Bulgaria wins Eurovision and Israel finishes in second place in the most controversial edition.
The winning song has been 'Bangaranga' performed by Dara
BarcelonaThe 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest has been one of the most controversial in history. The gala was held this Saturday at the Wienere Stadthalle in Vienna without the participation of Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Iceland in protest against Israel's participation in the contest. The edition has passed without incidents or protests, despite the fact that before it began, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered at the doors of the pavilion where the final was taking place under the slogan No stage for genocide to show their rejection of the contest. Finally, Bulgaria was proclaimed the winner of Eurovision with the song Bangaranga, performed by Dara, and Israel came in second place with the song Michelle, performed by Noam Bettan.
The Bulgarian candidate managed to win by consensus of the jury and home voting, accumulating 516 votes. Dara achieved victory —Bulgaria's first in the contest— with an electronic pop song with folk touches, performed on an austere stage with five chairs and four dancers. According to the regulations, the winner is decided by a 50% combined vote between national professional juries and home voting. In Bulgaria's case, the former awarded them 204 points, while home voting contributed 312.
Israel presented itself to the contest with Noam Bettam, a 27-year-old artist, son of French immigrants, who began his musical career after completing his military service. Bettam performed a song about a toxic romantic relationship, inspired by mizrahi pop, Israeli oriental pop. At the end of the performance, the singer shouted "Am Yisrael Chai" (The people of Israel live), a slogan of Jewish resistance. Some videos shared on social media showed the presence of a Palestinian flag during Bettan's performance, although the official broadcast of the festival did not show them.
Regarding the professional jury votes, Poland was the only country that awarded 12 points (the maximum score) to Israel. Ukraine and Moldova gave 10, Albania, Austria, and Lithuania gave 8, and Bulgaria, Denmark, and Armenia gave 7. In total, 21 out of 35 participating countries awarded some points to Israel. Luxembourg, Estonia, Australia, Portugal, Sweden, Cyprus, Montenegro, Greece, France, Italy, Finland, Latvia, and the United Kingdom, on the other hand, gave none. When the remote voting results were announced (shown without country origins), Israel momentarily placed first on the scoreboard, and the audience booed the delegation, while shouts and slogans like free, free Palestine were heard. The country ended up in second place in the rankings with 343 points, 123 from the professional juries and 220 from the televote.
Romania finished third with 296 points, followed by Australia with 287 points and Italy in fifth place. Finland, the favorite in the betting odds, finished below expectations by ending up in sixth place. Before the gala, artists Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen, with the song Liekinheitin, were the most popular entry in the betting houses.
Message of support for Gaza before the final
Spain has been absent from the grand final this year for the first time since its debut in 1961. Radio Televisión Española, which has not broadcast the contest, has offered a musical special presented by Jesús Vázquez. Before the start of the final, however, the network broadcast a message on its channels regarding Eurovision, which read as follows: "Eurovision is a contest, human rights are not. There is no room for indifference. Peace and justice for Gaza".
