Despite not being tipped to win, Bulgaria unexpectedly emerged as the jury's favorite in Eurovision 2026. In the end, it was between singer Dara and Israel's Noam Bettan, but because Bulgaria also won the viewers' vote, she finished with 516 points.
"I still don't know what happened. No one believed that we would win, that "Banagaranga" could win. I don't know if it's a dream or reality," she said at a press conference, taking the opportunity to pay tribute to the Swedish choreographer Fredrik "Benke" Rydman:
"This is also thanks to my amazing team and the choreographers. When I met "Benke" and Keisha, we had exactly the same tastes. We wanted to do something new in Eurovision."
Dara has competed in the Bulgarian “X Factor” and is a big artist in her home country, where she has coached new talents in “The Voice”, among other things.
Lost lead
"Banagaranga" was in first place before the viewer votes were distributed.
"What in the world is going on?" she said on the broadcast.
The setting for "Banagaranga" was more reminiscent of a music video than a stage act. The four Swedish dancers Iker Cederblom Herrera, Ellinea Siambalis, Lisa Högström and Mateo Cordova Pomo played a large part in the success, said Dara.
For Sweden's Felicia, however, it was a disastrous result in the competition. She only received a total of 51 points.
“Incredibly good”
She had struggled with voice problems and fainting spells during the week, but when it came down to it, she performed "My System" flawlessly.
"It felt so incredibly good. I was a little, a little sluggish at the start, but then I took advantage of everything and got into it. Incredible feeling," she said in a statement.
Finland only sixth
It was a disappointing evening for Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen. They didn't get many twelves from the jury groups and ended up in sixth place overall – despite having been big favorites to win since winning the Finnish Melodifestivalen in February.
There were also protests in Vienna this week. On Saturday afternoon, a demonstration against Israel's participation was held a stone's throw from the Wiener Stadthalle arena. Organizers had expected around 3,000 participants, but only around 300 braved the rain and cold.
Facts: This is how the points were distributed
Bulgaria 516
Israel 343
Romania 296
Australia 287
Italy 281
Finland 279
Denmark 243
Moldova 226
Ukraine 221
Greece 220
France 158
Poland 150
Albania 145
Norway 134
Croatia 124
Czech Republic 113
Serbia 90
Malta 89
Cyprus 75
Sweden 51
Belgium 36
Lithuania 22
Germany 12
Austria 6
United Kingdom 1
