Eurovision 2027 in Burgas will rely on the inimitable Bulgarian spirit

With euphoria and a flash mob to the sounds of "Bangaranga", Burgas celebrates its choice to host Eurovision 2027. Mayors from the region announced their support for the regional center in the preparation of the musical event, which, according to them, can become the strongest international tourist advertisement on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast.

"We have a reason to celebrate! The city is in a wave of joy. Currently, Burgas is in a great cultural renaissance and the fact that we will host Eurovision means that we are at the world level," a citizen told reporter of the Bulgarian National Radio – Burgas, Nina Rangelova.

Eurovision Director Martin Green said the organisers were delighted with the choice of Burgas as the next host: "Burgas is a vibrant, welcoming city on the Black Sea with a strong musical and cultural identity, and it has the ambition, infrastructure and passion needed to welcome the Eurovision family. For the first Eurovision Song Contest ever to be held in Bulgaria, we want to create something that feels truly Bulgarian while also being unmistakably Eurovision – a celebration that brings people together through music," Green was quoted by BBC.

The President of Bulgaria, Iliana Iotova, congratulated the people of Burgas on the upcoming hosting and highlighted the city's long-standing musical traditions. "It is the birthplace of some of the best Bulgarian artists and the host of emblematic competitions such as Burgas and the Sea, and now also of Eurovision. Miracles come with love for the Bulgarian sea and the native coast!" she wrote on her Facebook profile and wished the city's residents to be proud and to realize in the best way the opportunity to host Eurovision.

Hosting Eurovision 2027 as a test of Bulgaria’s new image

The two semi-finals on May 11 and 13, 2027, and the grand final on May 15 of the 71st edition of the song contest will be held in one of the newest and most modern sports facilities in Bulgaria, "Arena Burgas", which was opened in 2023.

Speaking to BTA, Burgas Mayor Dimitar Nikolov said that he and his team would make every effort to ensure a high level of performance and that the center of our Southern Black Sea coast will remain a successful host in the long history of this music event.

„ I am sure that many years of experience in the tourism industry will help us a lot to cope extremely successfully," Nikolov pointed out. The beginning of May is also the beginning of the summer tourist season in Bulgaria and full support and assistance has already been agreed with the majority of hotels on the Black Sea Coast, Nikolov pointed out, emphasizing the city's transport connectivity: "The national air carrier will provide additional flights from Sofia to Burgas Airport."

The beautiful Sea Garden is the green heart of Burgas and it is there, on the very shore of the sea, that the so-called turquoise carpet will be laid, along which the official delegations and participants in the contest will pass. "In the center of the city there will also be the so-called Eurotown. We have additional locations depending on the weather conditions during the Eurovision Song Contest," the mayor said. With a special post on Facebook, he thanked the mayors of the "competitor" cities in the race for the hosting rights: "We will still plan events in all cities! We are all Bulgaria and we will show this to the world!" Dimitar Nikolov also wrote.

It is precisely the unification and national belonging that are at the heart of one of the greatest international successes for Bulgarian music in recent years – the victory of DARA, thanks to which Eurovision 2027 is coming to Bulgaria. And this success would not have been possible without the enormous support of all Bulgarians around the world, who gave their votes for the song "Bangaranga" in the second semi-final on May 14 this year and in the final two days later. General Director of BNT Milena Milotinova addressed them in a special interview for Radio Bulgaria:

"We have truly great gratitude because we called on them, we said how important it is for us that they, at the designated moments for voting, invite their neighbors, friends, relatives who live abroad and cast their votes for Bulgaria. And in fact, this support of theirs helped us get this far," said Milotinova and extended a hand for a subsequent partnership of the public television with the organizations of compatriots abroad. And to all foreigners who will visit Bulgaria in the spring of 2027, provoked and inspired by Eurovision, Milena Milotinova said: "Welcome to our country."

"Those who have not been to Bulgaria are about to see it and will most likely fall in love with it, because our country is very beautiful. Wonderful people live here. Our country has given birth to many talents. I think they can fall in love with Bulgarian cuisine, with Bulgarian hospitality, with the way we live, with the experiences that our country can bring them. We have the sea, we have mountains, we have cultural values, we have historical landmarks. We are the third richest country in Europe in terms of historical and cultural monuments. We are the country that has not changed its name for 14 centuries. We have a history which can impress everyone. What more could a foreigner want when they find themselves in a new place. In Bulgaria they can find all this!“

For everything more important about the program and organization of Eurovision in Burgas, two specialized websites are also being launched - eurovision2027.bg and gotoburgas.com. The upcoming edition of Eurovision will also have some new rules. One of them is that the winner "will automatically not be able to host" the next song contest if the country is involved in "an armed conflict" or is in a "sensitive geopolitical situation". From next year, all performers must be 18 years old on the day of their first rehearsal for the contest, while until now the minimum age was 16. The changes were made during the last annual meeting of the European Broadcasting Union based on feedback from the participating television stations in Eurovision and aim to provide greater clarity for performers and production teams, protect artists and guarantee the safety of the audience.