The wait to discover where the Eurovision Song Contest 2027 will be held appears set to continue for another day.
After earlier reports suggested that the long-awaited decision between Sofia and Burgas would finally be announced on Wednesday, 12 August, the latest information now points to Thursday, 13 August 2026.
If confirmed, it would mark yet another change to the expected timetable of a host-city process that has already lasted longer than originally planned.
However, while the repeated postponements have understandably raised questions among Eurovision fans, a look through the Contest’s history shows that Bulgaria is not yet experiencing an unprecedented delay.
From the end of July to the middle of August
The Eurovision 2027 host-city race originally involved four Bulgarian cities: Sofia, Burgas, Plovdiv and Varna.
Following the initial evaluation process, Sofia and Burgas advanced to the final stage, leaving Bulgaria’s capital and its Black Sea rival competing for the right to stage the country’s first Eurovision Song Contest.
BNT had previously indicated that the host city was expected to be known by the end of July.
That deadline passed without a winner.
Instead, BNT confirmed that the international working group responsible for evaluating the bids was continuing its work and that additional clarifications requested from the municipalities were still being reviewed.
The broadcaster’s official explanation therefore points towards an extended evaluation process rather than simply an unexplained postponement.
The two bids have to be assessed across a wide range of areas. Eurovision host-city decisions involve much more than choosing an arena: venue specifications and availability, production requirements, accommodation capacity, transport, security, infrastructure and the ability to handle thousands of delegation members, journalists and visiting fans all form part of the process.
Why has the announcement reportedly moved again?
Bulgarian media reports had subsequently pointed towards Wednesday, 12 August as the new expected announcement date.
However, according to the latest information published by Eurovisionfun, the reveal is now expected 24 hours later, on Thursday, 13 August.
The outlet reports that the latest short postponement is connected to a Bulgarian government press conference concerning the security situation following an unidentified drone incident.
Importantly, neither BNT nor the EBU has, at the time of publication, officially confirmed 13 August as the definitive announcement date.
For that reason, the date should currently be regarded as the latest reported timetable rather than an officially confirmed Eurovision announcement.
The eventual reveal is also reportedly expected to give fans another major piece of information: the dates of the Eurovision Song Contest 2027 itself.
Is Bulgaria taking unusually long?
Compared with the last few editions, the process certainly feels long — particularly because several expected announcement dates have now passed.
But historically, an announcement in mid-August would actually be relatively normal.
Recent Eurovision host cities were announced on:
- Malmö 2024 — 7 July 2023
- Basel 2025 — 30 August 2024
- Vienna 2026 — 20 August 2025
- Rotterdam 2020 — 30 August 2019
- Tel Aviv 2019 — 13 September 2018
- Lisbon 2018 — 25 July 2017
- Kyiv 2017 — 9 September 2016
- Stockholm 2016 — 8 July 2015
- Vienna 2015 — 6 August 2014
- Copenhagen 2014 — 2 September 2013
Two particularly recent examples demonstrate how misleading the impression of an exceptionally late Bulgarian decision can be.
Austria did not announce Vienna as the 2026 host city until 20 August 2025, while Switzerland announced Basel for Eurovision 2025 on 30 August 2024.
Therefore, even a 13 August announcement would actually come earlier in the calendar than both of the previous two host-city decisions.
What makes the Bulgarian process unusual is less the date itself and more the repeated changes to the expected timetable.
And some Eurovision host-city decisions took much longer
There are several examples where fans waited considerably longer.
Following Italy’s victory in 2021, an extensive bidding process attracted interest from numerous cities. Turin was eventually announced as Eurovision 2022 host on 8 October 2021.
The following year brought an exceptional situation. Ukraine had won Eurovision 2022 but the EBU concluded that the Contest could not safely be staged there because of Russia’s invasion. The United Kingdom subsequently agreed to host on Ukraine’s behalf and, following another city competition, Liverpool was not announced until 7 October 2022.
Both decisions came almost two months later in the year than Bulgaria’s currently expected announcement.
Kyiv 2017 provides an even more interesting comparison
Perhaps the closest historical parallel to the current frustration is the selection of Kyiv for Eurovision 2017.
Ukraine’s host-city announcement was postponed several times during a lengthy competition involving cities including Kyiv, Odesa and Dnipro.
An announcement was initially expected at the beginning of August 2016. Further dates followed, including a planned announcement around Ukrainian Independence Day and another scheduled reveal on 25 August.
That announcement was postponed shortly before it was supposed to take place.
Kyiv was finally confirmed as host on 9 September 2016, with reports at the time describing the host-city announcement as having been postponed four times.
So Eurovision has experienced a host-city saga involving multiple missed announcement dates before — and that process ultimately ran considerably later than Bulgaria’s current one.
Turin was another delayed decision
Italy also provides a useful example.
After Måneskin’s victory in 2021, RAI launched a large host-city selection involving numerous municipalities.
The winner was originally expected to be revealed around the end of August, but that timetable slipped. RAI later explained that additional time was being taken to ensure the selection was handled with the necessary transparency and precision.
Turin was eventually confirmed on 8 October.
Again, the final decision came much later than Bulgaria’s current process.
So should fans be worried?
At this stage, probably not because of the calendar alone.
If Sofia or Burgas is announced on 13 August, Bulgaria’s host city will actually have been selected earlier than Basel for 2025, Vienna for 2026, Tel Aviv for 2019, Kyiv for 2017, Copenhagen for 2014, Turin for 2022 and Liverpool for 2023.
The more notable issue is that the Bulgarian process has repeatedly moved beyond publicly expected dates.
BNT’s confirmed explanation so far is that the international working group required additional clarifications from the candidate municipalities as part of its evaluation. Beyond that, claims about disagreements, political intervention or one side blocking the decision should be treated cautiously unless confirmed by BNT, the EBU or another authoritative source.
For an event of Eurovision’s scale, the final decision commits the broadcaster, city and public authorities to months of work involving an arena, security, transportation, accommodation, production facilities, delegation logistics and substantial financial commitments.
Taking additional time to verify those commitments is therefore not necessarily evidence that the organisation is in trouble.
Sofia or Burgas: the wait continues
What began as a four-city Bulgarian competition has now become a prolonged final duel between two very different proposals.
Sofia offers the infrastructure, international connectivity and large-event experience of the Bulgarian capital.
Burgas offers a more compact Black Sea Eurovision concept backed by substantial tourism infrastructure and a relatively new arena.
Both have survived the technical evaluation far enough to reach the final stage.
And despite the frustration created by another reported postponement, history suggests Bulgaria still has plenty of time.
The question is no longer simply whether Sofia or Burgas will win.
After weeks of speculation and several expected announcement dates, Eurovision fans are also asking another question:
Will Thursday, 13 August finally be the day Bulgaria gives us the answer?