Awaiting DARA: Bulgarian entry will open tonight's Eurovision second semi-final

At 22:00, Bulgarian National Television will broadcast the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest featuring Bulgaria’s representative DARA.

Excitement is building across Bulgaria ahead of DARA’s performance, with this evening’s show set to open with her song Bangaranga. As an official participating broadcaster in the contest, BNT is the only Bulgarian television channel broadcasting the show live from Vienna.

DARA was the big winner in BNT’s national selection process to choose Bulgaria’s representative for the world’s biggest music competition.

Following last night’s dress rehearsal, the Bulgarian singer reportedly won the hearts of the audience in Vienna. Six Eurovision fan platforms have also named Bangaranga as one of tonight’s favourites ahead of the second semi-final.

• “Opening this show is an incredible opportunity”: Starting first in the running order, DARA will launch tonight’s semi-final of Eurovision with the song 'Bangaranga'

Fans are already counting down the minutes until the second semi-final in Vienna, which will determine the final 10 songs qualifying for Saturday’s Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest.

The second semi-final will take place in Vienna and will be broadcast by BNT 1 from 22:00 Bulgarian time on May 14. The show will open with Bulgaria’s representative DARA and her song Bangaranga, which has generated an overwhelmingly positive response and strong enthusiasm in recent hours.

During yesterday’s dress rehearsal, Bangaranga was reportedly the highest-rated performance among jury members, journalists and audience members present in the arena.

DARA also received highly positive comments from Kristian Kostov, who represented Bulgaria at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2017 and finished in second place.

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Kristian Kostov, artist: “I’m spending a bit of time backstage at the moment to see how everything works, because when I was on stage in 2017, I didn’t really have much time. As you know, DARA doesn’t have much time either — it’s rehearsal after rehearsal.

People do not really see how many times performers go through all of this, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed for DARA. For now, I’m simply enjoying the experience.” — Kristian Kostov

Alex, Spain: “I can’t wait to see DARA’s performance tonight — we’ll definitely be dancing a lot. The atmosphere here is fantastic. It’s my second time at the contest and I think DARA will reach the final without any problems. There are so many people who love this song.”

Maria, Ukraine: “Yes, I know the Bulgarian song — Bangaranga. We really like it, and not just the chorus.”

Peter, the Netherlands: “Yes, I love this song — Bangaranga! I think Finland will win, but Bangaranga is brilliant too!”

“I also think Finland will win, but bookmakers haven’t been right for the past six years. We don’t know what will happen — hopefully there will be a surprise. But even if Finland wins, I’ll still be happy. We’ll see. Of course, Bangaranga is a hit. It opens the show, so it’s a very strong entry!”