Bulgaria's Black Sea port city of Burgas will host the 71st Eurovision Song Contest in May 2027, organisers announced on Thursday, marking the first time the storied competition will take place in the Balkan nation. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Bulgaria's public broadcaster BNT confirmed that the two semi-finals will be held on 11 and 13 May, with the grand final on 15 May 2027.
Burgas, Bulgaria's fourth-largest city, was selected following a competitive bidding process that initially included four cities — Burgas, Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv — before Burgas and the capital Sofia advanced to the final stage. The choice came as a surprise to some, given that both BNT director Milena Miltenova and winning singer Dara had publicly pointed to Sofia as the likely host in the immediate aftermath of Bulgaria's victory in Vienna in May 2026. Dara had triumphed at the 70th contest with her party anthem "Bangaranga," beating 24 other competitors. Miltenova said she is now "confident" Bulgaria will be a "worthy" host, promising "an intensive period of collaboration" to meet the high expectations of viewers worldwide.
Eurovision director Martin Green praised the selection, describing Burgas as "a vibrant, welcoming city on the Black Sea with a strong musical and cultural identity" that possesses the "ambition, infrastructure and passion" needed to stage the event. Organisers highlighted the city's venue and technical potential, including hotel capacity, transport links and international travel connections. Burgas mayor Dimitar Nikolov called it an "exceptional honour," while local residents welcomed the decision as an opportunity to showcase a side of Bulgaria beyond the capital. Hosting Eurovision carries significant economic benefits: Liverpool generated an estimated €66 million when it hosted in 2023, Malmö €40 million in 2024, and Basel €58 million in 2025.
Alongside the host city announcement, Eurovision organisers introduced new rules that bar countries engaged in armed conflict or facing serious geopolitical instability from hosting the contest, even if they win. The amendment was approved following feedback from participating broadcasters after Eurovision 2026. Though no country was named explicitly, the rule change is widely seen as a response to ongoing concerns about Israel's participation amid its military operations in Gaza — concerns that led five broadcasters, including Spain and Ireland, to boycott this year's contest. The rules would equally apply to Ukraine, which has been at war since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022; Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra won the contest that year, but security concerns led organisers to move the 2023 edition to Liverpool in the United Kingdom. Organisers also raised the minimum age for competitors from 16 to 18, citing the need to better protect younger artists from the pressures of the competition.