After a week of high energy performances and catchy choruses to tide everyone over for the summer, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 has been crowned!
It was another tough competition, as the 25 acts took to the stage one last time to perform as best they could to impress the juries and audiences.
For Dara, her performance paid off, with the Bulgarian act taking home the win for her country! This marks the first time Bulgaria has won the Eurovision Song Contest.
Dara represented Bulgaria with the song Bangaranga, which she described as “pop music with folklore bones”.
She added: “The word itself comes from Jamaican slang – it means uproar, commotion, a beautiful kind of disorder. It has this raw, phonetic power that bypasses translation – you feel it before you understand it.”
The singer scored an impressive 516 points, beating Israel’s Noam Bettan who scored 343 points, missing out on the top spot.
Romania’s Alexandra Căpitănescu came in third place with 296 points, while Delta Goodrem placed fourth with her entry Eclipse.
Earlier this week, audiences around the world watched on as the two semi-finals saw 25 acts qualify for the grand final, with the likes of Moldova and Romania qualifying on their return to Eurovision after previous withdrawals.
They competed alongside competing alongside the Big Four (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) as well as last year’s winners Austria.
The electric show was hosted by presenters Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski, with audiences in the UK offered commentary by Graham Norton, Rylan Clark and Angela Scanlon across the week of competition.
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The Eurovision Song Contest has faced significant criticism over its decision to allow Israel to take part in the event due to the ongoing war in Gaza.
This year, a number of countries will boycott the contest following the European Broadcasting Union’s decision not to expel Israel from the competition.
At the EBU general assembly in December 2025, a vote was held to introduce new rules that would stop governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting songs to influence voters. No vote was held on Israel’s participation.
The EBU said in a statement: “A large majority of members agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation and that the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 should proceed as planned, with the additional safeguards in place.”
Following this, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland confirmed they would not participate in this year’s Eurovision.
Irish broadcaster RTÉ said: “RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.”
The BBC, which broadcasts the competition in the UK, has said it supports the decision made by the EBU. “This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive,” it said in a statement.
You can also check out the full list of Eurovision winners and how many times the UK has won Eurovision.
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