Bulgaria's DARA wins Eurovision 2026

Bulgaria’s DARA won the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna on Saturday, May 16, delivering the country’s first victory in the competition. The singer won with “Bangaranga,” a performance that topped both the jury vote and the public vote, according to the European Broadcasting Union and Eurovision results pages. The win gave Bulgarian broadcaster BNT its first Eurovision title after returning to the contest this year following a three-year absence. Official Eurovision materials and fan coverage published in the aftermath cast the result as a landmark moment for Bulgaria’s delegation. ### How big was Bulgaria’s win on the scoreboard? The official Eurovision press release said DARA won the 70th contest with a total of 516 points. EurovisionWorld’s results page said Bulgaria received 312 points from the public and 204 from national juries, finishing 173 points ahead of second-placed Israel. The EBU said the winning margin was the biggest in the contest’s history. (ebu.ch) The same release said DARA became the first winner since 2017 to top both the jury and audience votes in the final. ### What was the song, and who made it? “Bangaranga” was the song that carried Bulgaria to victory at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna. The EBU credited the song to Anne Judith Stokke Wik, Darina Yotova, Dimitris Kontopoulos and Monoir, while EurovisionWorld identified DARA as Darina Yotova and listed Fredrik Rydman as responsible for the staging. (ebu.ch) The EBU said 25 countries took part in the Grand Final, hosted by Austrian broadcaster ORF under Eurovision’s “United by Music” banner. (ebu.ch) Votes were received from 148 countries across participating nations and the Rest of the World, according to the official release. ### Why are Bulgarian outlets and fan sites calling this a breakthrough? Daily Music Roll wrote on May 20 that DARA “captivated everyone” with her performance and said the victory made history because it was Bulgaria’s first Eurovision win. (ebu.ch) The article described the result as the culmination of DARA’s rise from Bulgarian television talent shows to a broader pop career. The official Eurovision release also framed the result as a first for BNT, noting that Bulgaria first entered Eurovision in 2005 and returned this year after three years away. That combination of a comeback year and a first title helps explain why post-contest coverage has treated the win as more than a routine result. ### Who else finished near the top? (dailymusicroll.com) Israel finished second with Noam Bettan’s “Michelle,” and Romania placed third with Alexandra Căpitănescu’s “Choke Me,” according to the EBU and EurovisionWorld. EurovisionWorld’s full table listed Australia fourth, Italy fifth and Finland sixth. The same results page showed the United Kingdom finishing last with one point. (ebu.ch) That outcome fed into broader post-final coverage elsewhere about national reactions and fallout after the scoreboard closed. ### What do we know about the team behind the win? Eurovision fan coverage has pointed to delegation work behind Bulgaria’s campaign. (ebu.ch) The supplied briefing cited Eurovision Fun as highlighting delegation manager Boryana Gramatikova as a key figure behind Bulgaria’s triumph and linking the result to rehearsal and delegation strategy, though the site’s full text was not retrievable in this search session. (eurovisionworld.com) Official Eurovision channels are now carrying post-final coverage focused on DARA and Bulgaria’s win, while the contest’s next confirmed hosting milestone is elsewhere in the franchise: Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will be staged in Malta, according to Eurovision’s official site. (eurovision.tv) (ebu.ch)