DARA has won the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 for BNT with the song 'Bangaranga', securing Bulgaria’s first-ever Eurovision victory.

• Hosted by ORF at the Wiener Stadthalle, the 70th Eurovision Song Contest brought together 25 finalists and millions of viewers worldwide under the theme 'United by Music'.
• Bangaranga, written by Anne Judith Stokke Wik, Darina Yotova, Dimitris Kontopoulos and Monoir, topped the combined jury and public vote.
• Votes were received from 148 countries across the participating nations and the Rest of the World, while the anniversary edition also celebrated 70 years of Eurovision with performances from iconic past contestants and major advances in sustainable live broadcast production.

Bulgarian artist DARA has won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘Bangaranga‘ as millions around the world celebrated seven decades of being United by Music. 

This is Bulgarian broadcaster BNT’s first win in the 70-year-old competition. They first took part in 2005 and returned to the competition this year after three years away. ‘Bangaranga‘'s 173 point winning margin is the biggest in the Contest's history. 

The winning song ‘Bangaranga‘ was written by Anne Judith Stokke Wik, Darina Yotova, Dimitris Kontopoulos and Monoir.

A global audience United by Music  

25 countries took part in the Grand Final of the world’s largest live music event, hosted by EBU Member ORF on Saturday 16 May at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria. 

After the performances, juries from the 35 competing nations revealed their votes, based on the dress rehearsal held the previous evening. DARA from Bulgaria emerged as the jury leader. 

Audience points were then combined with jury scores, building to a dramatic finale in which DARA was crowned the winner after triumphing in the audience vote as well.

It's the first time the winning song has won both the Jury and Audience votes since 2017.

In second place was Israeli broadcaster KAN’s song ‘Michelle’, performed by Noam Bettan. 

Third place went to Alexandra Căpitănescu for Romanian broadcaster TVR, with ‘Choke Me’.

Grand Final votes were received from 148 countries, two more than in 2025, including the 35 who took part in the 70th Contest.

The final result was checked, verified and confirmed by our Voting Partner, Once. 

The world celebrates music, connection and inclusivity 

Martin Green CBE, the EBU’s Director, Eurovision Song Contest, said: 'Our congratulations go to the fabulous DARA and to BNT, and we wish her every success as the Eurovision Song Contest provides a global springboard for her future career.'

He added: 'We’re immensely grateful to ORF for their outstanding work in producing this year’s Contest and to the City of Vienna and its citizens who have opened their hearts and streets to Europe and the world to create an unforgettable celebration of music and unity.'

ORF Director General Ingrid Thurnher added: 'With hosting the 70th Eurovision Song Contest, ORF realized an international major event that was followed by millions of people worldwide. 

'The anniversary edition of the world's largest music show impressively demonstrated what ORF stands for: cultural diversity, openness, and successful collaboration across national borders. Thanks to the excellent cooperation with the city of Vienna, the EBU, the delegations, and numerous partners, the competition was implemented at the highest level - for this, I would like to explicitly express my gratitude. 

'My special thanks also go to the dedicated ORF team, which prepared and carried out the Eurovision Song Contest with great commitment, high motivation, and a lot of attention to detail in recent months. The result is an ORF production that once again highlights how significant and internationally successful public broadcasting offerings are.'

Michael Krön, ORF’s Executive Producer of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, said: 'It was a great pleasure and honour to bring such a special and emotional show to life for the 70th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest and to depict seven decades of its history. 

'ORF and Austria can look back on a very positive overall record of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Considering its global reach, the strong advertising impact for Austria, and the high quality of the show, the effort was worthwhile in every way. Furthermore, the ORF was able to break new ground in the field of sustainability and views it as part of its long-term responsibility to pass on these experiences within the EBU family, to make the Eurovision Song Contest even more environmentally friendly and socially responsible in the future. In the end, a beautiful party remains for people who are United by Music.'

Millions around the globe watched this year’s Contest, which was broadcast live across all participating countries and online. Inside the Wiener Stadthalle, around 11,000 people watched the Grand Final live. 

Listed in the order in which they appeared, the Grand Final line-up included entries from:   

Denmark (DR): Søren Torpegaard Lund – Før Vi Går Hjem
Germany (SWR/ARD): Sarah Engels – Fire
Israel (KAN): Noam Bettan – Michelle
Belgium (RTBF): ESSYLA – Dancing on the Ice
Albania (RTBF): Alis – Nân
Greece (ERT): Akylas – Ferto
Ukraine (Suspilne): LELÉKA – Ridnym
Australia (SBS) : Delta Goodrem – Eclipse 
Serbia (RTS): LAVINA – Kraj Mene 
Malta (PBS): AIDAN – Bella 
Czechia (Czech TV): Daniel Zizka – CROSSROADS 
Bulgaria (BNT): DARA – Bangaranga 
Croatia (HRT): LELEK – Andromeda 
United Kingdom (BBC): LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER – Eins, Zwei, Drei 
France (FTV): Monroe – Regarde ! 
Moldova (TRM): Satoshi - Viva, Moldova! 
Finland (Yle): Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin 
Poland (TVP): ALICJA – Pray 
Lithuania (LRT): Lion Ceccah – Sólo Quiero Más 
Sweden (SVT): FELICIA – My System 
Cyprus (CyBC): Antigoni – JALLA 
Italy (Rai): Sal Da Vinci – Per Sempre Sì 
Norway (NRK): JONAS LOVV – YA YA YA 
Romania (TVR): Alexandra Căpitănescu – Choke Me 
Austria (ORF): COSMÓ – Tanzschein 

Eurovision Legends returned to the Eurovision Song Contest stage 

This year’s Grand Final opened with a performance by last year’s winner JJ whose performance blended classical influences inspired by Mozart with his own musical style, accompanying the on-stage introduction of all 25 finalists.

During the interval, some of the most beloved Eurovision legends returned to the stage to celebrate 70 years of Eurovision hits.

The star-studded lineup included: winners Ruslana (Ukraine 2004), Alexander Rybak (Norway 2009) and Lordi (Finland 2006), Kristian Kostov  (Bulgaria 2017), Max Mutzke (Germany 2004), Verka Serduchka (Ukraine 2007), and 2025 Grand Finalists Miriana Conte (Malta) and Erika Vikman (Finland).

Public service media at the forefront of live broadcasting technology 

The 70th Eurovision Song Contest was, as always, one of the most technically sophisticated live productions in the world. 

28 live cameras captured every second in a major production upgrade. The entire setup was based on cinematic ARRI Alexa 35 live cameras, bringing a more filmic look to the Contest than ever before.

3,107 lighting fixtures with more than 28,000 individually controllable LEDs were used to make every performance unique. And for the first time ever, the entire lighting rig was fully energy-efficient LED and laser based. 

The stage used nearly 50 million pixels of LED video and a custom-built 12m x 8m curved “Infinity Screen”. 200 special-effects machines, more than 250 CO₂ bottles and 45 pyrotechnic positions dazzled audiences in the venue and around the world.

The 70th Eurovision Song Contest was hosted by the EBU’s Austrian Member, ORF and saw 35 EBU Members take part. 

For more on this year’s participants, including exclusive backstage content, visit www.eurovision.com