winner, Austria's JJ, told her that he knew she would win.

Once again, the grand final delivered stunning production values and diverse acts, with the BBC reporting a global audience of 120 million - down from 165 million in 2025.

Among the other standout performances on the night were: Australia's Delta Goodrem singing Eclipse, Finland's Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen with Liekinheitin, Moldova's Satoshi with Viva, Moldova!, and Italy's Sal Da Vinci with Per Sempre Sì.

After all the performances, the interval act opened with a disco version of All Kinds of Everything as part of a Eurovision classics medley from former winners - and with Ireland's Dana namechecked by the hosts.

As the jury results were announced, the Eurovision lead changed numerous times.

At the conclusion of the jury voting, Bulgaria was out in front with 204 points, and Australia and Denmark were both in second on 165.

As the audience votes were revealed, there were loud boos when Israel topped the leaderboard - a reaction that did not happen during Bettan's performance on the night.

The cliffhanger ending saw only Israel and Bulgaria able to win, and the arena erupted when Bulgaria romped home.

The mood ⁠in the Austrian capital was both tense and subdued for the final, with protests over Israel's involvement in the contest drawing only small crowds.

Police said they were bracing for protests on Saturday, but the anticipated "blockades and disruption attempts" did not materialise.

A protest near the venue drew just a few hundred people, a fraction of the 3,000 organisers had said they expected.

More than 72,500 Palestinians have been killed since ‌the Gaza war started in October 2023, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.

The war followed the Hamas-led assault of 7 October 2023 that killed nearly 1,200 in Israel.

The members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) now turn their attention to Eurovision 2027 - and with it, hopes of peace and participation.

Additional Reporting: Press Association, Reuters, AFP