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Bulgaria celebrated a historic night at the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 after singer DARA secured the country’s first-ever victory with her song Bangaranga.
Performing in Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle, DARA dominated both the jury vote and the public televote, finishing with a combined total of 516 points. The result gave Bulgaria one of the largest winning scores in Eurovision history and marked the first time in nearly ten years that juries and viewers selected the same winner.
Israel placed second with Noam Bettan’s Michelle, while Romania finished third through Alexandra Căpitănescu’s entry Choke Me. Australia and Italy completed the top five.
Bulgaria returned to Eurovision this year after stepping away from the contest between 2023 and 2025. Its comeback ended in spectacular fashion, with Bangaranga finishing 173 points ahead of the runner-up, surpassing the winning margin achieved by Alexander Rybak for Norway in 2009.
The winning track was written by DARA together with Anne Judith Stokke Wik, Dimitris Kontopoulos and Monoir. The performance combined Balkan pop influences with an energetic stage production that quickly became one of the standout acts of Eurovision week.
Before this year, Bulgaria’s best Eurovision result came in 2017 when Kristian Kostov finished second with Beautiful Mess. The country first joined the contest in 2005 and had reached the Grand Final several times without managing to secure a victory.
Cyprus was represented this year by Antigoni, who finished 19th in the Grand Final with 75 points.
Although outside the leading positions, Cyprus still finished ahead of countries including Sweden, Belgium, Germany and host nation Austria. The result also continued Cyprus’s consistent presence in the Eurovision Grand Final in recent years.
This year’s competition attracted attention beyond the music itself because of debate surrounding Israel’s participation during the war in Gaza. Several countries, including Ireland, Spain, Iceland, Slovenia and the Netherlands, withdrew from the contest after disagreements with the European Broadcasting Union’s decision to allow Israel to compete.
Despite the political disputes, the anniversary edition of Eurovision went ahead with 25 countries in the Grand Final and millions watching across Europe and internationally.
With information from Eurovision and RadioTimes.
