Plovdiv is European Capital of Culture 2019
Thousands of people are expected today in the center of Plovdiv, where it will be the culmination of the opening of the city as the European Capital of Culture. Dozens of events are scheduled for the opening weekend that started last night.
The variety of cultural events began on Friday with several exhibitions and concerts that gathered more people than usual. Today at noon continues the cultural program in the artistic quarter "Kapana" with performances of the ethnoformation "Zarava" and "Bulgari" project. On the stage in front of the municipality in the early afternoon, chitalishtа from all over South Bulgaria will present a colorful spectacle of dance and music, re-creating the richness of Bulgarian folklore. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in Plovdiv, the only traveling collection of original fragments of the wall was the scene for many street artists from the 80's to this day.
Tonight, however, will be the culmination of the opening ceremony of Plovdiv as the European Capital of Culture. From 19:00 on the 30-meter tower built for the big event will welcome over 1500 performers from the country and abroad, united in the show "We are all colors." Among the stars that will participate in the show are Valya Balkanska, Theodosius Spassov and German DJ SCHILLER The impressive tower will provide 360 degree viewing, over 350 projectors and 10 huge ice screens.
The Mayor of Plovdiv is hopeful that, despite the many criticisms, this will be an unforgettable event: "We believe that with the show here, this will be our key event that will remain in the hearts of people as a big, large event.
Because of the scale of the show and the many people expected, serious security measures have been taken. It is forbidden to use drones around the huge tower-scene, with 23 crossing points. The Ministry of Interior has no data on threats to terrorist acts. At all the junctions there will be mobile teams to watch for safety, said the executive director of Plovdiv 2019 Foundation Kiril Valchev.
No people in apparent drunk state will be admitted, Velchev added. The guests will be given blankets and scarves with the logo of the European Capital of Culture.
More than 50,000 guests are expected to attend the official opening, including the Commissioner for Digital Economy and Digital Society Mariya Gabriel and National Assembly President Tsveta Karayancheva.