Dara has won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest for Bulgaria, giving the country its first-ever victory with the song “Bangaranga” and 516 points. The Bulgarian singer mixed technoid beats, Balkan rhythm and dance pop in a playful performance, and even rapped in the final.
Bulgaria was already in front after all jury points had been counted, moving into first place with 204 points before the audience vote began. Israel had led before that stage, but Bulgaria held the lead at the break, with Australia and Denmark tied on 165 points, France on 144 and Finland on 141.
The scale of the result made the question of who gave uk 1 point secondary to the bigger picture: Bulgaria had done enough with the juries to stay ahead, and then won over the audience as well. The Swiss national jury gave Bulgaria four points, Austria received five, and several countries were left empty-handed, including Great Britain, Belgium and Germany. England came away with zero points, while the British only got one point.
The final had been awaited after the semi-finals were over, and the contest had been framed as a race between Israel and Bulgaria. There was also booing in the hall while Israel was in front, a reminder that this was not just a scoreboard story but a live contest with a charged atmosphere. By the end, however, the result was decisive: Dara had carried Bulgaria to a first ESC victory and put the country at the top of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest.
Bangaranga is the name of the winning song of the 70th ESC, and that name will now sit beside Bulgaria’s first win in the contest’s history. The unanswered question was never whether Bulgaria could celebrate, but how far the jury lead would have to stretch before the audience vote settled the race. In the end, it was enough.
