Bulgaria Shocks Europe With Its 125/1 Eurovision Song Success

by Roy Brindley, 19 May 2026

Massive shock: Bulgaria won both jury and public voting to run out decisive winners of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.

DARA upset the odds to give Bulgaria its first Eurovision Song Contest success. © Getty Images

Key Facts:

• Bulgaria was a shock winner of Eurovision 2026.
• Odds-on favourite, Finland, finished only sixth.
• A surge of money on Australia was also misguided.
• Bulgaria has contested Eurovision only 15 times and has an enviable record.

Bulgaria has pulled off the biggest shock in Eurovision history by winning the 2026 edition of the famous Song Contest. 125/1 in the week heading up to the semi-finals and final, the nation topped the public and jury votes to win the contest by an enormous 173 points.

In a shocker for punters, Israel finished second, and Romania, another unconsidered country, clinched third. Meanwhile, long-standing favourites Finland took a cold shower, finishing sixth despite being odds-on for victory when the acts took to the stage on Saturday.

The only outcome that matched online bookmakers expectations was the United Kingdom’s finishing position. As the 6/4 odds suggested, the nation finished last for the third time in seven years. Only a single point awarded by the Ukrainian jury prevented the country from enduring the dreaded ‘nul points‘.

Finland and Australia Had an 80% Market Share

There have long been suspicions that those privy to the outcome of the semi-final scores – which are not made public until after the final is complete – dabble in the betting markets. When the semi-finals were complete, it was Australia that attracted an avalanche of wagers, bringing its price into 2/1.

Sure enough, Australia had topped the jury vote in its second semi-final, and Bulgaria had qualified for the final as the top scorers in the combined scoring. Together, Finland and Australia still took over 80% of the bookmakers’ book ahead of the final show.

Bulgaria had shrunk into 25/1 while early punter fancies, Greece, Denmark and France eased out to double-digit odds. Bulgaria’s odds remained static until its representative, DARA, performed Bangaranga twelfth on the Eurovision Song Contest’s running order. At this point, its odds halved.

Price Collapse Before the Viewers’ Points Were Announced

Nevertheless, as phone lines closed and Eurovision officials prepared to announce the jury votes, Bulgaria remained the bookmaker’s fifth choice, while Australia and Finland vied for favouritism.

Only when the jury’s voting began to show repeated high scores for Bulgaria did the country’s price go into freefall. Alarmingly, moments before the televotes started to be announced, the formerly unconsidered nation was trading long odds-on. This has been the case for eventual winners in the past five Eurovision finals.

Try as they might, presenters failed to keep punters and fans in true suspense, as once-favoured countries – such as France, which received just 14 televoting points – left plenty on the table for Bulgaria, which needed just 140 points to overhaul Israel when their score was announced.

BREAKING: Bulgaria has won the Eurovision song contest 2026

The European country won with a massive 516 points in total.

The UK's entry Look Mum No Computer, otherwise known as Sam Battle, finished in last place

Live updates: https://t.co/CsSKWTvC8l

📺 Sky 501 and YT pic.twitter.com/V3RJDlboO6

— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 16, 2026

Those who had done their sums knew Bulgaria was about to be declared the winner courtesy of 312 televote points. In doing so, the country became the first Eurovision double vote winner since 2017.

Will Sofia Host the 2027 Eurovision?

Bulgaria first contested the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005, and this was its first victory in 15 attempts. However, with previous second, fourth and fifth-place finishes, the Balkan state has an enviable record.

Success for DARA, one of the most well-known pop musicians in her country, with smash hits Thunder, Call Me, and Mr. Rover on her CV, means the 2027 event will be staged in Bulgaria. Sofia, the capital, is the most likely host city.

Sofia benefits from Bulgaria’s largest international airport, which offers extensive connections across Europe with airlines such as Bulgaria Air, Ryanair, and Wizz. Budget airlines or otherwise, people wishing to attend next year’s event might benefit from booking their flights in advance.

May 15, 2027, is the most likely date for the final and is the marginal favourite over May 8. However, as this year’s Eurovision result underlines, backing favourites in anything related to the 70-year-old event is fraught with danger.