Bulgaria secures its first Eurovision win thanks to Bangaranga by DARA
All of your votes cast through the evening had been counted and verified, and fans at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna and around the world held their collective breath as hosts Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski presented to us the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
It’s DARA who has triumphed for Bulgaria with Bangaranga! In a monumental Eurovision result at the 70th Contest, we saw Bulgaria score its first-ever victory. Bulgaria returned to the Eurovision Song Contest for Vienna 2026 after taking some years off from competing, sitting out three Contests between 2023 and 2025. And the country will be glad it did return – coming back with a Bangaranga!
Bulgaria won the Contest with a points tally of 516.
As is tradition at the Eurovision Song Contest, scores were awarded first from the juries, followed by the dramatic reveal of the public televote. Bulgaria’s Bangaranga smashed the jury vote with a score of 204 points. This was followed by a televote total of 312 points.
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.
Bangaranga won the Contest with a 173-point lead over the song in second place, which makes it the biggest winning margin we’ve ever seen at the Eurovision Song Contest, beating the 169 lead that Alexander Rybak’s Fairytale won with at Moscow 2009.
In second place was Israel, with Michelle by Noam Bettan, while in third place we had another country that returned to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026 – Romania, represented by Alexandra Căpitănescu and Choke Me.
Australia and Italy rounded out the Top 5, in fourth place and fifth place respectively.
Bulgaria at the Eurovision Song Contest
Bulgarian broadcaster BNT joined us for the first time at the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, Kyiv 2005.
The country’s debut Grand Final appearance would come two years later at Helsinki 2007. Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankoulov made a great big splash with Water, giving Bulgaria an impressive Top 5 finish on the night.
Bulgaria’s best result before now happened on its return to Kyiv in 2017. Kristian Kostov’s Beautiful Mess finished in second place, with its score of 615 points currently the third-highest in the Eurovision Song Contest’s 70-year history.
DARA has the honour of becoming the very first Eurovision winner for Bulgaria on the 70th anniversary of the Contest.
All about DARA
DARA is one of the most well-known pop musicians in her country, shaping the image of contemporary Bulgarian pop with her unique voice, commanding stage presence and unrestrained genre-blending.
DARA has been pushing the boundaries of Bulgarian music and is most known for her biggest smash hits Thunder, Call Me, and Mr. Rover, which dominated the charts for weeks. In addition to having multiple Number 1 hits on the official Bulgarian Airplay Chart, DARA has also become a prominent figure in the modern Balkan music scene.
While her songs and videos have amassed over 80 million listens and views, DARA has also been mentoring a new generation of musicians, via The Voice of Bulgaria, in 2021 and 2022.
Her most intimate project to date, the album ADHDARA, was released in 2025. This project marked her transition from a well-known pop artist in her home country to one with a distinct international identity and expanding global presence.
Source: eurovision.com