BNT Director General Milena Milotinova describes hosting Eurovision 2027 as a historic national mission for Bulgaria to showcase its cultural identity
In an interview on the morning show “The Day Begins” on the Bulgarian national broadcaster BNT, the Director General of the national broadcaster, Milena Milotinova, characterized hosting the Eurovision Song Contest 2027 not just as a major television production, but as a national project. According to her, the event presents a golden opportunity to showcase Bulgaria and its culture to an international audience, while driving tourism and boosting the local economy.
Milotinova described hosting duties as a unique chance to present Bulgaria’s potential to the world, emphasizing that the competition is broadcast in dozens of nations and serves as a premier promotional platform. “The goal and aspiration of BNT is not just to hold an event in one city, but to organize a national event, because hosting Eurovision is a national cause. It will present Bulgaria to the world in the best possible way,” she expressed.
The Eyes of the World on Bulgaria
Highlighting the global reach of the event, Milotinova pointed to the impressive viewing figures recorded in recent years. She noted that the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest reached a television audience share of more than 40%, rising to nearly 55% among viewers aged 15 to 24. She also shared the immense digital impact of the competition on social media, with the official TikTok account surpassing 4 million followers and Instagram content exceeding 1 billion views.
Furthermore, she highlighted that the competition will bring major benefits to Bulgaria, with an equally substantial economic impact. “The added value is enormous. The contest involves a huge gathering of people. The importance for the economy is great, for tourism, the hotel sector and logistics. Bulgaria will focus the attention of the whole world on itself. This is one of the biggest events next year,” Milotinova stated.
Sofia or Burgas?
The Director General also addressed the competitive race to host the contest, following the announcement that Sofia and Burgas are the final two candidate cities in the running. She offered words of appreciation for Varna and Plovdiv, which did not make the cut. “Congratulations to Plovdiv and Varna, which are not continuing, but presented very good proposals. Their motivation made us think about how to include them in additional events surrounding Eurovision,” she said.
Milotinova went on to emphasize the highly complex preparation process required of the eventual host city. According to her, selecting the city is only the beginning of a demanding ten-month journey of continuous effort that extends far beyond the actual weeks of the live shows. “The cities must be prepared. This is not about working from time to time or only during the semifinals and the final. It is not just about the last two months, when many events are concentrated, but about the entire period from the announcement of the winning city until the final itself,” she explained. BNT expects complete cooperation from the selected municipality throughout the entire process. The official host city for the Eurovision Song Contest 2027 is expected to be revealed by the end of July.
Eurovision 2027 will take place for the first time in its history in Bulgaria, following the country’s victory in Eurovision 2026 with the song “Bangaranga” performed by the singer Dara.
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Maor Heumann has been writing about the Eurovision Song Contest and following it for over three decades. He has attended five contests and has found something to appreciate in almost every possible musical genre — from the sugary pop entries that finish last in the semi-finals to the quirky avant-garde pieces that even the competition’s juries struggled to connect with. He usually prefers original languages and songs with depth over Swedish-produced English clones — though he doesn’t promise to stick to that rule.
He grew up on the kibbutz of Sara’le Sharon, who instilled in him a love for music and created his first connection to the contest back in 1993 — before most of the current editorial team was even born.
