According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "
Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The
European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 25 January 2016, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Bulgaria was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2016, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. Once all the competing songs for the 2016 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Originally, Bulgaria was set to perform in position 13, following the entry from
Romania and before the entry from
Denmark. However, following
Romania's disqualification from the contest on 22 April and subsequent removal from the running order of the second semi-final, Bulgaria's performing position shifted to 12 and the nation would now perform following the entry from
Slovenia. The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Bulgaria on
BNT 1 and
BNT HD with commentary by Elena Rosberg and Georgi Kushvaliev. The Bulgarian spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Bulgarian jury during the final, was Anna Angelova.
Semi-final Poli Genova took part in technical rehearsals on 5 and 7 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May. This included the jury show on 11 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. The Bulgarian performance featured Poli Genova performing a choreographed routine in a black, white and nude outfit with LED enhancements that light up during the final chorus of the song. The stage colours were black and white and the LED screens displayed black and white elements, television static and rows of dancers performing the same choreography as Genova. Five backing vocalists joined Poli Genova on stage at the end of the song: Borislav Borisov Dimitrov (Bobo),
Cesár Ken Charleston (Cesár Sa) and the members of the group LaTiDa, Desislava Hristova, Elizabet Nesheva and Yana Baleva. Sampson would go on to represent
Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The stage concept for the Bulgarian performance was developed by Swedish choreographer Ambra Succi, who completed the choreography of performance together with Bulgarian choreographer Milen Dankov. At the end of the show, Bulgaria was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. This marked the second time Bulgaria managed to qualify to the final, which they achieved after nine years since their last appearance in the final in
2007. It was later revealed that Bulgaria placed fifth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 220 points: 122 points from the televoting and 98 points from the juries.
Final Shortly after the second semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the reverse order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Bulgaria was drawn to compete in the first half. Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Bulgaria was subsequently placed to perform in position 8, following the entry from
Israel and before the entry from
Sweden. Poli Genova once again took part in dress rehearsals on 13 and 14 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Poli Genova performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 14 May. Bulgaria placed fourth in the final, scoring 307 points: 180 points from the televoting and 127 points from the juries.
Voting Voting during the three shows was conducted under a
new system that involved each country now awarding two sets of points from 1–8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final. Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Bulgaria and awarded by Bulgaria in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
Points awarded to Bulgaria Points awarded by Bulgaria Detailed voting results The following members comprised the Bulgarian jury: •
Michail Belchev (jury chairperson)poet, singer, songwriter • pop singer, artist, represented Bulgaria in
2008 as member of
Deep Zone Project • singer, songwriter •
Stoyan Yankoulovartist, drummer and percussionist, represented Bulgaria in
2007 and
2013 with
Elitsa Todorova • conductor, composer, musician == References ==