site.btaBulgaria's Eurovision Victory Draws Wide Balkan Media Coverage

Media in Bulgaria's neighbouring countries widely cover Dara's victory at the Eurovision Song Contest, often finding something of their own in both her success and personality.

BTA's correspondents in Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkiye and Greece reported on local media coverage of Bulgaria's Eurovision victory on Sunday.

Martina Gancheva, Bucharest: Bulgaria's and Dara's triumph at Eurovision is among the leading stories in the Romanian media. The reaction has been so strong that Bangaranga was heard playing in one of Bucharest's major shopping centres, which is frequented by Bulgarians. One of the reasons for the enthusiastic reception of Bulgaria's victory is the fact that one of the song's composers is Romanian. The singer-songwriter Cristian Tarcea, better known as Monoir, began studying music at the age of five and is now a well-established name in the music industry across Southeastern Europe.

Marinela Velichkova, Skopje: The local media cover Bulgaria's triumph extensively. "Eurovision has long been more than just a music competition. It is a stage for identities, national sensitivities, spectacle, politics, memory and mass emotions. Sometimes, amid all that noise, one song manages to do something simple and rare - to lift spirits, win over the public and keep the jury captivated. That is exactly what happened with Bulgaria in Vienna. In this context, Dara's triumph is not merely a victory for a singer, but also the first major Eurovision imprint from a neighbouring Balkan scene that has long been recognizable, yet never crowned," panoptikum.mk wrote.

Teodora Encheva, Belgrade: Bulgaria's Eurovision victory and Dara are among the leading topics in the Serbian media, which highlight her message that "Love always wins". "This is the first winner to unite the opinions of both the public and the jury since the unforgettable victory of [Portugal's] Salvador Sobral in Kyiv in 2017, and only the second time since the current voting system was introduced in 2016. In addition, Bulgaria is the first Balkan country to win the contest since Serbia and Marija Serifovic triumphed in Helsinki in 2007," Serbia's public broadcaster RTS said.

Ayshe Sali, Ankara: Given Turkiye's position on the war in Gaza, reports on the topic mention that Israel finished second and that the contest took place against the backdrop of calls to boycott Tel Aviv. The main focus, however, is on the fact that Dara's husband, Ervin, is of Turkish origin. Dara surprised her Turkish fans on the Eurovision red carpet by saying in Turkish: "Thank you, Turkiye." She also said: "I would love to come again soon. My husband is Turkish, so of course I have to come. Whenever I have time, I study a little Turkish almost every week. Next time I give an interview, I may surprise you with even more words." CNN Turk cited Bulgarian media reports that Dara married Ervin Ivanov, who is of Turkish origin, in 2025.

Ivan Lazarov, Athens: Greek media call Dara's victory at the Eurovision Song Contest "historic" for Bulgaria. Proto Thema had several articles dedicated to Bulgaria's victory. Bangaranga was described as a song inspired by themes related to overcoming "fear and inner demons", which, according to the outlet, helped Bulgaria stand out from the other contestants. Proto Thema also stressed that Greek composer Dimitris Kontopoulos was on the song's writing team.