Bulgaria Secures First Eurovision Win, Israel Takes Second
Bulgaria won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, with Israel securing second place despite a boycott from five countries over the Gaza conflict.
Bulgaria won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time on Saturday in a final overshadowed by five countries’ boycott over Gaza, claiming a dramatic victory despite another big public vote for Israel that secured it second place. The garish and usually good-natured competition involving pop acts from countries across Europe and beyond, now in its 70th year, has been plunged into crisis by a dispute over Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, a response to the Hamas-led attack on October 7,....