Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

Eurovision Song Contest 2016
Country  Bulgaria
National selection
Selection process Internal Selection
Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2013 • 2016

Bulgaria will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden. Bulgaria returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after a two-year absence following their withdrawal in 2014 due to financial limitations.

Background

Prior to the 2016 Contest, Bulgaria had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nine times since its first entry in 2005.[1] The nation achieved their best result in the contest in 2007 with the song "Water" performed by Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankoulov, which placed fifth. To this point, their 2007 entry is also the only Bulgarian entry to have qualified to the Eurovision final; the nation had failed to qualify to the final with their other eight entries. In 2013, the Bulgarian broadcaster internally selected Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankoulov to once again represent the nation as they were the only act that managed to qualify Bulgaria to the final. However, their song "Samo shampioni" failed to qualify, making it the sixth consecutive qualification failure for the country.

The Bulgarian national broadcaster, Bulgarian National Television (BNT), broadcasts the event within Bulgaria and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. In the past, BNT had alternated between both internal selections and national finals in order to select the Bulgarian entry. After consistently being present for every contest since their debut in 2005, the Bulgarian broadcaster announced in November 2013 that the country would not participate in the 2014 contest citing an expensive participation fee and limited funds due to budget cuts as reasons for their decision.[2] Limited finances also prevented the broadcaster from returning in 2015.[3][4] Following their two-year absence, BNT confirmed Bulgaria's participation in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on 26 November 2015.[5]

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

On 24 January 2016, BNT announced via their official Twitter account that they had internally selected a female performer to represent the Bulgaria in Stockholm. The song has yet to be selected but will also be determined through an internal decision.[6]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[7] On 25 January 2016, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Bulgaria was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2016, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Bulgaria Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Fisher, Luke (22 November 2013). "Bulgaria: BNT not entering in 2014". escXtra.com. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  3. ↑ Jiandani, Sanjay (10 October 2014). "Bulgaria: BNT will not participate in Eurovision 2015". esctoday.com. ESCToday. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Jiandani, Sanjay (19 December 2014). "Bulgaria: BNT will not participate in Eurovision 2015". esctoday.com. ESCToday. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "България ще участва на Евровизия 2016 в Стокхолм". bnt.bg (in Bulgarian). BNT. 26 November 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  6. ↑ Granger, Anthony (24 January 2016). "Bulgaria: Female Singer For Stockholm". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  7. ↑ Jordan, Paul (21 January 2016). "Semi-Final Allocation Draw on Monday, pots revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  8. ↑ Jordan, Paul (25 January 2016). "Allocation Draw: The results!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.

External links

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