Bulgaria won this year's competition after pipping Israel to the post
Eurovision Song Contest 2026 winner, Dara, admitted that she almost dropped out of the competition before her milestone win. As Eurovision celebrated their 70th anniversary this year, it was Bulgaria who won the vote after an intense reveal showed them pipping Israel to the post.
Dara performed her winning song, Bangaranga after receiving a total of 561 points, meaning that next year's Eurovision competition will be held in Bulgaria. DARA was selected by Bulgaria’s Eurovision body, Bulgarian National Television, after winning the 2026 Bulgarian national final, Natsionalnata Selektsiya. She is one of the most well-known pop musicians in her country and is said to have shaped the image of contemporary Bulgarian pop with her unique voice.
She’s known for her commanding stage presence and unrestrained genre-blending. Boasting hit songs Thunder, Call Me, and Mr. Rover, DARA has been dominating the charts ever since reaching the final of the Bulgarian edition ofSeen as a prominent figure in the modern Balkan music scene, DARA’s songs and videos have amassed over 80 million listens and views. She was also a judge on The Voice of Bulgaria in 2021 and 2022.
Newsbeat that she considered dropping out to protect her mental health. She recalled how she was left "shaking in her bed" after being announced as her country's act, fearing her newly diagnosed ADHD would become difficult to manage while performing in Vienna. Dara said: "That was how my body reacted. and I was trying to calm myself down for three hours.
" She originally planned to not participate, after turning the opportunity down at first. She admitted: "The first time I said no because there were some things that I was not okay with in the contract. I immediately felt like I did something bad, that I'm not worthy," she says.
"I didn't want to risk my mental health to such a degree that I couldn't heal it. "However, the singer gushed over her time in the final, as she said: "Eurovision is so, so big - the biggest thing that artists can do. But I've never felt more calm on stage, more secure. "
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