GERMANY PERSPECTIVE

Berlin, May 17, 2026. Bulgaria has won the 70th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday evening in Vienna, with singer Dara and her song 'Bangaranga', a zombie-tinged anthem with electrifying choreography. She tallied 516 points, ahead of Israel (343) and Romania (296). This result is historic in two ways: it marks Bulgaria's first victory in seventy years of competition, and it is the first time since Kyiv 2017 that the same contestant has won both the jury vote and the public vote simultaneously. 'Everything is possible: Bulgaria just won Eurovision,' Dara declared to the press. She had left the competition three years ago before returning this year.

For Germany, the evening ended in disappointment. Sarah Engels, 33, finished 23rd out of 25, with only 12 points awarded by juries and zero points from the public. German media notes that this result is lower than last year, when the duo Abor & Tynna reached 15th place. The head of programming at SWR, Clemens Bratzler, who coordinated ARD's Eurovision efforts this year, stated: 'We are of course disappointed with the ranking', while praising the artist's performance. Engels herself sought to put it in perspective: 'I will wake up tomorrow and my family will love me just as much as yesterday. The ranking is of no importance.'

This 70th anniversary was also marked by the largest political crisis in the contest's history. Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, and Slovenia refused to participate due to Israel's presence, whose military actions in Gaza since the October 2023 Hamas attack fuel ongoing controversy. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) maintained Israel's invitation despite exclusion requests. Result: only 35 countries competed, the lowest number since semi-finals were introduced in 2004. German-language media note that this boycott represents a difficult anniversary gift for the contest.

Israel ultimately finished second, thanks in part to strong public support. The Bulgarian entry, however, surpassed Israel's contestant Noam Bettan in the final televoting count. On the entertainment side, the Vienna Stadthalle hosted some 16,000 spectators, and approximately 150 million television viewers followed the final on television. Australia, with Delta Goodrem, was among the favorites but had to settle for fourth place.