{"id":59303,"date":"2026-05-16T22:16:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T02:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/bulgaria-wins-eurovision-israel-finishes-second-amid-boycotts-over-its-participation\/16\/05\/2026\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T22:16:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T02:16:41","slug":"bulgaria-wins-eurovision-israel-finishes-second-amid-boycotts-over-its-participation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/bulgaria-wins-eurovision-israel-finishes-second-amid-boycotts-over-its-participation\/16\/05\/2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulgaria wins Eurovision, Israel finishes second amid boycotts over its participation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bulgaria\u2019s Dara has triumphed at this year\u2019s Eurovision following a politically charged edition of the contest, which has been roiled by several countries boycotting it over Israel\u2019s ongoing participation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Her track \u201cBangaranga,\u201d a catchy club hit performed with slick choreography, was expected to do well but proved surprisingly popular with both the jury and the public vote, beating second-placed Israel in a tense final.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Ultimately, the 27-year-old enjoyed a truly decisive win, finishing 173 points ahead of Israel\u2019s Noam Bettan \u2013 the biggest ever winning margin in the contest\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Her triumph also marked Bulgaria\u2019s first ever victory in the pop song contest, and the first time since 2017 that the juries and public agreed on the same winner.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>It is the first time Bulgaria has ever won Eurovision. &#8211; Tobias Schwarz\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">But for all the glitz and razzmatazz of Saturday\u2019s grand final in Vienna, Austria, the song contest, in which acts representing different, mostly European countries compete to win a public and jury vote, was largely overshadowed by the politics surrounding it. Five countries \u2013 Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia and the Netherlands \u2013 boycotted this year\u2019s contest over Israel\u2019s participation in it, marking the biggest crisis for the event in its 70-year history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cWe will not be at Eurovision, but we will do so with the conviction of being on the right side of history,\u201d Spain\u2019s Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez said Friday.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Demonstrators gather to protest Israel's participation in this year's Eurovision Song Contest on May 16 in Vienna, Austria. - Heinz-Peter Bader\/Getty Images\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/psTNGNzIa8v7R952Pn_rIg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/cnn_articles_875\/d7fe80457b38ea43cba073215b4c0375\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Demonstrators gather to protest Israel&#8217;s participation in this year&#8217;s Eurovision Song Contest on May 16 in Vienna, Austria. &#8211; Heinz-Peter Bader\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Huge swathes of fans have also boycotted the normally joyful, glitzy spectacle, and outside the arena on Saturday, some people dressed as clowns, carrying a sign which read \u201cUnited by Genocide\u201d \u2013 a reference to the contest\u2019s official slogan, \u201cUnited by Music.\u201d Israel has denied any accusations that its war in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7 attacks constitutes genocide.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Although no booing could be heard on the TV coverage during Israel\u2019s Noam Bettan\u2019s performance, as it had been during Tuesday\u2019s semifinal, loud boos and jeering ricocheted around the arena when he briefly took the lead during the voting stage of the event.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The rest of the contest unfolded in its usual technicolor parade of heavy metal, dance bops and power ballads. Among them were Croatia\u2019s folk-pop entry \u201cAndromeda\u201d which blended traditional Croatian music with modern pop, France\u2019s operatic-inspired track \u201cRegarde !\u201d and Lithuania\u2019s Lion Ceccah, who was covered in silver paint for his performance of \u201cS\u00f3lo Quiero M\u00e1s,\u201d which grappled with the rise of artificial intelligence, \u201cHumanity, I love you,\u201d he concluded afterwards.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen of Finland perform the song &quot;Liekinheitin.&quot;&lt;br \/&gt;&lt;br \/&gt; - Jens B\u00fcttner\/dpa\/picture alliance\/Getty Images\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/qNGNzeJF0rINEbWb1BbxmA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/cnn_articles_875\/983f954ace4d36b63e2913c557c9f05c\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\">Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen of Finland perform the song &#8220;Liekinheitin.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Jens B\u00fcttner\/dpa\/picture alliance\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bookies favorite Finland, represented by Pete Parkonnen and Linda Lampenius with a combination of pyrotechnic-forward staging, angsty lyrics and a violin solo, finished sixth. Meanwhile, Australia\u2019s Delta Goodrem, a genuine pop star in her home country whose powerhouse vocals made her another favorite, finished in fourth. Romania\u2019s Alexandra C\u0103pit\u0103nescu finished third.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As is tradition, next year\u2019s contest is expected to be held in Bulgaria, in celebration of their win.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><i>This is a developing story and will be updated.<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/account\/register?source=external-feeds_iluminar&amp;cid=external-feeds_iluminar_yahoo&amp;registration_email_campaign=https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/newsletters\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:CNN.com;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;CNN.com&quot;}\" class=\"link \">CNN.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/music\/articles\/bulgaria-wins-eurovision-israel-finishes-000550719.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bulgaria&rsquo;s Dara has triumphed at this year&rsquo;s Eurovision following a politically charged edition of the contest, which has been roiled by several<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/bulgaria-wins-eurovision-israel-finishes-second-amid-boycotts-over-its-participation\/16\/05\/2026\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/en\/cnn_articles_875\/6692fe2f63bd92acce3cf2d2c3df8768","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59303"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}