{"id":446370,"date":"2026-05-17T15:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T15:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/446370\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T15:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T15:15:09","slug":"bulgaria-wins-eurovision-2026-with-israel-finishing-second-in-dramatic-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/446370\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026 with Israel finishing second in dramatic final"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bulgaria has claimed its first-ever victory at the\u00a0Eurovision Song Contest, with pop star\u00a0Dara\u00a0winning the 70th edition in Vienna after a nail-biting final that saw Israel finish second.<\/p>\n

Performing her high-energy anthem\u00a0\u201cBangaranga\u201d, Dara secured a total of 516 points, ahead of Israel\u2019s\u00a0Noam Bettan, whose song\u00a0\u201cMichelle\u201d\u00a0reached 343 points. Romania\u2019s\u00a0Alexandra C\u0103pit\u0103nescu\u00a0came third.<\/p>\n

Hosted at the Wiener Stadthalle by Austrian broadcaster ORF, the anniversary edition brought together 25 finalists and millions of viewers worldwide under the theme \u201cUnited by Music\u201d, with votes cast from 148 countries across participating nations and the rest of the world.<\/p>\n

Bulgaria\u2019s breakthrough moment<\/p>\n

Dara\u2019s victory marks a historic milestone for Bulgaria, whose national broadcaster BNT first entered the competition in 2005. It is the country\u2019s first win in the contest\u2019s 70-year history.<\/p>\n

\u201cBangaranga\u201d, written by Anne Judith Stokke Wik, Darina Yotova, Dimitris Kontopoulos and Monoir, topped both the jury and public vote. It is the first time since 2017 that a winning entry has achieved this double success.<\/p>\n

With its infectious rhythm and tightly choreographed performance, the song stood out in a highly competitive final. Despite not being among the early favourites, Dara built momentum throughout the evening and ultimately secured one of the largest winning margins in Eurovision history.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a9 Alma Bengtson\u00a0| EBU\u00a0<\/p>\n

Israel leads before final vote<\/p>\n

Until the final public vote was announced, it appeared as if Israel\u2019s Noam Bettan was set to win the contest.<\/p>\n

Bettan was loudly cheered during his performance of\u00a0\u201cMichelle\u201d, a rock ballad sung in Hebrew, French and English, although there was also a smattering of boos inside the arena. His entry received strong support across Europe and beyond, with many countries awarding high points.<\/p>\n

The final public vote ultimately shifted the result in Bulgaria\u2019s favour, delivering a dramatic conclusion to the night.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a9\u00a0Sarah Louise Bennett | EBU<\/p>\n

Strong performances across the board<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s\u00a0Delta Goodrem\u00a0finished fourth with\u00a0\u201cEclipse\u201d, while Italy\u2019s\u00a0Sal Da Vinci\u00a0placed fifth with\u00a0\u201cPer Sempre S\u00ec\u201d. Finnish favourites\u00a0Pete Parkkonen\u00a0and\u00a0Linda Lampenius\u00a0ended up sixth.<\/p>\n

The United Kingdom, represented by\u00a0Sam Battle, finished last after receiving no points from the public vote for the fourth consecutive year.<\/p>\n

A politically charged edition<\/p>\n

The 2026 contest was also marked by political tensions linked to Israel\u2019s participation. Demonstrations took place in Vienna in the days leading up to the final, with protesters gathering near the venue.<\/p>\n

Five countries, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Iceland and Slovenia, chose to boycott the contest, raising concerns about the event\u2019s political dimension and its potential impact on audiences and funding.<\/p>\n

Despite the controversy, organisers emphasised the contest\u2019s role as a global platform for cultural exchange, bringing together millions of viewers around a shared celebration of music.<\/p>\n

A landmark anniversary<\/p>\n

The 70th edition of Eurovision showcased major advances in live production, including energy-efficient lighting systems and enhanced broadcast technology. Around 11,000 spectators attended the final inside the Wiener Stadthalle, with millions more watching worldwide.<\/p>\n

As Eurovision marks seven decades on stage, Bulgaria\u2019s breakthrough victory confirms once again that the contest remains unpredictable, competitive and globally influential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bulgaria has claimed its first-ever victory at the\u00a0Eurovision Song Contest, with pop star\u00a0Dara\u00a0winning the 70th edition in Vienna…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17667,208755,208774,90514,208772,42,46,208773,43,133006,40,38,41,39,50021],"class_list":["post-446370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-bulgaria","tag-dara","tag-europe-entertainment","tag-eurovision-2026","tag-eurovision-results","tag-headlines","tag-israel","tag-music-contest","tag-news","tag-noam-bettan","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-vienna"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}