10 European Countries, Including 7 BBC Channels, Covered the Return of the Mortal Remains of the Medieval Bulgarian Ruler Tsar Samuil

Bulgarian National Television’s five-hour special programme “Tsar Samuil: The Return” has reached audiences across Europe through the international news exchange of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

So far, BNT’s footage and reports have been used by public broadcasters in the Republic of North Macedonia, Germany, the UK, Poland, Switzerland, Belgium, Estonia, France, Romania and Ireland, with the content broadcast on more than one television channel in several countries.

Interest has been particularly strong in the UK, where footage of the ceremony and the arrival of the remains in Sofia was included in news bulletins across seven BBC channels.

The footage of the remains being brought out of the museum in Thessaloniki generated the greatest international interest, having so far been used by 13 television channels in the UK, Poland, Switzerland, Belgium and Estonia.

A report covering the arrival of the Bulgarian delegation in Sofia, the landing of the Spartan aircraft and the transport of the coffin to the centre of the capital was broadcast by nine television channels in Poland, Switzerland, France, Romania and the UK.

The most widely distributed report was from the state ceremony in Sofia, featuring Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s address and the procession to St Sophia Basilica. It has so far been broadcast by 15 television channels in the UK, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Estonia, Ireland and Romania.

BNT's Director General Milena Milotinova: 4 Million Views Across BNT’s Digital Platforms for Tsar Samuil’s Historic Return

“I would like to thank the teams at BNT for making this important moment in Bulgaria’s history accessible to an international audience. This shows the strength of public service broadcasting. In a very short time, we organised coverage from every location involved in the event – from the official ceremony in Greece, through the handover and transport of the remains aboard the Spartan military transport aircraft, to the ceremony in Sofia and their t intermenat St Sophia Basilica. The entire event was covered by 50 cameras, 40 of them deployed on location in Bulgaria and Greece and 10 in the public service broadcaster’s studios,” BNT Director General Milena Milotinova said.

Over the past week, BNT’s International Exchange team provided a total of 11 reports covering all the key stages of the event – from the announcement of the news and public reaction to preparations for the ceremony, the transport of the remains from Thessaloniki and the tribute at St Sophia Basilica.

On Saturday, 3 October 2026, BNT made its coverage of Tsar Samuil’s return available to other media outlets in Bulgaria and around the world through the European Broadcasting Union’s news exchange.

The public broadcaster provided two live feeds for the international exchange systems from the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, the landing of the Spartan military transport aircraft in Sofia, the transport of the remains to the centre of the capital, the official state ceremony, the procession and the service at St Sophia Basilica, with a combined duration of more than four and a half hours.

Through the international distribution of its content, BNT provided real-time coverage of the historic return of Tsar Samuil and made the event part of the European news flow, giving public broadcasters in different countries access to authentic footage and information from Bulgaria.