by Ilay Gaist Comment Closed




A Bulgarian Supreme Court ruling extended the deadline for appointing a new head of BNT, reigniting hopes among fans for the country’s Eurovision return.

Will Bulgaria return to Eurovision, or not? New hope has emerged among many fans after the Bulgarian Supreme Court extended the deadline for appointing the head of the national broadcaster. This decision followed the failed attempt on July 15th, when members of the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) could not reach a majority agreement on a candidate for the position.




The Appointment Process

Eight candidates are running for this role, among them current broadcaster head Emil Kushlukov. In the voting process, council members must cast a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote for each candidate, with abstentions not allowed.

According to Bulgarian news outlet BTA, the deadline for submitting candidate applications was set for September 12th. Hearings with the candidates will take place on October 14th and 15th, with a final decision expected no later than October 16th.

The new head of the national broadcaster will have significant influence on the corporation’s strategy in the coming years, including the authority to decide whether to support Bulgaria’s return to Eurovision.

Will Bulgaria Return to Eurovision 2026?

Despite great public anticipation, Bulgaria’s return to the contest seems unlikely unless the new broadcaster head shows strong determination to pursue it. Bulgaria withdrew from Eurovision after 2022 due to financial difficulties, and so far, none of the candidates have expressed intentions to reinstate participation.

As previously reported, the Bulgarian national broadcaster (BNT) stated last year that it had no plans to return to Eurovision in the foreseeable future. This announcement came after speculation about the country’s possible return and seemingly optimistic messages shared on the broadcaster’s official accounts. In a post published on May 12th, 2024, it was written that Bulgarian audiences were eager for a comeback and that many Eurovision fans would be glad to see the country participate regularly again.




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. Most recently, Bulgaria skipped Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, marking its sixth absence, and the third consecutive year.

Eurovision 2022: This was Bulgaria’s 14th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Bulgaria joined the competition in 2005 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2017 when the singer Kristian Kostov finished in second place with the song “Beautiful Mess”.