Bulgaria: Dara to sing "Bangaranga" at Eurovision 2026
Dara won the national artist selection held to determine Bulgaria's Eurovision 2026 representative a couple of weeks back. Tonight she presented three possible songs to take with her, and we know now she will take Bangaranga with her to Vienna this May
Bulgarian Broadcaster BNT held an artist selection show last month to determine who their Eurovision 2026 representative would be. Eight artists made it to last stage, with Dara receiving the votes to wave Bulgaria's flag this May.
Tonight, Dara presented three original songs written for the intent of Eurovision, with the song that accumulated the most votes being the song she will sing on the Eurovision stage.
After all the songs were performed and the votes came in, it was official: Dara is representing Bulgaria with Bangaranga.
Natsionalna Selektsiya 2026 – Song Selection
We saw a few interval acts tonight, but most notably Luxembourg's 2026 representative Eva Marija performing her entry 'Mother Nature' and Senhit performing her 2021 entry 'Adrenalina'.
Dara will perform Bangaranga during Semi Final 2 on 14 May, and looks to bring Bulgaria to the final after a three year absence from the contest.
Dara
Dara is a Bulgarian pop artist with an international outlook and an established presence on the contemporary Bulgarian and Balkan music scene. With millions of streams, multiple number-one singles, ongoing international collaborations, and an active live profile, she is part of the current generation shaping modern Bulgarian pop music.
She has worked with producers and songwriters such as Chris Young, known for his work with Rod Stewart and Kylie Minogue, Jungleboi, who has collaborated with artists including ZAYN and Rihanna, as well as Yoad Nevo and Monoir.
Among her recent releases are the songs “Da Ne Mozhem,” “Nito Zvuk,” “Nishto Poveche,” “Samo Moy,” and “Kradec na Mechti,” alongside the collaborative tracks “Barbie & Ken” and “Zmiya.”
Since 2021, Dara has served as a mentor on the talent show The Voice of Bulgaria, where she works with emerging artists. In 2025, she released her most personal project to date, the album ADHDARA, which combines elements of confidence, vulnerability, and experimentation. The project marks a shift from a nationally established pop career towards a more internationally oriented artistic direction with an expanding global presence.
Natsionalna Selektsiya 2026
Natsionalna Selektsiya za Evroviziya 2026 first selected the artist (shows 1 & 2) and then the song (show 3).
Voting in all shows consisted of a five-member jury (1–5 points to each artist) combined with online voting (15, 14, 13, …, 1 points).
All three shows were held at BNT Studio 1 in Sofia and hosted by Georgi Lyubenov, Boryana Gramatikova, and Vladimira Ilieva (backstage).
ARTIST: Dara
In the first show, 15 artists performed songs from their back catalogs. Eight artists qualified for show 2, where the finalists will perform additional songs from their back catalogs. The artist who will represent Bulgaria at Eurovision 2026 (Dara) was selected during this show.
SONG: "Bangaranga"
In the third show, Dara performed three new songs written specifically for Eurovision. The winning song will be Bulgaria’s official entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest
Bulgaria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 14 times, but with mixed success. They have a 2nd, 4th, 5th, 11th and 14th place in their Eurovision account, and the other 9 years they didn't qualify for the Grand Final.
The best result was 2017's 2nd place finish (Kristian Kostov - Beautiful Mess), and this was also one of the five times they have qualified for the Grand Final out of 14.
