SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgaria's Black Sea city Burgas was chosen to host next year's Eurovision Song Contest, with the final of the world's biggest live televised music event to take place on May 15, 2027, the organisers announced on Thursday.
It will be the first time that the Balkan nation hosts the contest after Bulgarian singer Darina Yotova, known as Dara, won this year's contest in the Austrian capital Vienna with the catchy floor-filler "Bangaranga".
"The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Bulgarian National Television (BNT) are excited to reveal that Burgas has been selected to host the 71st Eurovision Song Contest in May 2027," they said in a press release.
The semi-finals will take place on May 11 and May 13, with the final on May 15, they added.
Burgas edged out capital Sofia to stage next year's contest following a "complex" evaluation, "covering all EBU requirements," BNT general director Milena Milotinova told a press conference.
Burgas is the second-largest city on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, with a population of around 190,000.
An important commercial port, it is also one of the main gateways to seaside resorts along the coast, including Sunny Beach, a prime tourist destination for its golden sands.
'An honor'
The contest will be held at Arena Burgas, a multifunctional venue with 5,500 seats that can host up to 15,000 people.
Burgas mayor Dimitar Nikolov said it was "an honor and a privilege" to be chosen.
"Thank you for the unique chance to present Burgas, the region, and the beauty of Bulgaria. We will give it our all to perform at a high level and be remembered as a successful host," he said.
It is hoped the contest will provide a boost for the tourism sector, which accounts for around 8 percent of GDP in one of the EU's poorest countries.
Since its launch in 1955, Eurovision has become the ultimate pop platform, catapulting Swedish icons ABBA to worldwide fame, as well as boosting the likes of Celine Dion, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John.
The 2026 competition was watched by 131 million viewers, down 35 million on the year before after five countries boycotted it over Israel's participation.
The Netherlands, Iceland, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia all pulled out of the contest — with the latter three refusing to broadcast the show at all.
Eurovision Song Contest organisers announced on Wednesday that they were excluding any country in an armed conflict from hosting the competition and increased the mininum age of competitors.
While they did not mention any country by name, Israel, which has been at war in Gaza since 2023, came close to winning the competition in both 2025 and 2026, ultimately finishing second on each occasion.
Bulgaria debuted in Eurovision in 2005 but had never won the contest before Dara's 2026 victory.
The EU country on the Black Sea had missed the last three editions of the glitzy extravaganza for financial reasons but took the crown in Vienna after overtaking Israel at the very end.
