Dara’s victory also marks the first time since 2017 when the winning country topped both the public and the jury scoreboard
Bulgaria made history on Saturday night, May 16, winning the anniversary 70th edition of Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final in Vienna, Austria. The final saw 25 countries competing for the most desired music trophy in Europe. The spectacular show at the Wiener Stadthalle drew around 10,000 spectators in the arena for each of the semi-finals and the Grand Final, and an expected TV audience of over 100 million viewers worldwide.
Bulgaria’s Dara came victorious with her chaotic pop banger “Bangaranga”, marking the country’s first-ever Eurovision win since joining the contest in 2005. Written by Dara alongside Anne Judith Wik, Cristian Tarcea, and Dimitris Kontopoulos, and creatively staged by Fredrik Rydman, the song is a pulsating party anthem highlighting the kukeri — an ancient Bulgarian folk ritual. Dara explains “bangaranga” as “a special energy that everyone has got in themselves, a feeling that everything is possible.”
Dara swept both the jury vote (204 points) and the public vote (312 points), totalling an impressive 516 points. Israel’s entry Michelle, performed by Noam Bettan, finished in second place after a massive public vote result. Just like in the previous two years, boycotts related to Israel participation had preceded the Eurovision Grand Final, with a lengthy parade near Wiener Stadthalle, the arena hosting the show. Around 2,000 protesters gathered in Vienna’s city centre, chanting “Stop the ESC”, “Boycott Israel” and demanding freedom for Palestine.
Earlier bookies favourites to win, Finland and Australia, did not end up in the Top 3 in the final scoreboard. Australia’s Delta Goodrem came in fourth with her 360-degree-golden performance of “Eclipse”, while Finland’s Pete Parkkonen and Linda Lampenius only landed sixth with their fiery violin-infused “Liekinheitin” (“Flamethrower”).
Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania all made welcome returns to the contest after previous absences, all securing top 10 positions. The fact that Croatia, Greece, Albania and Serbia also delivered solid results in the final made media and fans title this year the triumph of the Balkans.
The contest was not without controversy, as five countries — Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland — boycotted the event over Israel’s continued participation amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The EBU did introduce new voting rules, reducing individual votes from 20 to 10, however, Israel still finished as the main rival to Bulgaria’s Dara in the final stage of results reveal.
On the other end of the scoreboard, the UK finished last with YouTube inventor and musician Sam Battle (Look Mum No Computer) receiving zero points from the public vote for his entry Eins, Zwei, Drei. Belgium and Germany also ended the night with zero points from the public.
Dara’s Final Performance After Results Reveal
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