The Albany Gazette - Bulgaria's Eurovision winner flies home to rapturous welcome

Leading figures from the fields of sport, music and politics in Bulgaria fired off messages of congratulations -- some of whom had even helped rally support for her before Saturday's voting.

Dara triumphed in Vienna with catchy floor-filler "Bangaranga", which swept the 70th edition of the world's biggest live televised music event.

Greeting the crowd turned out to meet her at the airport, she said: "As I see there are a lot of children here, this victory counts enormously for me, as it allows me to show them that anything is possible."

Then she delighed them with a fresh rendition of her winning song.

"I'm proud of Dara's success!" said 72-year-old Boyko Karakolev, carrying a large Bulgarian flag fixed to the end of a fishing rod.

"It's going to give some visibility to the country."

Businessman Vesselin Despodov said he and his friends had celebrated Dara's win late into the night.

"From now on, we won't just be known for Stoichkov and yoghurt -- but also for 'Bangaranga'," he quipped, referring to two of Bulgaria's most famous exports.

- Support from stars -

Bulgarian football legend Hristo Stoichkov, a former star at Barcelona, had been among those who got behind Dara's Eurovision campaign, calling on Bulgarians abroad to back her in the public vote.

Veteran Bulgarian pop star Lili Ivanova, 60, who won the Soviet bloc equivalent of the contest, Intervision, posted a message of congratulations on Facebook.

"A historic success for Bulgaria!" she declared.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev hailed "a young artist who, thanks to her talent and professionalism, has managed to rise above all the complexities and prejudices surrounding the voting process.

"Bulgaria is looking forward to welcoming Europe and the world for Eurovision 2027!" he added on social media.

And booking agencies were already reporting a rush for reservations for next May, when Sofia will host Eurovision 2027.

Bulgaria had missed the last three editions of the glitzy extravaganza but took the crown in Vienna for the first time ever, overtaking Israel at the very end as the points came in, with Romania finishing third.

Dara -- real name Darina Yotova -- was not among the favourites going into Eurovision week but the 27-year-old gained momentum with a strong performance in the semi-finals.

"I really like breaking rules," Dara told reporters in Vienna before flying home. "I'm really good with following my rules -- not anybody else's.

"We wanted to give to the audience something new and fresh, something that is not expected."

Eurovision highlighted that "the song ended up winning both sets of scores, which is the first time the juries and the public have chosen the same winner in almost 10 years, since Kyiv 2017".

- Israel second, again -

This was the second year in a row that Israel had finished as runner-up.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called singer Noam Bettan to congratulate him, saying "everyone is really really proud of you", the leader's office said.

Fan Shlomit Shabat, 35, told AFP in Tel Aviv that it was "good and noble" that Israel had finished second "despite all the antisemitism against us".

Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia staged the biggest political boycott in Eurovision history over Israel's participation, citing the war in Gaza.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched past on Saturday chanting "boycott Eurovision" and carrying banners reading "Don't celebrate genocide".

Spanish public broadcaster RTVE -- traditionally one of Eurovision's major backers -- not only boycotted but refused to screen the show.

And it looked as though Bettan was going to win the contest for Israel with his song "Michelle" following a big score in the televoting from the public around Europe.

But as Bulgaria's televote points were revealed, Dara ultimately won by a comfortable margin.

Bulgaria finished with 516 points, ahead of Israel on 343, Romania on 296, Australia on 287, Italy with 281 and Finland on 279.

"It's the moment that you choose to lead through love and not fear, and this is a special energy that I know everybody has got in themselves."

Some 166 million viewers watched the contest on television last year when it was hosted in Basel.

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(K.Lee--TAG)