Dara’s 'Bangaranga' wins Eurovision 70th in Vienna, giving Bulgaria the crown

Dara won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna on Saturday night with “Bangaranga,” delivering Bulgaria its first victory in the competition, according to the European Broadcasting Union and the contest scoreboard. Bulgaria finished with 516 points in the grand final at Wiener Stadthalle, ahead of Israel’s Noam Bettan on 343 and Romania’s Alexandra Căpitănescu on 296. (ebu.ch) The result closed a contest that returned to Austria after JJ won for the host country in 2025. (eurovision.com) This year’s edition was also marked by a dispute over Israel’s participation that led five countries to withdraw before the live shows. (en.wikipedia.org) ### How decisive was Bulgaria’s win? The official Eurovision scoreboard showed Bulgaria well clear of the field. Dara’s 516 points gave her a margin of 173 over Israel, the runner-up, and left Romania in third place on 296. Australia’s Delta Goodrem finished fourth on 287, while Italy’s Sal Da Vinci placed fifth on 281. Eurovisionworld reported that Bulgaria won both the jury vote and the public vote. That split matters because Eurovision’s final ranking combines national jury scores with viewer voting across participating countries and other eligible markets. (ebu.ch) ### Who is Dara, and what is “Bangaranga”? Eurovision’s official artist page identifies Dara as a Bulgarian pop singer whose real name is Darina Yotova. The site says she is one of Bulgaria’s best-known pop performers, with multiple No. 1 hits on the Bulgarian Airplay Chart and an album, “ADHDARA,” released in 2025. (eurovision.com) The song that won, “Bangaranga,” was Bulgaria’s entry in Vienna and was performed in the May 16 grand final. Eurovisionworld said the song was written by Dara, Anne Judith Wik, Cristian Tarcea and Dimitris Kontopoulos. (eurovisionworld.com) ### Where did Israel and the United Kingdom finish? Israel’s Noam Bettan finished second with “Michelle” on 343 points, according to the official grand final scoreboard. Romania took third place, and Austria, the host country, finished 24th with six points. (eurovision.com) The United Kingdom finished last. The scoreboard lists LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER’s “Eins, Zwei, Drei” with one point, the lowest total in the 25-country final. Radio Times identified the act as Sam Battle. (eurovision.com) ### Why were five countries missing from the 2026 contest? Reuters and NPR reported before the final that five countries withdrew over Israel’s participation. ABC News said Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia had announced they would not take part, citing the war in Gaza and related concerns, while other reports identified Iceland as the fifth country out. (eurovision.com) ABC quoted Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS head Taco Zimmerman saying, “Culture unites, but not at any price.” ABC also quoted Spain broadcaster RTVE secretary general Alfonso Morales as saying Israel’s use of the contest for political purposes made it harder to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event. (eurovision.com) ### How many countries actually competed in Vienna? The official Eurovision grand final page lists 25 finalists and gives the complete order of finish. Separate pre-contest reporting said 35 nations were competing in Vienna this week after the withdrawals, with two semifinals on May 12 and May 14 leading into the May 16 final. (msn.com) Vienna hosted because Austria won the 2025 contest. The 2026 event was staged at Wiener Stadthalle under the European Broadcasting Union and Austrian broadcaster ORF. (abcnews.com) ### What happens next for Eurovision after Bulgaria’s win? The European Broadcasting Union said on May 17 that Dara’s victory secured Bulgaria’s first-ever Eurovision title. Reporting published after the final said Bulgarian National Television, or BNT, intends to host the 2027 contest in Bulgaria, with officials discussing a domestic host-city process next. (ebu.ch) (en.wikipedia.org) (eurovision.com)