BNT has revealed that a peak audience of over 500,000 viewers watched as Bulgaria selected its representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
A peak audience of 515,450 viewers watched the Artist Final of Natsionalnata Selektsiya 2026. Across the two hour show, an average audience of 446,000 viewers watched the contest, recording a viewing share of 23.6% of television viewers.
Overall, it was the most watched television show in Bulgaria during its time slot. The peak audience grew by over 110,000 viewers compared to the first selection show, with viewing share also increasing by 5.7 percentage points.
The results were as follows:
ArtistJury VotePublic VoteTotal PointsResultRoksana161178thMona176233rdPreyah183215thMihaela Marinova197262ndMolets174216thDARA228301stInnerglow162187thKerana & Kosmonavite185234th
DARA will now prepare three original songs for Eurovision. She will perform those three songs in the final night of Natsionalnata Selektsiya 2026 on February 28. A ten-member jury and public voting will decide which of the three songs will be the Bulgarian entry for Eurovision 2026.
Source: BNT
At the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, 17-year-old Kristian Kostov finished in second place in the Grand Final. Bulgaria has qualified for the Grand Final five times out of thirteen attempts at the contest. Bulgaria debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv, Ukraine in 2005. The country competed annually from 2005 to 2013, before withdrawing for two years due to financial issues. Since returning to the contest in 2016, Bulgaria qualified for the final in every contest they have competed in up until the 2022 contest.