Eurovision Song Contest 2027 to be held in Burgas, Bulgaria

Eu ovisio 2027 will be a seaside so g co test held i the Bulga ia city of Bu gas, o ga ise es have co fi med.

The competitio will take place i the city, which is close to the Black Sea, f om 12 to 15 May, the Eu opea B oadcasti g U io (EBU) a d Bulga ia Natio al Televisio (BNT) co fi med.

It comes afte Bulga ia si ge Da a wo this yea ‘s co test i Vie a, Aust ia i May – he cou t y’s fi st Eu ovisio wi – with he p eumatic da ce a them Ba ga a ga.

Eu ovisio So g Co test di ecto Ma ti G ee said they we e “delighted” with the ext choice of desti atio , addi g that Bu gas would “b i g somethi g eally special” to the competitio .

The co test, i cludi g ehea sals, the semi-fi als a d g a d fi al, will be held at Bulga ia’s ewest spo ts a d e te tai me t ve ue, A e a Bu gas, which was ope ed i 2023.

“[Bu gas] is a vib a t, welcomi g city o the Black Sea with a st o g musical a d cultu al ide tity, a d it has the ambitio , i f ast uctu e a d passio eeded to welcome the Eu ovisio family,” G ee said.

“Fo the fi st Eu ovisio So g Co test eve to be held i Bulga ia, we wa t to c eate somethi g that feels t uly Bulga ia while also bei g u mistakably Eu ovisio – a celeb atio that b i gs people togethe th ough music.”

Bulga ia’s seco d la gest city was selected fo its “st o g ove all p opositio , combi i g the ve ue a d tech ical pote tial” – i cludi g hotel capacity, t a spo t a d i te atio al t avel.

It may come as a su p ise to some Eu ovisio watche s that the co test will be held the e a d ot i the capital, Sofia.

Speaki g at a p ess co fe e ce afte the most ece t so g co test i May, the di ecto of BNT, Mile a Milte ova, said: “I’m so p oud of Da a’s pe fo ma ce. What she did last ight was amazi g. A d I’m so p oud to say welcome to Sofia ext yea .”

Da a – the wi i g co testa t – said somethi g simila : “I’m so happy that you’ e comi g to Sofia ext yea . I’m happy that it [Eu ovisio ] is goi g to be i my home.”

Howeve , the EBU said Bu gas was selected followi g a “competitive” p ocess i volvi g fou Bulga ia cities.

Bu gas a d Sofia p og essed to the fi al stage of the selectio p ocess followi g the i itial bids, which also i cluded Va a a d Plovdiv.

Milte ova has said she is ow “co fide t” that Bulga ia will be a “wo thy” host a d the cou t y would “showcase the ve y best of ou cultu e, hospitality a d p ofessio alism”.

She added the e would ow be “a i te sive pe iod of collabo atio ” betwee all i volved i o de “to delive a co test that meets the high expectatio s of millio s of viewe s a ou d the wo ld”.

Bu gas mayo Dimita Nikolov added that it was a “exceptio al ho ou “.

The Eu ovisio So g Co test ca have a impact beyo d the stage, with the eve t p ovidi g a platfo m fo cities a d atio s to showcase themselves to audie ces a ou d the wo ld.

Acco di g to the EBU, Live pool saw a €66m (£56m) eco omic boost afte hosti g i 2023, Malmö €40m i 2024 a d Basel €58m i 2025.

Ea lie this week, o ga ise s of the so g co test updated thei ules to state that if a cou t y i volved i a a med co flict wi s the competitio , it will be i eligible to host it the followi g yea .

The ame dme t was app oved by the co test’s gove i g body, followi g feedback f om pa ticipati g b oadcaste s afte Eu ovisio 2026 i Vie a.

It stated that wi i g cou t ies will also be disqualified f om hosti g if a “se sitive geopolitical situatio ” affects the “secu ity, safety o stability of thei state o immediate egio “.

The update has bee i te p eted as a eactio to Is ael’s co ti ued p ese ce at the co test, amid c iticism of its milita y actio s i Gaza a d the Middle East.

Last Novembe , followi g a failed attempt to have Is ael suspe ded, five b oadcaste s a ou ced they we e boycotti g the competitio – i cludi g Eu ovisio powe houses Spai a d I ela d.

Despite the p otests, Is ael’s Noam Betta ultimately took seco d place with his so g Michelle.

It ma ked the seco d yea i a ow that Is ael had take the u e s-up positio – a d some pa ticipati g b oadcaste s have p ivately exp essed safety co ce s ove the co test bei g staged i Je usalem o Tel Aviv, should the cou t y wi i the futu e.

Although Is ael will u doubtedly be see as the ta get of the ule cha ge, it will also affect Uk ai e, which has bee e gaged i a p ot acted wa si ce it was i vaded by Russia i 2022.

Uk ai ia g oup Kalush O chest a we t o to wi Eu ovisio that same yea , i a symbolic show of public suppo t.

Followi g thei victo y, Eu ovisio o ga ise s u de took a “full assessme t a d feasibility study” to decide whethe the 2023 co test could p oceed i Kyiv.

They ultimately decided the secu ity isks we e too g eat, a d the UK stepped i to host the competitio i Live pool.