Balgarianovinite.com Bulgarian communities abroad played a key role in Dara’s Eurovision victory by managing to unite around the cause and mobilize broad support in dozens of countries, Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad (EABA) Executive Director Raina Mandzhukova said in an interview with BTA on Sunday. According to her, the positive wave coming from abroad also changed public attitudes in Bulgaria.
Dara won the contest with a total of 516 points. She received 312 points from the public vote and 204 points from the international jury, bringing Bulgaria its first victory in Eurovision history and securing the country the hosting rights for the next edition of the contest.
Mandzhukova said that the initiative to mobilize Bulgarians abroad in support of Dara at Eurovision had come precisely from the EABA. Once it became clear that the agency was a partner in the campaign, the singer recorded special video messages for Bulgarian communities in different countries, and separate addresses for some larger cities.
“We waited for a signal from the headquarters about when to distribute them and immediately sent them to our organisations – in more than 50 countries and to nearly a thousand Bulgarian associations, schools and folklore ensembles around the world,” Mandzhukova said. According to her, the reaction was immediate – organisations actively began sharing the videos, including through Bulgarian media abroad, while people widely circulated them on social media.
According to her, it was precisely this wave of support from Bulgarians abroad that changed public attitudes in the country. “The negativity in Bulgaria faded very quickly. It was literally drowned out by the positivity that came from abroad,” she said.
Mandzhukova expressed conviction that Dara’s victory was largely due precisely to Bulgarians abroad. “What was extremely important to me was that we showed how Bulgarians abroad can be united, as long as there is a cause they can stand behind,” she noted.
According to her, compatriots outside Bulgaria were not simply voting for the song, but for Bulgaria itself. “Bulgarians voted for Bulgaria. That was the unifying factor,” Mandzhukova added.
She also gave an example from Saturday’s events at the Expats Join Hands in Worldwide Dance festival, where she had initially worried how the folklore audience would react to Dara’s video greeting. “But they sang and danced. The very first time I saw what was happening, I realised that everything would be fine,” she recounted.
Mandzhukova stressed that the support clearly did not come only from Bulgarians around the world, which, according to her, was also evident from the international jury vote. “The gap between first and second place was huge, and after that the results were much closer,” she added. Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad Executive Directo Claims Bulgarian Communities Abroad Played Key Role in Eurovision Victory 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-05-17 12:24:21 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law