Organizing Eurovision typically costs the host country many tens of millions of euros.
Bulgaria’s Dara won by five. Inka Soveri
The question of what it would cost Bulgaria to host Eurovision quickly became a public debate after the country’s victory.
Bulgarian broadcaster BNT has withdrawn from Eurovision several times in recent years due to financial reasons. Bulgaria was excluded from the competition in 2023 and did not participate in 2024 and 2025 either.
Due to the limited resources of the television company, organizing the competition requires larger than usual investments in the budgets of both the state and the host city.
Quickly after the victory, officials, economists and city leaders have taken a stand on the financial and organizational scope of the event.
– A new gap opens up in the budget. Nobody expected Eurovision. Now the budget must have a separate Eurovision part, the soon-to-be-retired finance minister George Klisursky quoth on BNT’s morning program.
Prime Minister Rumen Radev and BNT management have already announced that Bulgaria plans to host the competition in 2027, while discussions about a host city have begun. Both Sofia and Burgas have expressed interest in the job, but the capital is currently considered the strongest candidate due to its infrastructure.
How much does hosting cost?
Eurovision is usually financed jointly by the EBU and the institutions of the host country, but the host country typically bears a significantly larger share of the costs.
Funding usually consists of public funds, contributions from broadcasting companies, sponsorship income, ticket sales and other commercial activities related to the event.
The European examples of recent years illustrate the scale of the costs of competition. In Switzerland, the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel was organized with a budget of around 38 million euros, and the total costs were estimated to have risen to around 65 million euros.
In Sweden, organizing the 2024 Games in Malmö was estimated to have cost around 28 million euros.
In Britain, the funding for Liverpool’s 2023 visas consisted of joint contributions from the BBC, the state and local authorities, which were estimated to be around 23-32 million euros in total.
The final costs of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, have not yet been published, but according to previous estimates, the broadcasting company’s expenses alone could exceed 30 million euros.
Economist Mikhail Kambarev also brought up in the discussion the possible economic benefits for the country brought by hosting. He referred to previous host cities where Eurovision has generated significant tourism and commercial income.
According to Kambarev, the financial impact of the event has in previous cases varied from tens of millions to even hundreds of millions of euros, depending on the scale of the competition and the number of visitors. According to him, Bulgaria could benefit from the event in the same way.
In other words, organizing Eurovision at the current level of requirements will cost at least tens of millions of euros, and for now it is not clear how Bulgaria intends to cover the costs.
Source: Novinite.
Dara won with his song Bangaranga. INKA SOVERI
