Bulgaria's Dara wins Eurovision 70th

Bulgaria’s Dara won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna on Saturday with “Bangaranga,” according to the contest’s official results page. The official Eurovision scoreboard showed Dara finishing on 516 points, ahead of Israel’s Noam Bettan on 343 points, in a final held at Wiener Stadthalle. The result gave Bulgaria its first Eurovision victory, Eurovision’s official site said. The final came after a week in which five countries stayed out of the contest over Israel’s participation. ### How big was Bulgaria’s win? The official Eurovision scoreboard showed Bulgaria first with 516 points, made up of 204 jury points and 312 audience points. Israel finished second with 343 points, while Romania placed third on 296 and Australia was fourth on 287. Eurovision’s official site described the result as Bulgaria’s first-ever victory in the contest. (eurovision.com) Dara performed 12th in the running order with “Bangaranga,” according to the grand final results page. ### Who else stood out on the final scoreboard? Israel’s Noam Bettan finished second with “Michelle,” scoring 123 points from juries and 220 from the audience, the official results showed. (eurovision.com) Romania’s Alexandra Căpitănescu followed in third with “Choke Me,” while Italy’s Sal Da Vinci and Finland’s Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen also finished in the top six. Australia’s Delta Goodrem placed fourth with “Eclipse” on 287 points, according to the official scoreboard. Denmark, Moldova, Ukraine and Greece rounded out the top 10. ### Where did the United Kingdom finish? The official Eurovision scoreboard placed the United Kingdom last in the grand final standings. The results page showed the bottom of the table continuing beyond the first 22 places visible in the initial listing, and multiple media reports said the United Kingdom ended with one point. (eurovision.com) Eurovision’s official overview for 2026 listed the United Kingdom among the automatic finalists alongside France, Germany, Italy and host country Austria. (eurovision.com) The contest had 25 countries in the grand final and 35 participating countries overall, Eurovisionworld said. ### Which countries stayed out, and why? Eurovisionworld said Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain boycotted Eurovision 2026 because Israel was allowed to participate. (eurovision.com) Radio Times separately reported the same five countries were absent after the European Broadcasting Union declined to expel Israel from the 2026 contest. Radio Times reported that participating broadcasters had pressed the EBU over Israel’s inclusion amid the war in Gaza and allegations about past voting practices. (eurovisionworld.com) The outlet quoted Ireland’s broadcaster as saying participation remained “unconscionable” because of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. ### How was the 2026 contest structured? (eurovisionworld.com) Vienna hosted the live shows on May 12, May 14 and May 16, with the first semi-final on Tuesday, the second semi-final on Thursday and the grand final on Saturday, according to Eurovision’s official calendar and grand final page. Eurovisionworld said the 2026 contest had 35 participating countries, the lowest number since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004. (radiotimes.com) Eurovisionworld said voting combined national juries, televoting in participating countries and online voting from the “Rest of the World.” The official grand final page breaks out each finalist’s jury and audience totals. ### What happens after Bulgaria’s victory? Bulgaria’s victory means its broadcaster is next in line to work with the European Broadcasting Union on Eurovision 2027 arrangements, following the contest’s usual hosting model. (eurovision.com) Eurovision has not yet published 2027 host details on its official calendar pages. The next confirmed Eurovision-branded event on the official site is the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Malta, with further details to be announced in the coming months, according to Eurovision’s Junior Eurovision page. (eurovisionworld.com) (eurovision.com 1) (eurovision.com 2)