17 May 2026
Bulgaria won 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, and for the first ever, after Dara produced a hypnotic performance of her catchy dance song, Bangaranga. It was a dominant win in Vienna, Austria, as Bulgaria won both the jury vote and the public vote to win this 70th edition with 516 points ahead of Israel (Noam Bettan – Michelle) on 343 and Romania (Alexandra Căpitănescu – Choke Me) on 296. Bulgaria’s 516 points was way more than Austria’s 436 last year, and that’s with two fewer countries voting in 2026. This was the first time since 2017 that the jury and public agreed on the winner.
Thankfully, 2026 was a year when the public’s voice was finally heard. Restructuring the jury to add two members for seven total, to ensure at least two were aged 25 or under, and to expand the eligible professions of the jurors, clearly worked with the jury vote spread wide and the winning total just 204 points. Compare that to last year when Austria (JJ – Wasted Love) scored 258 points and, especially, to the obscene year of 2024 when Switzerland (Nemo – The Code) scored 365, and even in 2023 when Sweden (Loreen – Tattoo) scored 340. The fact that Bulgaria won the jury vote is another validation of the system.
As for the public vote, which saw the maximum votes reduced from 20 to 10 that a viewer can award, no effect, as was even suggested at the time. Bulgaria’s 312 points compares much the same as Israel 297 (Yuval Raphael – New Day Will Rise) last year, Croatia 334 (Baby Lasagna – Rim Tim Tagi Dim) in 2024, and Finland 376 (Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha) in 2023. These were all noted as big winners of the public vote, and Bulgaria is right with them, and that’s with two fewer countries voting compared to all of those previous three years.
Jury Vote
01 Bulgaria 204
02 Australia 165
03 Denmark 165
04 France 144
05 Finland 141
06 Italy 134
07 Poland 133
08 Israel 123
09 Norway 115
10 Czechia 104
13 Romania 64
17 Moldova 43
Public Vote (+/- vs Jury)
01 Bulgaria 312 (+108)
02 Romania 232 (+228)
03 Israel 220 (+97)
04 Moldova 183 (+140)
05 Ukraine 167 (+113)
06 Greece 147 (+74)
07 Italy 147 (+13)
08 Finland 138 (-3)
09 Australia 122 (-43)
10 Albania 95 (-50)
15 Norway 19 (-115)
16 Poland 17 (-116)
18 France 14 (-130)
Bulgaria’s win looked ominous very early on. They led the jury vote with 64 points after ten countries presented their scores. Italy were 12 behind on 52, then Australia on 46, Malta on 40 and Finland on 39. Expecting they will swamp the public vote, I essentially called the win for Bulgaria then. After 20 countries, Bulgaria extended their lead to 22 points over Italy and 28 over Finland. During the reveal of the public votes, no one looked likely to challenge Bulgaria. Too many countries scored too few points with the jury. Nearing the end, the run of public votes meant there was still a huge chunk to pick up for one of the final two countries, and it was unlikely to be Australia.
As usual with the public votes, we did get our fun with some major smackdowns. United Kingdom 0. Germany 0. Belgium 0 (I sensed that one coming). The host reminded us that it doesn’t mean these songs got zero votes at all, only that they didn’t score enough points to make it into the top 10 of any voting country. That’s hardly reassuring! Malta with 8 and Czechia 9 from the public showed them as this year’s bizarre jury choices. They always find a couple that bewilder us. I enjoyed the reality check on Norway with 19 points.
Grand Final Participants
01 Denmark – Søren Torpegaard Lund – Før Vi Går Hjem
02 Germany – Sarah Engels – Fire
03 Israel – Noam Bettan – Michelle
04 Belgium – Essyla – Dancing On The Ice
05 Albania – Alis – Nân
06 Greece – Akylas – Ferto
07 Ukraine – Leleka – Ridnym
08 Australia – Delta Goodrem – Eclipse
09 Serbia – Lavina – Kraj Mene
10 Malta – Aidan – Bella
11 Czechia – Daniel Zizka – Crossroads
12 Bulgaria – Dara – Bangaranga
13 Croatia – Lelek – Andromeda
14 United Kingdom – Look Mom No Computer – Eins Zwei Drei
15 France – Monroe – Regarde
16 Moldova – Satoshi – Viva Moldova
17 Finland – Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin
18 Poland – Alicja – Pray
19 Lithuania – Lion Ceccah – Solo Quiero Mas
20 Sweden – Felicia – My System
21 Cyprus – Antigoni – Jalla
22 Italy – Sal Da Vinci – Per Sempre Si
23 Norway – Jonas Lovv – Ya Ya Ya
24 Romania – Alexandra Căpitănescu – Choke Me
25 Austria – Cosmo – Tanzschein
Review & Score
My Top 10
01 Australia – Delta Goodrem – Eclipse (9)
Even with my obvious bias to my favourite Australian artist, Delta was easily the most accomplished performer and produced the singular best performance this year. She really showed her professionalism. Eclipse was always built for Eurovision, and you saw all those elements on full display. Vocals were perfect. Delta hit all her notes. The finale was outstanding. To pick at a couple of things, Delta was not standing centred on the podium, which didn’t look good, and I still disliked the melody change on the big “a night like this” near the end. Did that cost her a score of 10? Yes! Fourth is lower than much of the hype and the betting market suggested (a strong chance to win). Perhaps Eclipse was a touch too generic as simply an English language ballad, and we can’t ignore the pattern of obvious resentment by the European public in grand finals whereby Australia maintained its 100% record of always scoring less than the jury. Just 122 points is poor for this quality of an entry. With the change to the jury structure, Delta never got the usual love towards Australia that many expected. A maximum jury score of 408 points (12 points from everyone) would only just sneak her the win. Even with a weaker winner like Austria’s 436 total last year, you are still relying on 300+ points from the jury to get close.
