Bulgaria claimed its first-ever victory at the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday in Vienna, while Israel finished second amid protests and a boycott linked to the war in Gaza.
Bulgarian singer Darina Yotova, professionally known as Dara, secured victory at the 70th edition of the competition with her upbeat track ‘Bangaranga’.
“This is unbelievable. I don’t even know what’s going on right now,” Dara said during a post-show press conference.
Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov later described the win on Facebook as a “magnificent story of immense talent, tireless effort, and faith in success, against all criticism”.
Around 10,000 spectators attended the grand final at the Wiener Stadthalle arena, where political tensions surrounding Israel’s participation became one of the dominant talking points of the event.
Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia boycotted the contest in protest against Israel’s inclusion, citing the ongoing war in Gaza.
Israeli contestant Noam Bettan performed the multilingual rock ballad ‘Michelle’ in Hebrew, French and English. His performance received loud applause from parts of the audience, alongside some boos inside the arena.
Earlier in the week, four individuals were removed after attempting to disrupt his semi-final performance.
It marked the second consecutive year that Israel finished as runner-up at Eurovision.
Organisers also introduced tighter voting regulations this year following accusations that Israel had conducted an extensive lobbying campaign to gather votes for its entry.
Outside the venue, hundreds of demonstrators marched against Israel’s participation, carrying placards reading “Block Eurovision”. Pro-Palestinian campaigners also organised an outdoor concert on Friday under the slogan “No stage for genocide”.
Spanish broadcaster RTVE declined to air the competition despite traditionally being one of Eurovision’s major broadcasting partners.
Meanwhile, Belgian broadcaster VRT stated ahead of the final that it may reconsider future participation unless the European Broadcasting Union holds a direct vote on Israel’s eligibility to compete.
