Eurovision 2026: Bulgaria Triumphs! Major Controversy Surrounds Poland’s Voting

Who won Eurovision in 2026? Bulgaria on the podium: The huge success of the song “Bangaranga”

Bulgaria, represented by the incredibly charismatic 27-year-old singer Dara (Darina Yotova), won the top prize and the hearts of the audience at this year’s Eurovision. Her energetic, club-style track “Bangaranga,” blending modern dance-pop with distinctive Balkan ethno motifs, proved to be an absolute phenomenon.

The artist, known in her home country as a coach on “The Voice of Bulgaria,” among other things, delivered a thrilling performance on the Vienna stage, having previously won the prestigious Marcel Bezençon Award for best stage performance. Ultimately, Dara dominated the competition, scoring a total of 516 points and securing Bulgaria’s first historic victory in this contest. Israel’s representative, Noam Bettan, finished in second place.

What place did Poland take at Eurovision? A solid result for Alicja Szemplińska

Polish fans eagerly counted down the minutes until the final results were announced. Our country was represented by Alicja Szemplińska with the poignant and emotionally charged ballad “Pray.” The Polish singer delivered a flawless vocal performance and received immense praise from international experts.

After all the votes were tallied, Poland finished in 12th place with a total of 150 points. Interestingly, this year’s contest saw a clear divergence between the experts’ scores and the viewers’ preferences. Alicja Szemplińska was the clear favorite of the national juries, from whom she received as many as 133 points (including maximum scores of “12” from the juries of Germany, Moldova, Belgium, and Austria). In contrast, the European audience was far less generous in the SMS voting (televoting), awarding the Polish artist a mere 17 points.

The Polish jury at Eurovision caused a storm. Top score for Israel

The decisions made by the Polish jury at Eurovision attracted nearly as much attention as our representative’s performance itself. This year’s judging panel consisted of professionals and stars of the younger generation: 2019 Junior Eurovision winner Viki Gabor, “The Voice of Poland” winner Jasiek Piwowarczyk, as well as Eliza Orzechowska, Filip Kuncewicz, Staś Kukulski, Wiktoria Kida, and Maurycy Żółtański.

When it was time to announce the scores, Polish spokesperson Ola Budka announced that our jury had awarded the maximum score—12 points—to Israel’s representative, Noam Bettan, for his song “Michelle.” This decision immediately sparked massive controversy and a storm on social media, triggering a wave of criticism from some commentators and internet users. Due to the tense political situation and the emotions surrounding Israel’s participation in the contest, some jurors, including Viki Gabor, even decided to disable comments on their social media profiles. Polish viewers at home voted quite differently, giving the highest SMS vote to Ukraine’s entry.

One of the jury members, Filip Kuncewicz, defended the final result, publicly explaining that the final scores are the result of the EBU’s mathematical algorithm, which combines the independent and secret votes of each of the seven jurors, rather than the outcome of their joint discussion. The Israeli Embassy also extended official thanks to the Polish jurors for their “warm welcome and recognition.”