02 Romania – Alexandra Căpitănescu – Choke Me (9)
This did lose a smidgen of impact from the semi finals. Still an epic and compelling performance with vocals to match. The public score (second place) was great a reward. I’m surprised the jury score was so low (64 points). Perhaps too many other songs absorbing their interest.
03 France – Monroe – Regarde (9)
Monroe got another audible “wow” from me, just like the performance in the semi finals. Simply magnificent. I could say the vocals from her regular voice aren’t as great as her soprano voice. The rejection from the public was brutal.
04 Bulgaria – Dara – Bangaranga (8)
The best party/dance song this year. I really grew to love it. So addictive, an intoxicating melody, superb choreography and, unexpectedly, very strong vocals. Rapt to see a new country win, and especially Bulgaria. Bangaranga!
05 Finland – Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin (8)
I’ve seen this performance plenty of times now, and it never fails to impress. I’ve never been 100% sold on the song (and that probably told in the lowly sixth place for the clear favourite), and the staging (meant to portray “is it possible to die from lust”) remains confusing.
06 Croatia – Lelek – Andromeda (8)
Probably the best staged song this year. I especially love the levitation effect on the lead singer and the dramatic finale. It was somewhat a forgotten song for me, so was pleased to get my memory jolted! The Christian tattoos are a tradition from 400 years ago to permanently mark the women as Catholic if they were ever captured by the Ottomans and converted to Islam.
07 Ukraine – Leleka – Ridnym (7)
Lovely soft vocals captures the audience and Leleka completes the journey with a powerful long note during the bridge. Very much a Disney feel to the song. Hated the black partial gloves. Curiously, Leleka followed Delta Goodrem in the semi final. Here she led her in.
08 Sweden – Felicia – My System (7)
Like Finland, I’ve seen this so often, and it still resonates. Perhaps that’s partly due to Felicia herself, the quite distinctive vocals, and the fascination to eventually see her entire face. Free the face! Just 16 points from the public for 51 total and 20th place recognises that the big flaw with this song was that it’s mostly a dance and light show.
09 Israel – Noam Bettan – Michelle (7)
One that’s been stuck in my head at times, which is quite the accolade considering Estonia is always there thanks to Vanilla Ninja and Too Epic To Be True. Nice voice and melody, and loved the multiple languages. Israel will be happy to given their haters more undue stress as they tease a win. This year was actually more unlikely due to Bulgaria so strong with the public. Last year was the real stress event.
10 Albania – Alis – Nân (7)
Lost a mark due to the subtitles. Hated the distraction. Otherwise, great vocals and a dramatic song. Serbia was very close to taking tenth spot. Ultimately, I will always prefer listening to Albania.
The Rest
Denmark (6) always had excess hype. Results reflect it. Cover the nipple! Perfunctory song and dance by Germany (6). All the fire on stage didn’t really increase the heat. To Belgium (6), I learned that Essyla is her real name spelled backwards. For one of the first songs released, this sustained my interest. Everything was accomplished without any one element standing out. Finally saw the appeal in Greece (3), even if the song is still mostly repetitive drivel.
For all the loud noise, the screaming and visual effects, the catchy melody is its biggest attraction for Serbia (7)! Nice voice and opening for Malta (4). That’s as far as it goes. Czechia (3) performed after Malta, so thank you to producers for the double toilet break. That could allow for a number two! My trajectory with this has only gone down. Vocals obviously good. The song is whiny drivel.
The United Kingdom (6) was very catchy and staged well, especially with the crowd involvement. It deserved some points from the public. It would rate better if it didn’t get so repetitive. The clown show that is the Australian commentators embarrassed themselves yet again by citing Brexit for a run of zero points from the public to the UK. They are hardly alone with Austria and Germany a recipient more than once during the split points era, while Switzerland, Spain and Netherlands have all suffered it in recent years. It’s simply fun to give the UK zero points! Of course, they won Eurovision in 2022 based on music, not sympathy for a Russian invasion, so the song does matter.
Moldova (4) was always too repetitive for me, and had no other redeeming qualities like a good voice. Flawless vocals and good staging from Poland (6) doesn’t compensate for the meandering song. I’ve never much liked it. Lituania (6) really grabs the attention visually, and was much better vocally than the semi finals. The song is fine. That’s about it. Thank you Ms Buxton of Cyprus (5) for gracing us with your beauty and table dancing to whatever repetitive tune you were singing.
