Bulgaria achieved its first ever Eurovision victory at the 70th annual song contest after a tense final in Vienna, Austria, while the United Kingdom landed in last place, marking another disappointing result for the British entry.
A Historic Win for Bulgaria
A host of colourful and controversial acts representing 25 countries battled it out at the grand final on Saturday, but it was singer DARA who triumphed with her dance-pop song "Bangaranga". She won with a total of 516 points, beating Israel's second-place score of 343. The contest was viewed by an estimated 120 million people, with Bulgaria's victory largely driven by a huge score in the public vote.
Eccentric Entries and a UK Disaster
From Greece's zany entry Akylas and his rapid-fire track "Ferto", to Serbia's chilling metal song "Kraj Mene" performed by LAVINA, and Moldova's intense rapper Satoshi with "Viva, Moldova!", there were plenty of eccentric performances. However, the UK's representative Look Mum No Computer, real name Sam Battle, was clearly on the wrong side of eccentric as he received the dreaded "nul points" score in the public vote and came dead last.
Following his performance of the song "Eins, Zwei, Drei", a number of viewers at home shared their disdain on social media. One complained that Look Mum No Computer was "the worst entry ever". Another fan wrote: "I'm so sorry we entered this guys, honestly we all feel sick," while a third joked: "Not sure the EU will even let us rejoin after this."
Israel Controversy Overshadows Contest
Much of the build-up to this year's Eurovision final was overshadowed once again by controversy surrounding the participation of Israel, as five countries withdrew in protest over its war on Gaza. Ireland, Spain, Iceland, Slovenia and the Netherlands boycotted the event, with Ireland's broadcaster showing a Eurovision-themed episode of Father Ted instead of the final, and Spain airing its own music special, The House of Music.
A number of demonstrations also took place in Vienna in the week leading up to the final. Hundreds of people gathered at Venediger Au, a park on the outskirts of the Austrian capital, for a No Stage for Genocide event organised by Palestine Solidarity Austria.
Israel's Broadcaster Warned
Israel's national broadcaster, Kan, received a formal warning from Eurovision organisers after it encouraged viewers to "vote 10 times". The public broadcaster was found to have broken the rules of the song contest when it shared videos on social media urging fans to support its 2026 entry, Noam Bettan. Bettan ended up coming in second place for the second year running, a result that will no doubt draw scrutiny from Israel's critics.
More to follow...
