Israel booed at Eurovision final as Bulgaria wins competition

Israel booed at Eurovision final as Bulgaria wins competition Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Sun, 05/17/2026 - 09:36 Israel finished in second place in contest widely boycotted over Gaza genocide Winner Darina Nikolaeva Yotova, representing Bulgaria with the song Bangaranga, attends a press conference after winning the final of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, on 16 May 2026 (Georg Hochmuth/APA/AFP) Off Bulgaria won the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 on Saturday, while Israel faced boos after finishing in second place. This year's final was among the least attended and least watched in the contest's history after five countries - Spain, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia - withdrew over Israel's participation. A boycott campaign also led many viewers to avoid the event. The victory for Bulgarian pop singer Dara, whose full name is Darina Yotova, marks the country’s first-ever Eurovision win in the contest’s 70-year history. "Everything is possible: Bulgaria just won Eurovision," Dara told a press conference. "I really like breaking rules. I'm really good with following my rules - not anybody else's. We wanted to give to the audience something new and fresh, something that is not expected." Boos were heard during the announcement of Israel’s public vote score. Pro-Palestinian activists held a protest in Vienna on Saturday, with around 2,000 people attending, according to the police. The 2026 edition of the contest has been riddled with controversy following a December decision by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to allow Israel to compete. The New York Times reported that Israel had sp...

Original source: Middle East Eye