VIENNA: Bulgaria won the Eurovision Song Contest on Sunday with Dara’s catchy floor-filler Bangaranga sweeping the 70th edition of the world’s biggest live televised music event and pushing into second place Israel, whose participation had triggered a major boycott.

Bulgaria had missed the last three editions of the glitzy extravaganza but took the crown in Vienna for the first time ever, overtaking Israel at the very end as the points came in, with Romania finishing third.

Pop singer Darina Yotova, known as Dara, was not among the favourites going into Eurovision week but the 27-year-old gained traction following a strong performance in the semi-finals, with her highly-choreographed dance routines.

“Everything is possible: Bulgaria just won Eurovision!” Dara told a press conference.

“I really like breaking rules. I’m really good with following my rules — not anybody else’s. “We wanted to give to the audience something new and fresh, something that is not expected.”

Eurovision highlighted that “the song ended up winning both sets of scores, which is the first time the juries and the public have chosen the same winner in almost 10 years, since Kyiv 2017”.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev hailed “a young artist who, thanks to her talent and professionalism, has managed to rise above all the complexities and prejudices surrounding the voting process.

“Bulgaria is looking forward to welcoming Europe and the world for Eurovision 2027!” he added on social media.

Around 10,000 glammed-up fans filled the Wiener Stadthalle arena in the Austrian capital to watch Saturday’s showpiece final of Eurovision, where, as always, the razzmatazz didn’t escape the geopolitics in the background.

Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia staged the biggest political boycott in Eurovision history over Israel’s participation, citing the war in Gaza.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2026