Bulgaria: Dara wins artist selection final for Eurovision 2026

Photo credit: BNT

The second of three shows to select Bulgaria's Eurovision entry for 2026 has wrapped up, and we now know that Dara will be heading to Vienna in May.

Eight finalists performed one of their previously released songs - different to the one they performed in the semi-final - in the hope of securing the chance to represent Bulgaria at Eurovision.

Also taking to the stage were two artists already set to represent their countries this year: Alis from Albania performed his song Nân, and AIDAN from Malta performed his song Bella.

We also saw performances from Bulgarian artists Nevena Tsoneva and Ivo Dimchev, as well as Eldar of Ell & Nikki who achieved the win for Azerbaijan in 2011 with the song Running Scared.

The results

The results were decided by a five-person jury who awarded each song 1-5 points, as well as online voting that gave 8 points to their favourite all the way down to 1 point for the least favourite.

Dara won both the jury and online voting, coming out on top with a total of 30 points. Rounding out the top 3 were Mihaela Marinova with 26 points, and Mona with 23 points.

The song that Dara will perform at Eurovision is set to be decided at the final show on Saturday 28 February.

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