Bulgaria’s DARA reaches Eurovision final with a fiery “Bangaranga”

Fire and frenzy — DARA brilliantly presented Bulgaria’s song at Eurovision 2026. With modern choreography and electrifying emotion, “Bangaranga” opened the second semifinal of the song contest. The audience sent her to the Grand Final in Vienna on May 16.

Darina Yotova — DARA took the stage in the Austrian capital as a bookmakers’ favorite. The talented Bulgarian performer received strong support from the country, as well as from Bulgarian communities abroad.

Many public figures posted messages wishing her success and calling for support. Shortly before the second semifinal, President Iliana Iotova also sent her best wishes. “At 10:00 PM, our immense support and energy will be with DARA on the Eurovision stage”, Bulgaria’s head of state wrote on Facebook. “We believe in your success, dear girl! You already hold first place in the hearts of all Bulgarians! You will conquer all of Europe as well. You also have the strong support of our compatriots abroad, who will vote for you”, President Iotova wrote.

The Grand Final of the prestigious music competition is on May 16, and the Bulgarian song’s qualification marks a brilliant return for Bulgaria to the European Broadcasting Union contest after a three-year absence.

“Bangaranga” is a pop song with folklore bones. The word itself comes from Jamaican slang and means uproar, commotion, a beautiful kind of disorder. It has that raw phonetic power that bypasses translation — you feel it before you understand it. We wanted to create a song that could land in Vienna, London, or anywhere else and hit you physically before it hit you intellectually”, DARA said for The Independent. She shared that the song was inspired by the Kukeri ritual, in which men dressed in unusual costumes, wearing bells, animal skins, and masks, roam villages at the beginning of the year making the loudest noise imaginable, reported BTA.

The song contest began on May 12, when the first finalists were selected — Greece, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Moldova, Israel, Serbia, Croatia, Lithuania, and Poland.

From the second semifinal on May 14, the winners were Bulgaria, Ukraine, Norway, Australia, Romania, Malta, Cyprus, Albania, Denmark and Czhechia.

Joining them in the battle for the trophy will be the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and France, as well as host country Austria — all of whom automatically qualify for the Grand Final on Saturday.

Europe has been swept away by “Bangaranga” and DARA, and if you too find yourself repeating the chorus of Bulgaria’s song, don’t forget to support her again on May 16.

If you are in a country participating in Eurovision, you can vote for DARA by watching the concert broadcast on your local public television channel and following the voting instructions. You can also support our young star’s energetic and modern performance online at ESC.VOTE.

Let there be “Bangaranga”!