The Bulgarian National Broadcaster BNT announced today that despite the desire to compete again, Bulgaria will not return to Eurovision in the foreseeable future.

The Bulgarian National Television BNT has declared today that it does not intend to return to Eurovision in the near future. This announcement follows a wave of speculation regarding Bulgaria’s possible return to the competition. Bulgaria withdrew from the Eurovision contest after Eurovision 2022 due to financial difficulties and has shown no signs of a future comeback. In that year, Intelligent Music Project represented the country but did not qualify for the grand final.

According to BNT’s official Twitter account, a delegation from Bulgaria attended the last Eurovision held in Malmö, Sweden, which included artists and producers assessing the ground for Bulgaria’s return to the contest. A post published on May 12th stated that the audience in Bulgaria is ready for a return and that many Eurovision fans would be delighted to see Bulgaria participating regularly in the competition.

However, despite this goodwill, it appears that Bulgaria will be absent for at least a few years before a possible return can be seen. Just last week, when the list of participating countries for Eurovision 2025 was published, many noted that Bulgaria was not included. Today’s announcement confirms that, as of now, there is no indication of Bulgaria returning this year or in the near future.

Bulgaria’s Participation History

Bulgaria joined the Eurovision contest in 2005 and has participated 14 times since then. In its first appearance, Bulgaria faced disappointment when Kaffe, with their song “Lorraine“, finished 19th in the semi-final and did not advance to the grand final. Bulgaria’s first entry into the Eurovision final occurred at Eurovision 2007 held in Helsinki, Finland, when Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankoulov advanced with their song “Water“, finishing in fifth place. The duo returned to Malmö, Sweden, at Eurovision 2013 with their song “Samo Shampioni“, but this time they did not qualify for the final, finishing 12th in the second semi-final. Between 2008 and 2013, Bulgaria did not qualify for any finals.

Bulgaria has recorded no fewer than five absences over 20 editions since 2005, including its sixth absence this year. Bulgaria first withdrew from Eurovision 2014 held in Copenhagen, Denmark, due to financial circumstances, and this absence continued into Eurovision 2015 held in Vienna, Austria.

In 2016, Bulgaria made a strong comeback when Poli Genova represented the country for a second time with her song “If Love Was A Crime” in Stockholm, Sweden. Poli Genova broke Bulgaria’s record from 2007 by finishing fourth. This followed her failure to qualify for the Eurovision final in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 2011 with her song “Na Inat“, where she finished 12th in the second semi-final. The year after her fourth-place finish in Sweden, Kristian Kostov was sent to represent Bulgaria with his song “Beautiful Mess“, breaking Bulgaria’s record once again by finishing second.

Bulgaria’s third absence was noted ahead of Eurovision 2019 held in Tel Aviv, Israel, again due to financial circumstances.

Bulgaria returned after one year of absence but became a favorite to win Eurovision 2020 with representative Victoria Georgieva and her song “Tears Getting Sober“. However, the competition was canceled that year due to COVID-19. Victoria was sent to Rotterdam, Netherlands, a year later with her song “Growing Up Is Getting Old“, finishing in 11th place.

Bulgaria at Eurovision 2022

For Eurovision 2022, Bulgaria sent Intelligent Music Project with their song “Intention,” which interrupted Bulgaria’s streak of successes as they failed to qualify for the final for the first time since Eurovision 2013. The band finished sixteenth out of seventeen countries in the first semi-final held in Turin, Italy, receiving a total of 29 points, split to 11 points from juries and an additional 18 points from public voting. Following this participation, drummer Stoyan Yankoulov became the first artist to represent Bulgaria three times at Eurovision after participating in both Eurovision 2007 and Eurovision 2013.

Following this participation, Bulgaria was absent for the fourth time due to financial circumstances, as the Bulgarian National Broadcaster BNT could not fund Bulgaria’s participation in Eurovision 2023 held in Liverpool, England. This absence extended into another year, and Bulgaria also did not participate in Eurovision 2024 held in Malmö, Sweden, marking its fifth absence. Now we know that Bulgaria will also be absent from Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, making this the sixth absence and the third consecutive year.

Source: escportugal.