Bulgaria wins Eurovision as UK finishes last

Bulgarian pop star Dara won the Eurovision Song Contest with her dance track Bangaranga.

The 27-year-old topped both the public and jury votes in a close finish, finishing ahead of Israel in second and Romania in third with 516 points.

Dara was not among the favorites before the contest, but her choreography and chorus helped her win, giving Bulgaria its first Eurovision title.

The UK finished last with Look Mum No Computer's song Eins, Zwei, Drei, which received one point.

The musician had predicted a poor result, saying his track was "Marmite - you either love it or hate it".

"I always say to expect nothing," he said, "because if you expect nothing, you lose nothing".

"He gave it his all," said Graham Norton as the results came in. "It just clearly didn't shine with the audiences across Europe."

It is the third time since 2020 that the UK has placed last.

The top five finishers were Bulgaria with 516 points, Israel with 343, Romania with 296, Australia with 287 and Italy with 281.

Dara is a major pop star in Bulgaria, with songs and videos that have amassed over 80 million listens and views. She is also a coach on the country's version of The Voice.

The title Bangaranga means "uproar" in Jamaican patois. The lyrics address her commitment to overcoming anxiety and ADHD, which she was diagnosed with last year.

"Bangaranga is something that everyone's got in themselves," she said. "It's the moment you choose to lead with love, not fear."

Her performance featured choreography based on the ancient Bulgarian tradition of Kukeri, in which masked performers chase away evil spirits.

Before the final, she also received an award for the year's best staging, voted for by commentators including Graham Norton.

The UK was among the countries that gave Bangaranga 12 points in the public vote.

Speaking backstage after the win, Dara said: "I want to thank everybody who felt the Bangaranga and felt connected to the force."

Bulgarian National Television confirmed that next year's contest will be held in Sofia.

The run-up to the contest was overshadowed by protests over Israel's participation because of the war in Gaza. Five countries boycotted the event, including Spain, Iceland and Ireland.

Protests were also expected during Israel's performance, but there were no disturbances during Noam Bettan's song Michelle, which finished second.

Czechia's performance was interrupted by a technical error, during which singer Daniel Žižka temporarily disappeared from the video feed.

"That did not happen at any of the rehearsals, the distorted picture," said Graham Norton. "I think the cameraman fell, I'm not quite sure."

Žižka asked to reprise his performance, but organizers declined, saying his performance and audio were not affected.

Finland's presumed favorites finished sixth, while Australia's Delta Goodrem came fourth with her power ballad Eclipse.

This year's contest was held in Vienna, Austria, after last year's winner JJ lifted the trophy in Basel, Switzerland.

The show opened with a recap of last year's winning song before Denmark performed first.

Germany's Sarah Engels was described as "on fire", Norway's Jonas Lovv had "no self control" and Sweden's Felicia performed a song with explicit lyrics.

Serbia's lead singer ended his song with a blood-curdling scream, while Romania's Alexandra Căpitănescu finished third despite controversy over her song Choke Me.

Italy's Sal Da Vinci came fifth with a nostalgic disco song dedicated to his wife.

Greece's Akylas delivered a complex performance that included sliding down a fireman's pole and dancing with a Greek statue.

To mark the contest's 70th anniversary, organizers staged a tribute featuring former winners performing past hits.

Former winners Lordi played a heavy metal version of Brotherhood of Man's Save Your Kisses For Me, while Ukrainian comedian Verka Serduchka performed Sandie Shaw's Puppet On A String with an oompah band.

Erika Vikman recreated Abba's Waterloo and Alexander Rybak gave Cliff Richard's Congratulations the hoedown treatment.

The performance ended with a mass singalong to Nel blu, dipinto di blu, the 1958 winner that sold more than 18 million copies worldwide.