In a night full of glitter, -key changes, and -collective gasps, Bulgaria just yeeted its way to an unexpected Eurovision victory, leaving odds- makers, fans , and maybe even the Bulgarian delegation themselves in total shock….
Let’s re-rewind. The 70th Eurovision Song Contest wrapped up in #Vienna with a Grand Finale so un-predictable that even the stage props seemed confused. Going in2 the night , everyone had their money on the usual suspects. Finland? Beloved. France? Elegant. Australia? Always dangerously competent. But did any of them win? Ha. Ha. No.
The winner, with a song called “Bangaranga” performed by Dara , was Bulgaria. Yes, …Bulgaria. The same …Bulgaria that was sitting pretty at 14place in the odds just days before the second semi -final. Then something happened. Maybe it was the choreography. Maybe a rogue voting bloc fueled by ouzo and sheer determination. Maybe the song just hit harder than anyone expected. Whatever it was, it worked….
The Final Leaderboard (The Accurate One, I Promise)
Forget the chaotic live blog updates. After all the glitter settled and the votes were double-checked (twice), here is how the actual Top –10 shook out :
| Rank | Country | Artist / Song | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1 | Bulgaria | Dara – “Bangaranga” | 516 |
| 🥈 2 | Israel | Noam Bettan – “Michelle” | 343 |
| 🥉 3 | Romania | Alexandra Căpitănescu – “Choke Me” | 296 |
| 4 | Australia | Delta Goodrem – “Eclipse” | 287 |
| 5 | Italy | Sal Da Vinci – “Per Sempre Si” | 281 |
| 6 | Finland | Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – “Liekinheitin” | 279 |
| 7 | Denmark | Søren Torpegaard Lund – “Før Vi Går Hjem” | 243 |
| 8 | Moldova | Satoshi – “Viva, Moldova!” | 226 |
| 9 | Ukraine | LELÉKA – “Ridnym” | 221 |
| 10 | Greece | Akylas – “Ferto” | 220 |
So yes , Bulgaria crushed it with 516 points (their first win ever!), while Finland—the so-called “favorite”—had to settle for 6th. Greece missed 9th place by literally one single point. Ouch….
The Jury Said “Bulgaria”, The Public Said “Yep” (For Once )
In a rare moment of Eurovision harmony, the juries and the televote actually agreed on a winner. The juries had already given Bulgaria a commanding lead before the public even chimed in. Where did those 12-pointers come from? Malta, Australia, Denmark, and Lithuania all threw their top marks to Sofia
Meanwhile, Poland, France, and Denmark were busy collecting 12s from other countries, but it wasn’t enough to catch the “Bangaranga” train
Greece: Akylas and the “Ferto” That Almost Worked
Greece sent Akylas with the song “Ferto”, and for a hot minute, things looked promising. During the jury vote, Greece climbed as high as 4th place. The audience in the Wiener Stadthalle gave him a standing ovation. Social media went wild, calling it “Greece’s best entry in years” and declaring him “our winner anyway”
Then the televote came And gravity reasserted itself
Greece finished 10th overall with a heartbreaking 220 points — just one single point behind Ukraine in 9th
Cyprus ended up further down the pack with 75 points. No flags were burned. No plate-throwing ensued. A quiet year for the island
The Favorites? Oh, They “Patosan” (That’s Greek for Crashed Hard)
Remember Finland? The beloved favorite? They finished 6th with 279 points. France? Nowhere near the top. Italy, Denmark, all the pre-show darlings? They stumbled like they’d tripped over a loose stage cable
Even Australia, which scored a very respectable 287 points and finished 4th, never really threatened to take the crown. As we eurofans poetically put it: “Australia will NOT win Eurovision.” Spoiler: they didn’t…
The Most Uncomfortable Moment of the Night (Politics Edition)
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos not – so – good – luck Mitsotakis decided to show his support for Akylas by… thanking the President of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, for his help at Eurovision – Yes, you read that right. A prime minister thanking a political ally for song contest assistance
The result? Greece placed 10th. Germany (Weber’s home country) placed 21st. The crowd’s response, reportedly: “Asto.” (That’s Greek for “leave it.”)
The Final Verdict: Eurovision Still Makes No Sense, and We Love It
For the first time since 2017, the juries and the public agreed on a winner. And yet, somehow, everything still felt chaotic. The betting odds were wrong. The favorites flopped. A 14th-place dark horse rose from the ashes and took the crown with a whopping 516 points
Bulgaria “raised it” — as the Greek headline says. And for one glorious, confusing night, Europe sang along to “Bangaranga” like they’d known the words their whole lives
See you all next year. In Sofia. Probably… maybe in Varna too
(P.S. Don’t bet on the favorites . You’ve been warned .)
by NIKOLAS VADALOUKAS