Bulgaria has won the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, scoring a massive 516 points and securing the country’s first-ever Eurovision victory.
After a night of spectacular performances and a tense vote reveal, Bulgaria’s Dara was crowned the winner with her song “Bangaranga”.
While the UK did not fare well, it at least avoided ending the night with zero points overall.
Bulgaria takes early lead
Drag Race favourite La Voix delivered the UK’s jury vote, awarding the maximum 12 points to France’s Monroe.
Bulgaria took an early lead during the jury vote, marking a triumphant return to the competition after a three-year absence.
By the end of the jury vote, Dara was already storming ahead with 204 points. Bulgaria faced strong competition from Israel for the top spot, but ultimately held on to clinch the win.
Australia and Denmark were tied in second place with 165 points after the jury vote.
The UK, represented by Look Mum No Computer, had just one point at that stage. As commentator Graham Norton noted, nobody could take that away from us.
UK finishes last
When it came to the audience vote, the UK received a painful zero points.
That left the UK at the bottom of the scoreboard with just one point in total. Better than nothing, at least.
Going into the night, Finland had been the favourite to win, with Australia close behind as second favourite. Finland ultimately finished with 279 points.
Contest marked by major boycott
This year’s contest was not without controversy.
Five countries pulled out of Eurovision 2026, marking the largest boycott in the competition’s history since 1970.
Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, Iceland, and the Netherlands all confirmed they would not take part after it was announced that Israel would be competing.
Despite the controversy, the night ended with a historic result for Bulgaria, as Dara’s “Bangaranga” delivered the country’s first Eurovision crown.