Italy (6) brought a catchy vibe to this without reaching great heights. Subtitles not needed (take note, Albania) to convey the song’s message of a reluctant groom to his wedding. Loved the unfurling of Italian flag from the bride’s dress. Italy’s fifth place is the most suprising result of the night. Nothing redeemable about Norway (0). I even got sick of the voice. Hate, hate, hate. I’m fairly certain that’s only the second song I’ve scored zero. The other was Portugal in 2019 – Conan Osiris – Telemoveis. Following Romania was tough for Austria (5). It did register as a decent dance song that was presented well.
An average score of 6.1 just places this show as good. Last year’s grand final scored 7 while Rotterdam 2021’s holds the record of 7.3. Considering the scores for the semi final shows, 2026 was a very even Eurovision, albeit on the moderate side. The first semi scored 5.9 and the second one scored 6.1.
My Overall Top 10
01 Estonia – Vanilla Ninja – Too Epic To Be True (-)
02 Australia – Delta Goodrem – Eclipse (-)
03 Romania – Alexandra Căpitănescu – Choke Me (+8)
04 France – Monroe – Regarde (+2)
05 Bulgaria – Dara – Bangaranga (+9)
06 Finland – Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin (-2)
07 Switzerland – Veronica Fusaro – Alice (-)
08 Croatia – Lelek – Andromeda (-)
09 Latvia – Atvara – Ena (-4)
10 Luxembourg – Eva Marija – Mother Nature (-7)
Obviously Vanilla Ninja, as my favourite band ever, comes straight in at the top as one of those eliminated at the semi final stage. Bias aside, I do love the song anyway. Switzerland, Latvia and Luxembourg also come in from the semi finals. Luxembourg’s drop of seven places was mostly because it lost its lustre. Bulgaria actually made the biggest jump from my Top 35 before Eurovision by rising nine places. Similarly did Romania with a jump of eight places. Those two were the only new entries into my top 10, with Ukraine and Sweden previously there in 9th and 10th.
Betting Market
It had a shocker with Bulgaria roughly a $60 chance before Eurovision rehearsals started and rising to only a $30 chance on the day of the grand final. Finland and Australia were the big losers as the realistic top two prior to the grand final. Greece as third pick were never a realistic chance, while Denmark’s high position was always dubious. Israel was always finishing second or third, which the market affirmed. The country that the bettors really picked well was France by going completely cold on them! France were always vying for second place before Eurovision, only to fall to an outside chance at $30 and barely in the top 10.
Predictions
As usual, I flopped hard. While I picked Romania for third, I missed on Bulgaria and Israel as first and second (picked Finland and France). I was accurate in knowing those that couldn’t win, notably Australia, Greece and Denmark. Bulgaria I never suspected could win, and especially not win this dominantly, while Israel performed better with the jury than I expected. Of course, most people forgot that the jury received a significant restructure.
Semi Final 1 Results
Semi Final 1
01 Israel 269
02 Poland 247
03 Finland 227
04 Moldova 208
05 Serbia 187
06 Croatia 175
07 Greece 159
08 Lithuania 101
09 Sweden 96
10 Belgium 91
11 Estonia 79
12 Portugal 74
12 Montenegro 71
14San Marino 41
15 Georgia 5
The jury pushed Belgium and Sweden ahead of both Estonia and Montenegro with scores of 81 and 79. The respective public vote was just 10 and 17. Compare that to Estonia 46 (jury 33) and Montenegro 45 (jury 26). Remember, this year the juries were returned to contribute 50% of the vote rather than the public solely decide the grand final qualifiers. That’s a decision I fully support. Just a shame that it couldn’t wait another year!
Semi Final 2
01 Bulgaria 278
02 Romania 234
03 Australia 222
04 Norway 206
05 Denmark 199
06 Ukraine 174
07 Albania 158
08 Malta 143
09 Czechia 142
10 Cyprus 122
11 Switzerland 108
12 Luxembourg 60
13 Latvia 49
14 Armenia 49
15 Azerbaijan 2
Switzerland were the unlucky ones with the juries returning. They scored 64 points from the public compared to 34 for Czechia and 59 for Malta.
Marcel Bezencon Awards
Bulgaria won the Artistic Award (decided by the commentators), Denmark the Composers Award and Delta Goodrem the Media Award. These awards began in 2002 and were named after the creator of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Finally
Vienna 2026 proved to be a very efficient Eurovision that simply focused on letting the show happen without much fuss. The hosts, Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski, were fun and dutiful without ever being annoying or obtrusive. I really appreciated the greetings on the actual postcards in the postcard segments that were written in the native language and alphabet of each participant. One sour note was JJ referencing Dara as “bitch” as he was presenting her the winner’s trophy. Even if it wasn’t meant as derogatory, clearly she wasn’t impressed. We all know who really is the bitch.
We are off to Bulgaria for the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest. So fear not! It will be a fascinating edition and a complete change from so many recent ones in western European countries. I’m already looking forward to it. Bangaranga!
Vienna 2026: Semi Final 2 Review & Grand Final Preview
Vienna 2026: Semi Final 1 Review
Mr Eurovision Australia 