Eurovision marks 70 years; Bulgaria wins

The European Broadcasting Union said on May 24 that the Eurovision Song Contest was marking its 70th anniversary, dating the first edition to May 24, 1956. The anniversary comes a week after Bulgaria won the 2026 final in Vienna, according to Eurovision’s official newsroom and DAWN. (uk.news.yahoo.com) The EBU said it would mark the milestone with new anniversary programming, including a tribute film and archival material tied to the contest’s earliest years. (dawn.com) ### How is Eurovision counting 70 years? May 24, 1956 was the date of the first Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU and Yahoo News UK said in anniversary coverage published on Sunday. (uk.news.yahoo.com) The contest has since grown into what the official Eurovision site described as the world’s largest live music event. The EBU began a broader anniversary campaign on May 1, saying 2026 would bring a year-long celebration with a redesigned Eurovision website and app, a 70-year archive called Eurodex, fan-ranking tools and a new Eurofan initiative. Eurovision also published separate anniversary features this month on the contest’s role in launching artists and adapting to digital audiences. (uk.news.yahoo.com) ### Who won the 2026 contest, and by how much? Bulgaria’s DARA won Eurovision 2026 for broadcaster BNT with the song “Bangaranga,” Eurovision said in a May 17 results release. (uk.news.yahoo.com) The win was Bulgaria’s first in the contest, according to the official release. DAWN reported on May 24 that Bulgaria finished on 516 points, 173 points ahead of runner-up Israel, which it described as the largest gap between first and second place in the contest’s history. A separate DAWN report published on May 18 also said Bulgaria had missed the previous three editions before taking the crown in Vienna. (eurovision.com) ### What is being released for the anniversary? The EBU said it would release a special tribute film to mark the anniversary, and Yahoo News UK reported that the package would also include the only known footage of Eurovision’s first-ever winner. The material is being presented as part of the contest’s “United by Music” anniversary messaging. (eurovision.com) Eurovision’s official site has also been rolling out related anniversary content in May, including press releases on returning performers and historical retrospectives. One May 4 release announced a lineup of past Eurovision figures for the Vienna shows in the contest’s 70th year. (dawn.com) ### Why was this year’s contest politically contentious? DAWN said in a May 24 wide-angle piece that Eurovision 2026 brought “continued controversy for broadcasters.” Yahoo News UK reported earlier this month that five regular participants — Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain — were absent from the 2026 final over the inclusion of Israel. (uk.news.yahoo.com) The same Yahoo report said Spain’s broadcaster RTVE had argued in April that Eurovision’s stated neutrality had become “impossible to maintain.” DAWN’s earlier contest report said Israel finished second after participation in the event triggered a boycott. (eurovision.com) ### What comes next in the anniversary rollout? The Eurovision newsroom said the anniversary campaign would continue through 2026 with digital archive material, fan products and new editorial features tied to the contest’s history. The tribute film and archival footage flagged by the EBU and Yahoo News UK are the next named pieces in that rollout. (dawn.com) May 2026 remains the focal point of the campaign, with the EBU framing the anniversary as a year-long program rather than a single-day commemoration. Bulgaria’s victory in Vienna and the release of anniversary material now sit side by side in Eurovision’s official 2026 record. (uk.news.yahoo.com) (eurovision.com)