DARA triumphed on the Eurovision Song Contest stage last night with the song Bangaranga, securing Bulgaria a place in Saturday’s Grand Final.
DARA is the winner of BNT’s national selection process for choosing a performer to represent Bulgaria at the world’s biggest music competition. Following her semi-final performance, she also entered the bookmakers’ top ten favourites to win the contest.
Public broadcaster BNT also took a leading position in Bulgaria’s television ratings during the live broadcast.
DARA is set to perform as entry number 12 in tomorrow’s Eurovision final.
Reacting after qualifying, DARA said:
"I love being on stage and I loved the feeling I had during the performance. I’m so grateful for that and for all the support I’ve received.
“And you know, I can’t scream because I need my voice for tomorrow and the day after. But if I could scream — you’ll have to do it for me. Come on, use your voices: Bangaranga! Bangaranga!”
She added that she had tried not to place expectations on the outcome:
“I had thought to myself, ‘What if we don’t make it?’ But you never know. It was such an incredible feeling.
“I never expect anything. I simply accept the lessons the universe gives me and I try not to question them. I try not to doubt myself or the path the universe chooses. So when life gives me a gift, I embrace it — and I’m truly grateful.”
DARA also used the moment to highlight Bulgaria’s creative talent:
“I think we as Bulgarians should have an even bigger platform for all our performers, composers and everyone in our creative communities. Eurovision is exactly that kind of platform.
“So after what I’ve shown you, I hope people will come to Bulgaria or discover our artists, because they truly are amazing."
Bulgaria’s Bangaranga "set Vienna’s Stadthalle audience ablaze" as DARA opened the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest and secured a place in the next stage of the competition.
Several of the expected favourites also qualified for the final, but the biggest rise in the bookmakers’ rankings came from Australia.
Pop-rock star Delta Goodrem caused a sensation with her performance of Eclipse. During the dramatic finale, she rose above the stage on a platform while surrounded by a shower of sparks.
Also progressing to the next stage was Danish actor and singer Søren Lund with his song Before We Leave.
Host nation Austria automatically qualified for the Grand Final with its upbeat club-culture anthem Tanzschein.
The United Kingdom also secured a place in the final with the electropop synthwave track Ein, Zwei, Drei, alongside French performer Monroe and her pop ballad.
Cyprus also advanced with Jala ATM, while entries from Albania, the Czech Republic, Malta, Norway and Ukraine also progressed to the next round of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Heavy metal will also have a place in the Grand Final through the entry of Romanian performer Alexandra Capitănescu, whose song lyrics sparked debate in Romanian media ahead of the competition.
Five countries failed to secure a place in the final: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
BNT will broadcast the live final of the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest tomorrow from 22:00.
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