Eurovision 2026: Bulgaria wins Song Contest for the first time with Israel placing second amid boycott

Bulgaria has been crowned the winner of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest.

Singer Dara finished top of the leaderboard in Vienna with her song, 'Bangaranga'.

Dara - aka Darina Yotova topped both the public and the jury vote with a total of 516 votes, taking the top spot ahead of Israel who finished in second place. It is the first time Bulgaria has won the competition.

"I want to thank my husband, because he was the one to push me to come to Eurovision", said Yotova after her win.

"Because in the beginning, I was not sure if I wanted to come or not, because I had anxiety and doubt with myself, and he was the one that pushed me".

 

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Following JJ's winning performance of operatic ballad 'Wasted Love' last year, the contest was held in Austria's capital Vienna.

25 countries took part in the Grand Final, but five countries - including Ireland decided to boycott the competition.

RTÉ confirmed in December that, for the first time in 61 years, it would not broadcast any of the three Eurovison shows.

On the night of the Grand Final RTÉ 2, aired the Father Ted episode, 'A Song for Europe'.

The boycott came in lieu of Israel's participation, "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", stated the broadcaster.

"RTÉ remains deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza during the conflict and the continued denied access to international journalists to the territory".

Hundreds of protestors gathered in Vienna during the contest, staging an outdoor concert holding "No Stage For Genocide" banners.

"It is important to stand up and say we cannot just celebrate the Eurovision Song Contest without mentioning what's going on in the world, which is so much more important", said Irish-born protestor Fiona Salter.

"The ongoing genocide, the ongoing brutal displacement, and apartheid that's going on in the occupied territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem...we can't be silenced".

Israel once again emerged as one of the contest's strongest televote performers, despite a significantly lower jury ranking.

After receiving 123 points from the juries, Israel rose quickly after the public vote finishing the night with 343 points overall.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) issued a formal warning to Israeli broadcaster Kan after its contestant released videos instructing fans to "vote 10 times for Israel" a week before the Grand Final.

Eurovision said it believed the posts weren't in "the spirit of the competition", and instructed that they be removed.

Last year, questions were raised over results after Israel topped the public vote despite getting only 60 points from the national juries, who award separate scores based on a song's compositional merits.

Israel received 83% of its points from the public, while the winner, Austria, got just 41%.

The EBU said said it found no evidence of irregularities, but in November approved new rules that include halving the amount of times a person can vote to 10, and discouraging "disproportionate promotion campaigns" carried out by third parties, including governments.

"We have one of the best voting systems for the public in the world", said Contest Director Mark Green.

"People can try and do what they like. They're not going to influence anything".