{"id":801959,"date":"2026-05-17T02:58:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T02:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/801959\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T02:58:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T02:58:19","slug":"bulgaria-wins-the-70th-eurovision-song-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/801959\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulgaria wins the 70th Eurovision Song Contest"},"content":{"rendered":"

VIENNA (AP) \u2014 Bulgarian singer Dara won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest<\/a> on Saturday with her infectious party anthem \u201cBangaranga,\u201d giving the southeast European country its first-ever victory in the competition.<\/p>\n

Israeli competitor<\/a> Noam Bettan came second after a contest in Vienna clouded by protests and a boycott over the country\u2019s participation<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Dara beat 24 other competitors during Saturday\u2019s grand final of the sequin-drenched pop music competition. The song\u2019s infectious beats and tightly choreographed dance routine proved a hit with both national juries in participating countries and viewers around the world, whose votes together decide the winner.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is unbelievable,\u201d Dara said at a post-show news conference early Sunday. \u201cI don\u2019t even know what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

She thanked \u201ceveryone who felt the bangaranga and felt connected to the force.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old performer is an established name in her homeland, but had not been among the favorites to win. Still, \u201cBangaranga\u201d is the sort of pop banger that Eurovision does so well, with its irresistible exhortation: \u201cSurrender to the blinding lights. No one\u2019s gonna sleep tonight. Welcome to the riot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dara has spoken about battling with anxiety, and described bangaranga as an inner force that allows people to \u201cdrop this mask of chasing perfection.\u201d She has said the song draws on Bulgaria\u2019s kukeri, elaborately costumed men who perform ritual dances to ward off evil spirits.<\/p>\n

Romania\u2019s Alexandra C\u0103pit\u0103nescu came third in the contest with the rock song \u201cChoke Me.\u201d Australian star Delta Goodrem<\/a> was fourth with the slick midtempo ballad \u201cEclipse,\u201d and Italian crooner Sal Da Vinci came fifth with \u201cPer Sempre Si,\u201d or \u201cForever Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Finnish duo <\/a> of pop star Pete Parkkonen and classical violinist Linda Lampenius, who were strong favorite on betting markets, ended up in sixth place.<\/p>\n

Eurovision historian Dean Vuletic said the contest often produces surprises.<\/p>\n

\u201cEurovision has never really been a contest for big stars,\u201d Vuletic said. \u201cPeople like to see the underdog on stage. They like to the artist-in-the-making on stage or an artist from a smaller, poorer country on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eclectic and outrageous acts<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Linda<\/p>\n

Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen from Finland perform the song \u201cLiekinheitin\u201d during the first semifinal of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo\/Martin Meissner)<\/p>\n

Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen from Finland perform the song \u201cLiekinheitin\u201d during the first semifinal of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo\/Martin Meissner)<\/p>\n

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Acts from 25 countries, whittled down from an initial 35, took the stage at the Wiener Stadthalle arena in Vienna to battle for the continent\u2019s pop crown. A fiery Finnish violinist, a Moldovan folk rapper and a Serbian metal band were among the contenders in a campy, colorful contest that has been likened to the World Cup with songs<\/a> instead of soccer. <\/p>\n

And like global sports, it often becomes entangled in politics. The contest has been clouded for a third year by calls for Israel to be excluded over its conflicts in Gaza and elsewhere, with five longtime participants \u2014 Spain,<\/a> the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia \u2014 boycotting in protest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The political tensions have clouded a contest that over the decades has given the world the perfect pop of ABBA\u2019s \u201cWaterloo\u201d and the ageless \u201cNel blu, dipinto di blu\u201d \u2014 better known as \u201cVolare\u201d \u2014 along with a host of Euro-pop party anthems.<\/p>\n

The contestants had just 3 minutes to win over viewers. Jets of flame, glitter guns and wind machines worked overtime in a show that celebrated Europe\u2019s eclectic musical tastes<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Serbian metal band Kravina offered hard rock angst, there was brooding choral rock from Albania\u2019s Alis, and Cypriot contestant Antigoni had the crowd on its feet with dance floor filer \u201cJalla.\u201d <\/p>\n

Female solo artists dominated: There was an empowering power ballad from Germany\u2019s Sarah Engels, gospel-tinged R&B from Poland\u2019s Alicja, ethereal beauty from Ukraine\u2019s Lel\u00e9ka, techno-pop from Sweden\u2019s Felicia and opera-pop from France\u2019s Monroe.<\/p>\n

