Bulgaria withdraws from Eurovision 2019
The Bulgarian broadcaster has confirmed that Bulgaria will not participate at Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv
Bulgaria will not be represented at Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv. The Bulgarian broadcaster, BNT, has decided to withdraw from Eurovision Song Contest due to financial reasons because the costs of the project far exceed the financial capacity of BNT.
Cost of Eurovision: € 5.3 million
The cost of preparing the Bulgarian entry, creating and producing a song, stage performance, producing a TV clip, and participation in the Eurovision event far outweighs the reasonable costs that the Bulgarian broadcaster, BNT, can afford.
In the addition to the direct costs of preparing the Bulgarian representative, the participating countries also share part of the cost of the Eurovision event. The amount of cost to share between the participants amounts to 5.3 million Euro this year.
Petition against BNT's decision
The Bulgarian Eurovision Fan Club OGAE Bulgaria is truly shocked and confused by the broadcaster's decision to withdraw from Eurovision 2019. The last few years changed Bulgarians' opinions and feelings towards Eurovision, and in an highly positive direction.
OGAE Bulgaria has initiated a petition against BNT's decision, and address all Eurovision fans to sign the petition.
The Bulgarian National Television has officially announced that it withdraws from Eurovision 2019. We, the team behind Eurovision-Bulgaria.com, do not agree with this decision and we address all Eurovision fans to sign our petition.
Withdrawing means not letting a whole country show its culture, talent and uniqueness in front of 200 million people. Also, at such late stage it ruins the image of Bulgaria and the one of the Bulgarian National Television as a whole.
Currently the annual poll "Who Would You Like to Represent Bulgaria at Eurovison" at our website’s platforms once again attracts the attention of both fans and artists. Some hesitation and dissent should not be stopping Bulgaria’s musical progress.
Our representatives have always trusted the Bulgarian National Television – therefore the broadcaster must respect them, the fans and the partners it has relied on.
"This is not the last you see from our team"
Shortly after the announcement, the Head of Press for BNT's Eurovision team, Vasil Ivanov assured that Bulgaria will be back in the Eurovision family:
– Bulgaria will not take part in Eurovision 2019, but our journey continues! As Head of Press of BNT Eurovision, I promise to keep the ESC spirit alive in my country. This is not the last you see from our team. We will return better and stronger!
I promise to keep the ESC spirit alive in my country. This is not the last you see from our teamVasil Ivanov, Head of Press, BNT Eurovision
Vasil Ivanov also share his thoughts about Bulgaria's last three years in Eurovision:
– Our team achieved a lot and turned Bulgaria in to one of the most successful Eurovision countries the past 3 years. We changed the perception of the contest in Bulgaria and tripled our ratings. A huge thank you to our young press and communications team, who gave their all!
Third time that Bulgaria withdraws
This is the third time that Bulgaria withdraws from Eurovision. At Eurovision 2014 in Copenhagen, Bulgaria opted out of the contest also due to financial reasons. Also at Eurovision 2015 in Vienna, the country applied to participate but later withdrew because of lacked funds.
Bulgaria returned in 2016 with great success when Poli Genova brought a 4th place home from Stockholm with the song "If Love Was a Crime". The next year Bulgaria celebrated a 2nd place with Kristian Kostov's "Beautiful Mess".
Bulgaria in Eurovision Song Contest
Bulgaria has been participating in Eurovision Song Contest 12 times, but with mixed success. They have a 2nd, 4th, 5th and 14th place on their Eurovision account, and the other 8 years they didn't qualify for the Grand Final.
The best result was last year's 2nd place (Kristian Kostov - Beautiful Mess), and this was also one of the four times they qualified for the Grand Final out of 12.
