BULGARIA dramatically won the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest last night after pipping leaders Israel to the post.
Twenty five nations battled it out in the final, but it was Bulgaria who emerged triumphant and lifted the iconic glass microphone trophy for the first time.
The Balkan nation had finished top of the ladder after the jury votes with Australia in second place followed by Denmark, France and Finland.
Then in a dramatic finish, Bulgaria pipped Israel at the post with 516 points to the Middle Eastern nation’s 343.
Dara performed her quirky hit Bangaranga to much adulation from the audience in Vienna, Austria.
This year marked the 70th edition of the competition.
The UK automatically qualified for last night’s final as part of the ‘Big Four’ who are the contest’s biggest funders, but walked away with only one point in total from the jury votes.
The other countries in the Big Four are Italy, France and Germany.
UK in crushing Eurovision defeat
The UK suffered yet another crushing Eurovision Song Contest defeat in tonight’s grand final.
Look Mum No Computer’s Sam Battle took to the stage to perform his bonkers entry titled Eins, Zwei, Drei.
But it sadly wasn’t enough to win over the voters – landing just one point from the jury and zero points from the public, placing him in bottom spot.
The competition was won by Bulgaria after 25 acts battled it out on stage in Vienna, Austria at the Wiener Stadthalle.
Sam performed his upbeat hit, which was one of our most unconventional songs ever.
And the winner is….
Bulgaria has won Eurovision 2026! It’s first for the Eastern European nation.
It was a very close race with Israel almost taking the top spot after winning 220 points in the audience vote.
But Bulgaria came through at the last moment to smash them out of the water on 516 points.
Dara performed her song Bangaranga for a second time before lifting the iconic glass trophy.
