Burgas, a Black Sea city in Bulgaria, has been chosen to host next year’s Eurovision Song Contest.<\/p>\n
The final of the world’s biggest live televised music event will take place on May 15, 2027, the organisers announced on Thursday, local time.<\/p>\n
Key takeaways from Eurovision 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Slept through Eurovision this year? Here’s what you missed from Europe’s favourite song contest, in Vienna.<\/p>\n It will be the first time that the Balkan nation hosts the contest after Bulgarian singer Darina Yotova, known as Dara, won this year’s contest <\/a>in the Austrian capital Vienna with the catchy floor-filler Bangaranga.<\/p>\n “The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Bulgarian National Television (BNT) are excited to reveal that Burgas has been selected to host the 71st Eurovision Song Contest in May 2027,” they said in a press release.<\/p>\n The semi-finals will take place on May 11 and May 13.<\/p>\n Burgas edged out capital Sofia to stage next year’s contest after a “complex” evaluation “covering all EBU requirements”, BNT general director Milena Milotinova told a press conference.<\/p>\n Burgas is the second-largest city on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, with a population of about 190,000.<\/p>\n An important commercial port, it is also one of the main gateways to seaside resorts along the coast, including Sunny Beach, a prime tourist destination for its golden sands.<\/p>\n ‘An honour’<\/p>\n The contest will be held at Arena Burgas, a multifunctional venue with 5,500 seats that can host up to 15,000 people.<\/p>\n Burgas mayor Dimitar Nikolov said it was “an honour and a privilege” to be chosen.<\/p>\n “Thank you for the unique chance to present Burgas, the region, and the beauty of Bulgaria. We will give it our all to perform at a high level and be remembered as a successful host,” he said.<\/p>\n It is hoped the contest will provide a boost for the tourism sector, which accounts for about 8 per cent of GDP in one of the EU’s poorest countries.<\/p>\n Eurovision has become the ultimate pop platform since its launch in 1955, catapulting Swedish icons ABBA to worldwide fame as well as boosting the likes of Celine Dion, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John.<\/p>\n