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Eurovision 2026: Bulgaria’s Dara crowned winner for pop banger ‘Bangaranga’
17th May, 2026 03:22 AM
Bulgarian singer Dara’s dance anthem “Bangaranga” won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria on Saturday, in Bulgaria’s first-ever Eurovision win.
“Bangaranga” earned 516 points while Israel followed in second place with 343.
Moments after Bulgaria was named the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest winner, Dara launched into “Bangaranga” for a second time on this night.
This time, performance was looser than the first, Dara performing from her seat at the Wiener Stadthalle arena in Vienna before rejoining the stage.
It was emotional, it was joyful, it was Eurovision.
Until next year!
Dara is a veteran pop performer at this stage — her credits include “The Voice,” “The X Factor” and “Dancing with the Stars” — but global super fame has so far passed her by.
Here’s hoping that changes soon, because her up-tempo pop banger “Bangaranga,” with its Nicki Minaj-inflections, is easily one of the most animated tracks of the bunch this year.
And on stage, it was a mood elevator early in the night.
Dara beat 24 other competitors in the grand final in Vienna.
The song’s infectious beats and tightly choreographed dance routine was a hit with both viewers and national juries.
It’s Bulgaria’s first-ever Eurovision victory.
Winners are decided by a mix of votes from national juries and the viewing public who vote online, by phone or by text message.
Juries award points to their favorite acts on a scale of 1 to 12.
The hosts will go to a spokesperson from each of the 35 countries, who will announce which country will receive the coveted “douze points” – 12 points.
After that, the public vote from each country is added in, and the leader board can change dramatically. It’s a process that builds suspense and milks the tension of the competition.
It also goes on for a long time.
It’s followed by a rather lovely performance of Joel’s song “Vienna” by Austrian singer Cesár Sampson, a 2018 Eurovision competitor.
For this show — Eurovision’s 70th anniversary — organizers have persuaded past Eurovision winners and competitors, including Malta’s Miriana Conte, Finland’s Erika Vikman and Ukraine’s Verka Serduchka, to perform a medley of the contest’s biggest songs.
If you want to hear monster mask-wearing Finnish metal band Lordi singing saccharine 1976 Eurovision winner “Save Your Kisses for Me,” now is the chance.
That’s it — all 25 Eurovision finalists have performed their songs.
But the night is very, very far from over.
Now we will be treated to a period of interval entertainment while voting lines remain open a big longer, and then while votes from across Europe and beyond are tallied.
