After three years of absence and false rumors of withdrawal, Bulgaria will return to Eurovision — confirming its participation in the 2026 contest set to take place in Vienna.
Bulgaria is officially returning to Eurovision 2026! The Bulgarian national broadcaster BNT has confirmed the country’s participation in the upcoming contest, marking a surprising comeback after a three-year absence due to financial difficulties and waning local interest.
Bulgaria becomes the 31st country to express interest in joining Eurovision 2026, following Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the host country, Austria.
It remains unclear how Bulgaria will select its representative and song for Eurovision 2026. The country is not known for holding national selection shows and usually opts for an internal selection process. In fact, Bulgaria has not organized a national pre-selection since 2011.
Bulgaria’s Eurovision Journey
Bulgaria joined the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005 and has competed 14 times since. Its debut entry, performed by the band Kaffe with the song “Lorraine”, finished 19th in the semifinal and did not qualify for the final.
The country achieved its first-ever qualification for the final in Eurovision 2007 in Helsinki, Finland, when Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankoulov reached 5th place with their energetic entry “Water”. The duo later returned to the contest in Malmö, Sweden, in Eurovision 2013 with “Samo Shampioni”, finishing 12th in the second semifinal and failing to qualify. Between 2008 and 2013, Bulgaria did not reach any finals.
Since joining Eurovision, Bulgaria has missed six editions of the contest. The country first withdrew in 2014 (Copenhagen, Denmark) due to financial reasons, and its absence continued in 2015 (Vienna, Austria).
In 2016, Bulgaria made a powerful comeback when Poli Genova, representing the nation for the second time, performed “If Love Was A Crime” in Stockholm, Sweden. She broke Bulgaria’s previous record, finishing in 4th place. This success came after failing to qualify for the Eurovision 2011 final in Düsseldorf, Germany, with her song “Na Inat”, which placed 12th in its semifinal.
A year later, Kristian Kostov represented Bulgaria with “Beautiful Mess”, achieving the country’s best-ever result by finishing second, setting a new national record.
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.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Bulgaria’s 15th 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”.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +972-50-9441919
Ofek Jerassi is an Israeli reporter, editor, content creator, and commentator, specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest. He has developed his extensive expertise since childhood, becoming a close follower of the contest. For the past three years, he has served as a writer and editor for EuroMix—Israel’s largest Eurovision website and one of the world’s leading platforms in the field, with over 1.5 million users annually.
Ofek covered Eurovision 2025 on-site in Basel from the press center in the host city, providing EuroMix readers with firsthand experiences, professional analysis, and exclusive reactions from the audience, artists, and experts. His in-depth knowledge and broad familiarity with the Eurovision world are evident in every article, ensuring reliable, professional, and up-to-date content.
In his personal life, Ofek is a medic and avid traveler. He writes out of a genuine love for Eurovision, placing strong emphasis on credibility, professional commentary, and presenting a diverse range of opinions.
