BNT, the Bulgarian national broadcaster, held the artist final, for ‘Natsionalnata selektsiya’ 2026 on Saturday evening – their national selection for the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, in Vienna.

On Saturday evening, BNT held the artist final for ‘Natsionalnata selektsiya’ 2026. The eight remaining artists in the selection performed a song from their back catalogue. The results were decided by a combination of public and jury vote. The chosen artist to represent was DARA – with her song selection taking place during ‘Natsionalnata selektsiya’ 2026 on Saturday 28th February.

This morning, DARA spoke to bTV as she was considering withdrawing from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, in Vienna. This morning, DARA had the following to say:

“My desire is killed and crushed by the negative comments. By the end of the day, I will decide whether to participate.

The most offensive thing is the distrust of my talent, this is the most insulting. Otherwise, I know that the winner in any contest gets a lot of hate. This happens often. Somehow I tried to become numb and not pay attention.”

Following her interview on bTV this morning, DARA has since released a statement across her social media. DARA had the following to say this afternoon:

“What has been happening in recent days has almost broken me. Instead of rejoicing and experiencing the moment of this victory, which would give me strength to continue towards the real competition, I had several sleepless nights. The hatred on social media didn’t just affect me – it shook me and worried me. Today, in a television interview, I shared quite honestly that I don’t know if it’s all worth it if the price is my psyche.

I’ll put it simply – mental health matters. Mine. Yours. All of us. There is no stage, no title, no expectation that is worth more than your inner peace.

For over 10 years I have been working on myself. On my resilience. I have fallen. I have doubted myself. My inner critic has sometimes been the loudest voice in the room. There have been moments when I have stood at a crossroads and wondered which way to turn. But I have never given up on my dreams. And yet – no one deserves such a public lynching for doing their job and following their path. No one.

That’s why I made a decision – I will participate. Because of the thousands of messages I received today. Your love and support reminded me of who I am and why I started. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart! We will not leave ourselves to the dream thieves! I say we – because my going to Eurovision is not just for me. If I manage to perform worthily – then we all, Bulgaria, will shine on the map. Our music, our artists, all of us will have an even stronger voice.

So from now on, I’m going to stop following all the hate, focus on my work and the love you give me. I’m going to work with my heart, with discipline, and with gratitude to everyone who stands by me.

I love you. Thank you. I hug you.”

Let us know what you think about Bulgaria and the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest – either in the comments below or on our FACEBOOK, BLUESKY, TWITTER, YOUTUBE, INSTAGRAM and TIKTOK pages.

The Eurovision Community, which Eurovision Ireland are a part of, celebrates diversity through music. Please keep your comments respectful. We will not tolerate racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, body-shaming or any other derogatory or hostile language.

Author: Richard Taylor

Source: Eurovoix