The voices
Bulgaria's most exported sound is a choir. The Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir won a Grammy in 1990 for “Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares”, and that open-throat, close-harmony tone is what the rest of the world recognises first.
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Twenty-one years to the top
ESC Bulgaria
Bulgaria sent its first song to Europe in 2005. In 2027, Europe comes to Bulgaria.
- 2005
- Debut
- 15
- Contests entered
- 6
- Grand finals reached
Photo: Dennis G. Jarvis / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0i
For a decade Bulgaria was the country that kept missing the final. Then it placed fourth, then second, then won — and the contest moved to the Black Sea coast.
The record
Bulgaria by the numbers
Counted from the published results of every contest Bulgaria entered.
Debut
2005
Kaffe, “Lorraine”
Contests entered
15
2005–2013, 2016–2018, 2021, 2022, 2026
Grand finals reached
6
Best result
1st
Dara, 2026
Highest score
615
Kristian Kostov, 2017
Hosting
First time
Burgas, 11–15 May 2027
Year by year
Every entry
Including the years Bulgaria stayed home. The record reads better with them in it.
2005
Kaffe — “Lorraine”
The debut. Bulgaria arrived in the year the semi-final field was at its largest.
Semi-final — did not qualify
2006
Mariana Popova — “Let Me Cry”
A second ballad, a second early exit.
Semi-final — did not qualify
2007
Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankoulov — “Water”
Drums, a folk voice and no compromise. Bulgaria's first final, and its best result for a decade.
5th in the final
2008
Deep Zone & Balthazar — “DJ, Take Me Away”
Club Bulgaria, a year too early for the contest's taste.
Semi-final — did not qualify
2009
Krassimir Avramov — “Illusion”
A tenor, a circus staging, and no final.
Semi-final — did not qualify
2010
Miro — “Angel si ti”
Sung in Bulgarian, and still short of the ten qualifying places.
Semi-final — did not qualify
2011
Poli Genova — “Na inat”
Her first attempt. She would come back.
Semi-final — did not qualify
2012
Sofi Marinova — “Love Unlimited”
The cruellest of them: level on points for the last qualifying place, out on the tie-break.
Semi-final — did not qualify
2013
Elitsa & Stoyan — “Samo shampioni”
The 2007 duo returned, and the same idea did not carry twice.
Semi-final — did not qualify
2014
No entry
BNT stepped back after nine years without a qualification since 2007.
Did not take part
2015
No entry
A second year away, and a reset of how Bulgaria picked its songs.
Did not take part
2016
Poli Genova — “If Love Was a Crime”
The comeback. Bulgarian in the hook, a stadium chorus around it, and the best result so far.
4th in the final
2017
Kristian Kostov — “Beautiful Mess”
Seventeen years old, almost no staging, and the highest score Bulgaria has ever scored.
2nd in the final — 615 points
2018
Equinox — “Bones”
A group assembled for the contest, and a third final in a row.
14th in the final
2019
No entry
Bulgaria withdrew on cost, at the top of its form.
Did not take part
2020
No entry
The 2020 contest was cancelled, so no country's song was performed.
Contest cancelled
2021
VICTORIA — “Growing Up Is Getting Old”
Quiet, sparse and Nordic-sounding — proof that Bulgaria could win a final place without a big chorus.
11th in the final
2022
Intelligent Music Project — “Intention”
Classic rock in a pop year, and the last entry before a long silence.
Semi-final — did not qualify
2023
No entry
BNT cited the cost of participation.
Did not take part
2024
No entry
A second year out.
Did not take part
2025
No entry
A third. By now Bulgaria was one of the contest's missing countries.
Did not take part
2026
Dara — “Bangaranga”
The return and the win in the same year. Bulgaria's first victory, and the reason the contest comes to Burgas.
1st — winner
Three songs
The nights that changed it
Before the win, three performances moved Bulgaria from outsider to contender.
2007 · 5th in the final
“Water”
Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankoulov
The first Bulgarian song to reach a Eurovision final did it with a folk voice and two sets of drums rather than a pop template. Fifth place told Europe that this country sounded like nowhere else on the scoreboard.
2016 · 4th in the final
“If Love Was a Crime”
Poli Genova
Five years after failing to qualify, Poli Genova came back with a chorus that switched into Bulgarian and a crowd that sang it back. Fourth place was the country's best result at the time.
2017 · 2nd — 615 points
“Beautiful Mess”
Kristian Kostov
A seventeen-year-old, a bare stage and a voice that needed no help. 615 points remains the highest score Bulgaria has ever taken from a Eurovision final.
The sound
Why Bulgaria sounds the way it does
Four things that turn up, in some form, in almost every Bulgarian entry.
The rhythms
Bulgarian folk counts in sevens, nines and elevens where pop counts in fours. Those irregular metres are why a Bulgarian hook can feel like it lands a beat early — and why entries like “Water” and “Bones” never quite sit where you expect them to.
The fusion
Bulgaria's best contest results were not folk songs and not pure pop. Elitsa & Stoyan, Equinox and VICTORIA each put a traditional thread into a modern arrangement, which is the closest thing the country has to a Eurovision formula.
The song on the Voyager record
Valya Balkanska's “Izlel e Delyo Haydutin” is on the Voyager Golden Record, carried out of the solar system as a sample of human music. It is the most travelled Bulgarian folk song there is.
2027
How the contest reached Burgas
The win
Dara won the 2026 contest with “Bangaranga” — Bulgaria's first victory, twenty-one years after its debut. Under the contest's rules the winning country's broadcaster takes on the next edition.
The host city
On 13 August 2026 BNT and the EBU named Burgas as host city, with all three shows at Arena Burgas: the semi-finals on 11 and 13 May 2027 and the Grand Final on 15 May, each at 21:00 CEST.
What is not announced yet
Tickets, seating and prices, the presenters, the theme artwork, the Eurovision Village and EuroClub sites, and the list of participating countries are all still to come.
Answers
Questions about Bulgaria at Eurovision
- When did Bulgaria first take part in Eurovision?
- In 2005, with Kaffe and “Lorraine”. The song did not qualify from the semi-final.
- What is Bulgaria's best Eurovision result?
- First place: Dara won the 2026 contest with “Bangaranga”. Before that, the best result was Kristian Kostov's second place with “Beautiful Mess” in 2017, on 615 points.
- Why is Bulgaria hosting Eurovision 2027?
- Because it won in 2026. The winning country's broadcaster stages the following contest, and BNT chose Burgas as the host city.
- How many times has Bulgaria reached the Grand Final?
- Six times: 2007, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2026. In its other appearances it went out in the semi-final.
- Which years did Bulgaria not take part?
- 2014, 2015, 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025 — and no country performed in 2020, when the contest was cancelled.
Sourcing
Where these facts come from
- eurovision.tv — Bulgaria(third-party site)
Bulgaria's entries, artists, songs and placings in every contest. Checked August 2026.
- Eurovisionworld — Bulgaria(third-party site)
Scores, jury and televote splits, and semi-final results by year. Checked August 2026.
- BNT — Bulgarian National Television(third-party site)
The host broadcaster's own announcements on entries and hosting. Checked August 2026.