Bulgaria is the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, which took place on Saturday night in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Israel and Noam Bettan clinched second place - marking the second year in a row that the country has secured the runner-up spot.
Bulgaria’s representative, Dara, and her song "Bangaranga" received 516 points from the combined public and jury vote. Israel’s representative received 123 points from the juries for his song "Michelle," while the televote at home added another 220 points to his tally.
These are the countries whose juries awarded points to Israel - Switzerland: 2, Malta: 4, Ukraine: 10, Bulgaria: 7, Azerbaijan: 4, San Marino: 4, Germany: 3, Belgium: 1, Albania: 8, Georgia: 6, Armenia: 7, Poland: 12, Czechia: 2, Denmark: 7, France: 4, Norway: 1, Serbia: 4, Moldova: 10, Croatia: 5, Romania: 6, Austria: 8.
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar reacted to the Israeli achievement at Eurovision: "Standing proud before the entire world - this is an immense achievement for Israel. Am Yisrael Chai! We are so proud of our Noam and the entire Israeli delegation."
President Isaac Herzog spoke with Noam to congratulate him on the milestone: "Noam, you are a source of pride for Israel. I just spoke with Noam Bettan and congratulated him on his impressive achievement at Eurovision. Coming in second place for the second consecutive year is a source of immense pride, but beyond the ranking - Noam brought talent, emotion, and an admirable Israeli representation to the stage. I am incredibly proud of him, and he is a great pride to Israel."
Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard announced the points on behalf of Israel, which awarded its "douze points" (12 points) to Australia, 10 points to Denmark, 8 points to Bulgaria, 7 to Finland, 6 to Moldova, 5 to Greece, 4 to Romania, 3 to Italy, 2 points to Belgium, and 1 point to Albania.
Following his Grand Final performance of "Michelle," Noam Bettan said: "It was insane, honestly I was more emotional tonight than during any of the recent performances." Noam added, "Months of hard work culminated in this exact moment. I need you guys behind me now with all your strength."
Meanwhile, Spanish broadcaster RTVE, which boycotted the Eurovision because of Israel's participation, displayed a message on screen: "The Eurovision Song Contest is a competition, but human rights are not. There is no room for indifference. Peace and justice for Palestine."
