Dara wins Eurovision 2026

Dara won the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 on May 16 in Vienna with “Bangaranga,” giving Bulgaria its first victory in the competition’s 70-year history. The official Eurovision site and the European Broadcasting Union said Bulgaria’s entry topped both the jury vote and the public vote in the Grand Final at the Wiener Stadthalle. Eurovisionworld said Dara finished with 516 points, ahead of Israel’s Noam Bettan on 343 and Romania’s Alexandra Căpitănescu on 296. ### How big was the win? The EBU said Dara’s victory was Bulgaria’s first since the country debuted in Eurovision in 2005, and that broadcaster BNT returned to the contest this year after a three-year absence. The EBU also said “Bangaranga” won by a margin of 173 points, which it called the biggest winning margin in the contest’s history. (ebu.ch) Eurovisionworld said Bulgaria received 204 jury points and 312 public points, meaning Dara led both parts of the voting. The official Eurovision release said it was the first time since 2017 that the winning song had topped both the jury and audience vote. ### What do the final results show? (ebu.ch) Eurovisionworld’s final table put Israel second with “Michelle” by Noam Bettan on 343 points and Romania third with “Choke Me” by Alexandra Căpitănescu on 296. Australia finished fourth on 287 points, Italy fifth on 281, and Finland sixth on 279. (eurovisionworld.com) Ukraine’s entry, “Ridnym” by Leléka, finished ninth with 221 points, including 167 from the public and 54 from juries, according to Eurovisionworld. The same results table showed the United Kingdom last, in 25th place, with 1 point. ### Who is Dara and who wrote “Bangaranga”? (eurovisionworld.com) The EBU identified the winner as Bulgarian artist DARA, while RTÉ named her as Darina Nikolaeva Yotova. Eurovisionworld said the song was written by Dara along with Anne Judith Wik, Cristian Tarcea and Dimitris Kontopoulos; the EBU’s press release listed Anne Judith Stokke Wik, Darina Yotova, Dimitris Kontopoulos and Monoir among the writers. (eurovisionworld.com) Eurovisionworld described Dara as a Bulgarian pop artist with an established presence in Bulgarian and Balkan music before the contest. AP, in coverage of her return to Sofia, said the singer is 27. ### What happened when she returned to Bulgaria? On May 17, hundreds of fans welcomed Dara at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport after her return from Vienna, according to AP and Sofia Airport. (ebu.ch) AP said Dara arrived smiling and holding the trophy, and quoted her as saying, “This award marks the beginning of my future international career.” (eurovisionworld.com) On May 19, Sofia staged an official public celebration at Knyaz Alexander I Square, according to Nova and local reports surfaced in search results. Nova said Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev and Culture Minister Evtim Miloshev were among those greeting her after the win. (usnews.com) ### What comes next after this result? The Eurovision rules mean Bulgaria is now in line to host the 2027 contest after Dara’s win, and AP reported that Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev said the capital was ready to host. The official Eurovision and EBU coverage has already shifted to post-final items including the 2026 award winners and planning for the next edition. (usnews.com) (nova.bg)