Bulgaria came out on top of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, finishing ahead of Israel by over 70 votes.

The 2026 competition was overshadowed by Israel’s participation, which led to Ireland, Spain and three other countries boycotting it altogether.

The Eurovision audience made their voices heard when Israel took the lead in Saturday’s final, with boos and ‘Free Palestine’ chants ringing out across the arena.

Bulgaria came out on top of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Pic: HELMUT FOHRINGER / APA / AFP via Getty Images

Israel received a huge 220 points in the audience vote, leaving them at the top of the table before the final results were announced.

As their points were called out, exceptionally loud booing was quickly moved along by the hosts, Austria.

Over 1,000 musicians and cultural figures signed open letters calling for Israel to be excluded from the competition due to its ongoing bombardment of Gaza.

Israel was loudly booed at the event. Pic: Christian Bruna/Getty Images

However, the Eurovision bosses were happy to sacrifice Ireland’s and others’ involvement to allow Israel to participate.

In the end, Bulgarian singer Dara took home the grand prize in the country’s first Eurovision success story.

Bulgaria topped both the jury vote and overall scoreboard, finishing ahead of Israel in second place.

Dara took home the grand prize in the country’s first Eurovision success story. Pic: Christian Bruna/Getty Images

Dara finished on 516 points, way ahead of Israel’s 343, with her song Bangaranga winning the public’s hearts in a surprise triumph.

Speaking to reporters after the contest, Dara said: ‘I don’t know if I’m sleeping, or is it a dream? I don’t know.’

She added: ‘I want to thank everyone out there who felt the force. And the force is God. And music is love.’

The 27-year-old slammed ‘the chasing of perfection’ in her victory speech, calling it ‘a real problem in our society right now’.

Dara declared: ‘Once we can drop the mask we can be true to who we are. That’s the real Bangaranga.

‘I’m not good for discipline, you know – society discipline. I want to thank my husband – he was the one who pushed me to perform in Eurovision.’

Meanwhile, the UK’s contestant, Look Mum No Computer, finished the final with just one point in total after an abysmal voting score.