Eurovision 2026 crowns winner of 70th Song Contest

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The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 has come to a close, and we have a winner! After a week of exciting performances and memorable songs, the competition is over until next year.

The final competition was intense, with all 25 performers giving it their all in hopes of winning over the judges and viewers.

Dara’s performance was a success, earning Bulgaria its first-ever win in the Eurovision Song Contest!

Dara performed the song “Bangaranga” for Bulgaria, calling it a blend of pop and traditional folk elements.

She explained that the word originates from Jamaican slang, where it describes a lively and exciting disturbance – a beautiful kind of chaos. It’s a powerful word because of how it sounds, creating an emotional impact even before you know its meaning.

The singer earned a fantastic score of 516, surpassing Noam Bettan of Israel, who scored 343 and came in second place.

Alexandra Căpitănescu of Romania finished third, earning 296 points, and Delta Goodrem came in fourth place with her song, Eclipse.

This week, viewers worldwide saw 25 performers advance to the Eurovision grand final during the semi-final rounds. Moldova and Romania were among those who qualified, marking their return to the competition after taking breaks in previous years.

They competed with the major European powers – France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom – and also faced off against last year’s champions, Austria.

Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski hosted the electric show, and throughout the week, UK viewers could enjoy commentary from Graham Norton, Rylan Clark, and Angela Scanlon.

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The Eurovision Song Contest has received a lot of criticism for letting Israel compete this year, given the current war happening in Gaza.

Several countries are choosing not to participate in this year’s contest because the organization in charge, the European Broadcasting Union, decided against banning Israel from competing.

In December 2025, the EBU held a meeting where members voted to create rules preventing governments or outside groups from unfairly pushing certain songs to sway voting results. However, they did not vote on whether Israel would be allowed to participate in the competition.

The European Broadcasting Union announced that most of its members decided another vote on whether to continue with the Eurovision Song Contest wasn’t necessary. They confirmed the 2026 contest will go ahead as scheduled, with extra security measures added.

After that, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland announced they wouldn’t be competing in Eurovision this year.

As a supporter, I understand RTÉ’s decision to withdraw from this year’s competition. They feel it would be wrong to participate while so many lives are being lost and people are suffering terribly in Gaza. It’s just too difficult to move forward with something celebratory when so much tragedy is happening.

The BBC, the UK broadcaster of the competition, stated it backs the EBU’s decision. According to a BBC statement, this is about upholding the competition’s rules and ensuring everyone feels welcome.

If you’re like me and love a good Eurovision deep dive, you can find a complete list of all the past winners online. I was also curious about how many times the UK has actually won – it’s surprisingly few, so I checked that out too!

Authors

Katelyn MensahSenior Entertainment Writer

Katelyn Mensah writes about entertainment for TopMob, covering everything from popular TV shows and reality competitions to important documentaries. Before joining TopMob, she worked at The Tab, where she focused on reality TV and celebrity news. She has a journalism degree.

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2026-05-17 02:34