Bulgaria wins Eurovision, Israel finishes second amid boycotts over its participation
By Issy Ronald, CNN
(CNN) — Bulgaria’s Dara has triumphed at this year’s Eurovision following a politically charged edition of the contest, which has been roiled by several countries boycotting it over Israel’s ongoing participation.
Her track “Bangaranga,” 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.
Ultimately, the 27-year-old enjoyed a truly decisive win, finishing 173 points ahead of Israel’s Noam Bettan – the biggest ever winning margin in the contest’s history.
Her triumph also marked Bulgaria’s first ever victory in the pop song contest, and the first time since 2017 that the juries and public agreed on the same winner.
But for all the glitz and razzmatazz of Saturday’s 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 – Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia and the Netherlands – boycotted this year’s contest over Israel’s participation in it, marking the biggest crisis for the event in its 70-year history.
“We will not be at Eurovision, but we will do so with the conviction of being on the right side of history,” Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Friday.
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 “United by Genocide” – a reference to the contest’s official slogan, “United by Music.” Israel has denied any accusations that its war in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7 attacks constitutes genocide.
Although no booing could be heard on the TV coverage during Israel’s Noam Bettan’s performance, as it had been during Tuesday’s semifinal, loud boos and jeering ricocheted around the arena when he briefly took the lead during the voting stage of the event.
The rest of the contest unfolded in its usual technicolor parade of heavy metal, dance bops and power ballads. Among them were Croatia’s folk-pop entry “Andromeda” which blended traditional Croatian music with modern pop, France’s operatic-inspired track “Regarde !” and Lithuania’s Lion Ceccah, who was covered in silver paint for his performance of “Sólo Quiero Más,” which grappled with the rise of artificial intelligence, “Humanity, I love you,” he concluded afterwards.
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’s Delta Goodrem, a genuine pop star in her home country whose powerhouse vocals made her another favorite, finished in fourth. Romania’s Alexandra Căpitănescu finished third.
As is tradition, next year’s contest is expected to be held in Bulgaria, in celebration of their win.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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