Bulgaria's Dara wins Eurovision 2026 with 'Bangaranga'

Bulgarian singer DARA won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna on May 17 with “Bangaranga,” giving Bulgaria its first victory in the competition’s history. Eurovision’s official site said DARA finished with 516 points after the Grand Final at Wiener Stadthalle, ahead of Israel in second place and Romania in third. The contest’s official account said Bulgaria had sat out the competition from 2023 through 2025 before returning in 2026. Reuters images and follow-up reporting from Sofia showed DARA arriving home on May 17 to cheering crowds at the airport. ### How decisive was the win? Eurovision’s official site said DARA won by 173 points, the largest winning margin in contest history. The same report said “Bangaranga” topped both the jury vote and the public televote, with 204 jury points and 312 televote points. Eurovision said it was the first time in nearly a decade that juries and viewers had chosen the same winner, since Kyiv 2017. (eurovision.com) EurovisionWorld’s 2026 results page listed Bulgaria as the winner with 516 points. The site’s 2026 contest pages said 35 countries took part this year and 25 entries reached the Grand Final. ### Who is DARA, and who wrote “Bangaranga”? Eurovision’s official site identified DARA as one of Bulgaria’s best-known pop performers and said the winning song was written by Anne Judith Stokke Wik, Darina Yotova, Dimitris Kontopoulos and Monoir. (eurovision.com) Darina Yotova is DARA’s given name, according to Eurovision coverage and other reports on her win. (eurovisionworld.com) Reuters reporting from Sofia described “Bangaranga” as a dance track that drew a strong public reaction in Bulgaria after the result. At the airport on May 17, Reuters said fans greeted DARA with flowers, Bulgarian flags and chants of her name and the song title. ### What happened when she returned to Sofia? (eurovision.com) Sofia Airport became the first stop in the celebration on May 17, when DARA arrived with the Eurovision trophy and was met by hundreds of fans, according to Reuters-linked and other follow-up reports. To Vima, which cited Reuters photographs, said the aircraft received a water salute and that DARA performed “Bangaranga” live for supporters in the arrivals area. (internazionale.it) DARA told reporters after landing that she planned to “go home, eat pizza, and cry in pajamas,” according to coverage of the airport welcome. Reuters also quoted her as saying the victory meant a great deal to her. ### Was there an official city celebration after the airport welcome? Sofia Municipality and Bulgarian National Television organized a public event for DARA in Knyaz Alexander I Square on May 19, according to BTA and Bulgarian media reports. (tovima.com) BTA said the celebration also marked 10 years of DARA’s professional music career and drew a large crowd waving Bulgarian flags. At the May 19 event, BTA reported that DARA told the crowd, “My dream has always been to bring people together. Thank you for making my dreams come true.” BTA said she performed “Bangaranga” and walked along a 60-metre red carpet laid out in her honour. ### What comes next after Bulgaria’s first Eurovision title? (bta.bg) Eurovision’s official site said Bulgaria’s win means the country has secured its first title on the contest’s 70th anniversary. Under Eurovision tradition, the winning broadcaster and country move into talks over staging the next contest, though no official host-city decision for 2027 was listed in the sources reviewed here. (bta.bg) In Sofia, the immediate next public milestone was the May 19 city celebration organized by Sofia Municipality and BNT. Bulgarian reports said officials also moved to honor DARA in the capital after the win. (bta.bg) (eurovision.com)