Bulgaria’s entry Bangaranga, performed by Dara, just won Eurovision 2026 in Vienna and we are living in the Bangaranga now. It marks quite a few milestones and firsts – it has the biggest winning margin in points ever; it’s the first winner since 2017 to win both the jury and the televote. But most importantly, and what I want to talk about here, is that it’s Bulgaria’s first win. It was a long way here and, honestly, no Bulgarian believed it was ever possible. So why did we finally win and how does it feel? I can’t wait to tell you.
Step 1: DARA is truly special
DARA is one of the biggest pop stars in Bulgaria and already carries tremendous experience on stage. But what truly made her stand out is a spark that makes her whole presence shine. She is unapologetically authentic – in every word of every interview, every move in her choreography, even in the jokes she made on camera. She told us to dream big, to stay delulu, to be grateful, and she made all of it about feeling a real connection with others. Everything was heartfelt and driven by faith in her dream. You could deeply resonate with it and relive it as your own experience. Borderline magical.
Step 2: They knew what they were doing
The team behind DARA is completely professional. Twenty years after Bulgaria’s first participation and multiple top ten finishes at the final, the team knows all the right steps. DARA has the biggest Bulgarian producer behind her – and given her talent, that makes perfect sense. They then brought in one of the best choreographers at Eurovision to create the staging that won hearts and votes across Europe. The effort was visible in everything – the physical preparation, the creativity of the directors and songwriters, the energy of the dancers. Europe saw it and poured its love toward it.
Step 3: The staging made so much sense
I’ll admit – it wasn’t instant for me. At the semi-final I was too surprised by it, as it was completely new compared to the national final in Bulgaria. But just before the final, after rewatching it on YouTube, it all suddenly clicked. The house – the mind. The dancers with distorted faces – the inner demons, the mental health struggles. The way she literally throws the Bangaranga at them, the way everything starts spinning and transforming so she can release her demons through her own inner light. And at the end they are not demons anymore – they multiply her strength so she can give it to all of us as the Bangaranga. The moment I saw all of that, I was convinced she was winning the hearts of Europe.
Step 4: It was authentic and inspired
A great product needs to be inspired in order to win hearts, which is the whole point of Eurovision. DARA’s road to victory unfortunately didn’t start well – her winning the national selection in Bulgaria was met, in a very old Bulgarian tradition, with a devastating negative reaction, to the point that she was on the edge of withdrawing from participation altogether. However, she took all of that and transformed it into what we saw on that stage. That transformation of negativity is the most inspiring thing about her story. When I saw her perform at the semi-final, I was sure she was built to endure, to take what was thrown at her and turn it into something stunning. That mental and physical strength – to overcome the negativity of your own people and give them such a gift in return – should be an inspiration to all of us.
DARA did something enormous – she transformed hate into a Eurovision victory. Most of us might never have the chance of being on such a stage, on such a scale. But that doesn’t mean I can’t relate to the energy she radiates – the gratitude, the staying true, the being delulu and so determined – that feels like a direction I want to walk in. Because becoming truly yourself is a long path, and watching someone live their values out loud, at that scale, in front of all of Europe, is its own kind of instruction.
And just like that…
And just like that, in four steps – though far from simple – DARA won Eurovision 2026 for Bulgaria. And here is where the magic continues even stronger. We Bulgarians are not used to having nice things happen to us. We are a small nation on the Balkans, trying hard to be proud like the other Balkan nations, but at the same time deeply sceptical of our own abilities as a society. Sometimes that scepticism makes it too difficult for us to connect with each other. We are used to being called the poorest, the most corrupt – which, even where true, is just another generalization, another act of boxification.
And now, with Bangaranga, with this victory, with how talented and alive that young Bulgarian woman is on that stage – it feels like the box cracked. Even just a little. And we needed this badly.
This is the first time in my life that I feel happy to be Bulgarian. Happy to be part of this country that is sometimes so unsure of itself, steeped in too much negativity, and yet filled with people of extraordinary talent and warmth. I hope this victory marks the beginning of something new. That we become a little more unified. A little more like DARA – brave, authentic, positive, and absolutely Bangaranga.