- Category
- Culture
Greek Composer Kontopoulos Denies Filip Kirkorov Involvement in Eurovision 2026 Song “Bangaranga”
Prefer U24 Media on Google
- Authors
![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Greek composer Dimitris Kontopoulos, who has long collaborated with pro-Kremlin singer Filip Kirkorov, has denied any involvement by Kirkorov in the creation of the song Bangaranga, which brought Bulgaria’s representative DARA a victory at Eurovision 2026.
He made the statement in a comment to RFI on May 18.
We bring you stories from the ground. Your support keeps our team in the field.
According to Kontopoulos, while Kirkorov has supported him over the years, he was not involved in this particular project.
“I didn’t see this. No. Maybe it’s something else. I don’t know, perhaps because we have been friends for many years. You know, maybe it’s a misunderstanding,” the composer said when asked whether Kirkorov’s team had participated in the song’s production.
Another producer, Kristian Tarcea, also denied any involvement by Kirkorov in Bangaranga. He said the track was created by four contributors: himself, DARA, Kontopoulos, and another composer named Anna.
“It seems that Filip Kirkorov is a great Russian artist who has worked with Dimitris on some previous projects, but he did not take part in Bangaranga. However, likely because of his collaboration with Dimitris, he is proud that [Kontopoulos] is involved in the creation of Bangaranga and is probably happy about its success,” Tarcea added.
On May 17, reports indicated that Kontopoulos has an established history of working on Russia’s Eurovision participation, including co-writing Sergey Lazarev’s 2016 entry You Are the Only One and the 2019 song Scream. He also contributed to Russia’s 2014 entry Shine performed by the Tolmachevy Sisters. Many of these projects were developed in collaboration with Kirkorov, who played a prominent role in Russia’s Eurovision strategy for several years.
Following the 2026 contest, online discussions highlighted Kontopoulos’s continued connections with figures from the Russian entertainment industry after 2022. Social media users pointed to an Instagram story allegedly posted by the composer from Moscow’s Live Arena on October 19, 2025, during a concert featuring Sergey Lazarev and Philipp Kirkorov.
Later, on May 18, it was reported that three Ukrainian creatives were involved in the international production team behind Bulgarian singer DARA’s winning Eurovision entry. One of them, Nicholas Chobb, addressing recent online speculation about alleged involvement by Russian performer Filip Kirkorov, said he first encountered such claims on 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 stated.
“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’.”
Discuss this article:
-4a56a6b482ec132402c16ef6fcabf9a2.png)
![Rebelia [1991], the Musical That Made Ukraine’s Independence Story Go Viral](https://storage.united24media.com/thumbs/360x240/9/22/5577ec6dbc710eff4c16fc242512c229.jpg "Rebelia [1991], the Musical That Made Ukraine’s Independence Story Go Viral")
-cb1d610b0a9f3502305b39558d3e8ae0.png "Ukrainian Filmmaker Zhanna Ozirna Receives Build Your Dream Award at Cannes for Debut Film “Honeymoon”")