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Bulgaria won in 2026 Eurovision music competition after singer Dara swept to victory with the song Bangaranga.
The victory of the 27-year-old singer is the first victory in the 70-year history of the Bulgarian song contest, which entered Eurovision in 2005 and made it to the final three.
Bangaranga, described by the singer as “pop songs with traditional bones”, is a party song led by in kindergarten – an old Bulgarian tradition where men go around the villages dressed in woolen clothes with bells and animal masks.
The true meaning of “bangaranga” became one of the running jokes of the night. Singer Dara said “bangaranga is a special power that everyone has, the feeling that everything is possible.”
Bulgaria’s surprise win means the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and other participating broadcasters will not suffer major headaches. Had second-placed Israel won, organizers would have faced tough questions about where to host the 2027 music competition.
The 70th festival of foreign music took place in Vienna, after the Austrian opera competition. JJ won last year.
About 10,000 spectators watched the show at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, with a TV audience expected to exceed 100 million. This was the third time that the Alpine country held this event.
The grand final saw songs representing 25 countries, with Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania returning after missing years ago. Controversially, the Eurovision festival took place without the five countries that boycotted the event due to Israel’s continued participation while the Gaza offensive continues.
Ireland, Spain, Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland all refused to participate After the EBU changed the rules around multiple ratings and promoted state-sponsored music, it stopped short of banning Israeli broadcaster Kan from participating. In December, Nemo, the Swiss singer who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 said he was returning his cup in opposition to Israel’s presence in Vienna.
Police said around 2,000 people protested against Israel’s annexation in the center of Vienna early Saturday.
On the night, Israel’s entry Michelle, a pop love song about a bad relationship played by Noam Bettan, took second place after a strong performance in the public vote.
The Austrian broadcaster ORF has already said that it will not use the anti-booing technology for home viewers that was used in previous editions, but the way Bettan’s crowd took to the stage was lukewarm compared to the reception of singer Yuval Raphael in 2025.
There was chaos during the counting of Israel’s votes, in response to the group of fans continuing to chant Israel’s name.
In the two previous editions of the music competition, Israel performed strongly in the public vote, coming in second in 2025. Some broadcasters complained about the great advancement of the Israeli government in its activities through its social media, however, the voting rules to be changed in Vienna.
This year, fans were allowed to cast ten votes, down from 20 last year. Voting for the same act ten times was allowed, but voting for what the fans were singing in the country was not allowed.
During the counting of the jury’s votes, a reporter representing Israeli broadcaster KAN appeared to be referring to last year’s voting controversy when he said he already knew who would win this year.
In the final preparation, KAN was forced to apologize after mocking the Croatian group Lelek by comparing their traditional designs to “henna tattoos in Eilat.” Lelek criticized the comments as disrespectful to their culture and history of oppressed women. Their song, Andromeda, is about the resistance of the Catholics to the Ottoman Empire, and their design reflects it. to urinate – tattooing ritual used to prevent forced conversion.
The UK finished with Look Mum No Computer, AKA Sam Battle. The YouTube star he creates his own synthesis, but he failed to win neutral voters with music One two three. The song was accepted there is no reason in the public vote, meaning he did not make the top 10 in any of the voting states.
With the exception of Sam Ryder’s Space Man in 2022, the UK has had some of the best in the competition over the past decade, including a sensational haul with James Newman in 2021.
Belgium and Germany also received a zero in the public vote.
Another UK act, Boy George from Culture Club, did not take part in the finals after his San Marino entry – Senhit’s Superstar – failed to make it to the first semi-final. Australia’s entry, sung by Delta Goodrem, came 4th.
