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Bulgaria’s Eurovision Winning Entry Features Ukrainian Creative Team Work on Stage Design and Video Production
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Three Ukrainian creatives were part of the international production team behind Bulgarian representative DARA’s winning Eurovision entry. One of them, Nicholas Chobb, detailed his contribution in an exclusive comment to Ukrainian media outlet MUZVAR on May 17.
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“I worked with the Bulgarian team as a creative advisor—a person the production team turned to for creative assessment and recommendations regarding the performance,” he said.
Chobb clarified that he had been involved in developing the design and functionality of the main stage set alongside a Ukrainian stage designer, as well as in creating video content for LED screens.
He also addressed recent online speculation regarding the alleged involvement of Russian performer Filip Kirkorov in the project, saying he first learned about the claims through social media.
“I first learned about Kirkorov today on Threads. At all stages of preparation—from selecting the contestant’s song to the final performance—there was no mention of his involvement from the production or directing team,” Chobb said.
“I cannot confirm his participation in the creation of the performance I worked on. I believe his attempts to attribute the success to himself appear to be a personal initiative to draw attention to himself and emphasize his origins, especially given that Bulgaria is likely one of the few countries he can still travel to, where he can attend his ‘favourite contest’.”
However, reports indicate that DARA’s song Bangaranga was co-written by Greek composer Dimitris Kontopoulos, who has previously collaborated on several Russian Eurovision entries alongside Russian singer Philipp Kirkorov, a public supporter of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The result has attracted additional attention online following the circulation of screenshots allegedly showing DARA, whose real name is Darina Yotova, posting an Instagram image in December 2025 featuring a large illuminated “Z” symbol. Since 2022, the letter “Z” has been widely associated with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its military propaganda.
According to official Eurovision credits, Kontopoulos is listed among the songwriters of Bangaranga, Bulgaria’s winning entry at Eurovision 2026.
Kontopoulos has a long history of involvement in Russia’s Eurovision campaigns, including co-writing Sergey Lazarev’s You Are the Only One (2016) and Scream (2019), as well as Shine for the Tolmachevy Sisters in 2014. Many of these projects were developed in collaboration with Kirkorov, who played a central role in Russia’s Eurovision participation for years.
Following the contest, online discussions also revived scrutiny of Kontopoulos’s alleged post-2022 ties to the Russian entertainment industry. Social media users pointed to an Instagram story reportedly posted by the composer from Moscow’s Live Arena on October 19, 2025, during a concert featuring Sergey Lazarev and Kirkorov.
Meanwhile, British lawmakers criticized Eurovision director Martin Green after he suggested that Russia could, in theory, return to the Eurovision Song Contest if a Russian broadcaster were able to prove its independence from the Kremlin, despite Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
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