Male soloists were well represented too, by the likes of Aidan from Malta, Denmark\u2019s S\u00f8ren Torpegaard Lund, rock-edged singer Jonas Lovv from Norway and Austria\u2019s techno-pop performer Cosmo.<\/p>\n

Party rap with a political edge was in the house thanks to Satoshi\u2019s ebullient \u201cViva, Moldova\u201d and Greek artist Akylas\u2019 playful \u201cFerto.\u201d<\/p>\n

British act Look Mum No Computer came last with the jokey novelty song \u201cEins, Zwei, Drei,\u201d winning just a single point. Bulgaria gained 516 points in the contest\u2019s convoluted voting system, and Israel received 343.<\/p>\n

Protests express opposition to Israel<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Akylas<\/p>\n

Akylas from Greece performs the song \u201cFerto\u201d during the dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Martin Meissner)<\/p>\n

Akylas from Greece performs the song \u201cFerto\u201d during the dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Martin Meissner)<\/p>\n

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Tension over Israel\u2019s participation in Eurovision looks unlikely to subside.<\/p>\n

This is the second year in a row that Israel has come second, largely because of a huge vote from the public. Eurovision organizers tightened voting rules this year after allegations the country had mounted an intense lobbying campaign to get votes for its competitor.<\/p>\n

Bettan was loudly cheered, though there was a smattering of boos as he performed \u201cMichelle,\u201d a rock ballad in Hebrew, French and English. Earlier in the week, four people were ejected for trying to disrupt his semifinal performance.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of protesters against Israel\u2019s inclusion marched near the contest arena before Saturday\u2019s final, some holding placards saying \u201cBlock Eurovision.\u201d Pro-Palestinian groups also staged an outdoor concert on Friday under the banner \u201cNo stage for genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInviting Israel on such a beautiful stage as the Eurovision Song Contest stage is an affront to all the people who believe in humanity, who believe in love and togetherness,\u201d said Congolese-Austrian artist Patrick Bongola, one of the organizers.<\/p>\n

Despite blow to Eurovision\u2019s finances and viewership from the boycott, the contest is eyeing expansion, with a spinoff Eurovision Song Contest Asia due to take place in Bangkok<\/a> in November.<\/p>\n

Vuletic said political controversy is nothing new. The first Eurovision boycott was in 1969 \u2014 by Austria, which refused to send a delegation to Spain under dictator Francisco Franco.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen very politicized editions of the contest in the recent past,\u201d Vuletic said. \u201cAll of them were very much mired in political controversy, yet Eurovision continues.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Satoshi<\/p>\n

Satoshi from Moldova performs the song \u201cViva, Moldova!\u201d during the dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Martin Meissner)<\/p>\n

Satoshi from Moldova performs the song \u201cViva, Moldova!\u201d during the dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Martin Meissner)<\/p>\n

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___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writers Hilary Fox and Philipp Jenne in Vienna and Maria Sherman in New York contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VIENNA (AP) \u2014 Bulgarian singer Dara won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday with her infectious party…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":801960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[326549,3881,97114,523,129856,171,16817,27202,185225,57,99,3462,373,326552,323427,975,321432,323428,323426,402,326550,326551,128,8958,173,67,132,68,115793,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-801959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-alexandra-capitanescu","9":"tag-ap-top-news","10":"tag-austria-government","11":"tag-bulgaria","12":"tag-dean-vuletic","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-eurocopa-2024","15":"tag-eurovision-song-contest","16":"tag-francisco-franco","17":"tag-general-news","18":"tag-israel","19":"tag-israel-government","20":"tag-israel-hamas-war","21":"tag-jonas-lovv","22":"tag-linda-lampenius","23":"tag-music","24":"tag-noam-bettan","25":"tag-patrick-bongola","26":"tag-pete-parkkonen","27":"tag-protests-and-demonstrations","28":"tag-sal-da-vinci","29":"tag-sarah-engels","30":"tag-spain","31":"tag-spain-government","32":"tag-tv","33":"tag-united-states","34":"tag-unitedstates","35":"tag-us","36":"tag-vienna","37":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116587679579567279","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=801959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/801959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/801960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=801959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=801959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=801959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}