site.btaBulgaria Returns to Eurovision as DARA Opens Second Semi-Final in Vienna

After a three-year absence, Bulgaria will once again participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, with DARA representing the country with the song “Bangaranga,” which will open the second semi-final in Vienna on Thursday, May 14, the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) said. 

The contest final is scheduled for May 16. 

"'Bangaranga" is pop music with folklore bones. The word itself comes from Jamaican slang – it means uproar, commotion, a beautiful kind of disorder. It has this raw, phonetic power that bypasses translation – you feel it before you understand it. We wanted a song that could land in Vienna or London or anywhere and hit you physically before it hit you intellectually," DARA told The Independent. She said the song was inspired by the kukeri ritual, in which men dressed in unusual costumes, wearing bells, animal skins, and masks, roam villages at the beginning of the year making the loudest noise imaginable. 

The music competition began on May 12, when the first finalists were determined. They are Greece, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Moldova, Israel, Serbia, Croatia, Lithuania, and Poland.  

On Thursday evening, alongside DARA, performers from Armenia, Romania, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Albania, Denmark, Cyprus, Norway, Malta, Australia, Ukraine, and Latvia will also take the stage. 

In addition to the acts selected from the two semi-finals, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and France, as well as host country Austria, will compete directly in the grand final. 

Bulgarian singer DARA is among the favorites to qualify for the final, according to aggregated bookmakers’ forecasts ahead of the second semi-final, Austria’s APA news agency reported. 

According to the estimates, DARA has a 77% chance of reaching Saturday’s grand finale. Bookmakers describe the competition in the second semi-final as more closely contested compared to the first. Among the near-certain finalists, according to forecasts, are the representatives of Denmark, Australia, Romania, and Ukraine.