Skip to main content

A warm welcome home for Poli Genova

19 May 2016 at 22:26 CEST
When Poli Genova and the Bulgarian delegation returned home from Stockholm, they were welcomed as heroes after reaching a historic fourth place at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. Many fans gathered at Sofia Airport to greet their star, give her presents, and celebrate with her. Check out our footage!

"In Stockholm we were extremely calm and confident", said Poli Genova, who represented Bulgaria in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest with If Love Was A Crime. "We just had fun together and that payed off for us. I think it's a new chapter for the Bulgarian participation at Eurovision and therefore for our music as a whole."

One of the main driving forces behind the return of Bulgaria at Eurovision - the Director-General of BNT Viara Ankova - was also excited: "I think this is a big achievement for Bulgaria. At the beginning we were two teams - Poli Genova's and the one from BNT, but very soon we managed to Come Together and work as one team. It's a big success for our country, for Poli herself, her backing singers, the composers and everyone else who helped us in these hard times. I think this year a new star of Eurovision was born - Poli. I'm so proud of her", Viara Ankova said.

Watch our video of Poli's return below:

The Bulgarian Head of Delegation Joana Levieva-Sawyer stressed the importance of the Eurovision Song Contest and the opportunities it offers for all the participating artists: "It's the biggest stage in Europe and the only one that could be compared with the biggest concerts in America. And this is one of the main responsibilities of the public broadcasters - to create opportunities for the people of art. The main benefit is that it is a platform that allows the Bulgarian musicians not only to compete with musicians across Europe, but also to join their efforts and team up. One of the main reasons behind our success this year is the cooperation between Bulgarian and international composers, and the appropriate choice of an artist and song."

Borislav Milanov, one of the composers of If Love Was A Crime said that the main reason for the success was the perfect cooperation between the songwriting team: himself, Sebastian Arman and Joacim Persson, Poli and her producer Rosi from Bon Bon Music and most of all BNT, who believed in the project.

Gallery: Poli Genova's welcome home in Bulgaria