The Bulgarian broadcaster BNT has announced that over 400,000 viewers watched the first show of Natsionalnata Selektsiya 2026.
BNT has announced that a peak of 402,000 viewers watched the first show of the Bulgarian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Across the three hour show on Saturday evening, the show had an average audience share of 17.9% of television viewers.
Eight artists will compete in the Artist Final of Natsionalnata Selektsiya 2026 on January 31. The eight artists were selected by a jury vote and public vote, the finalists are:
DARA
Innerglow
Kerana and Kosmonavtite
Mihela Marinova
Molets
Mona
Preyah
Roksana
Natsionalnata Selektsiya 2026
Natsionalnata Selektsiya 2026 is formed of three live shows, all broadcast on BNT 1. The first two shows will be used to select the artist, while the final will determine the song that will represent Bulgaria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
In the second show, the top eight artists will perform again, once more presenting songs from their existing repertoires. In the third and final show, the selected artist will perform three original songs created specifically for Eurovision. In all three shows, both the jury and the public will be able to vote.
Source: BNT
Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest+
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.