BNT Marks 150 Years Since the April Uprising with Special Programming

In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the April Uprising, Bulgarian National Television (BNT) will offer viewers a rich thematic programme throughout March and April, dedicated to one of the most significant events in Bulgarian history. Through a variety of films, documentaries, and special studio shows, the public service broadcaster will highlight the heroism, sacrifice, and quest for freedom that left a lasting mark on the national memory.

On BNT 1, every Saturday and Sunday at 15:30, audiences can follow the series Notes on the Bulgarian Uprisings. On 20 April at 21:00, the special studio programme Dreaming Bulgaria – 150 Years of the April Epic will air, hosted by Boyko Vasilev with co-hosts Mario Mishev and Ivan Kanchev, who have dedicated themselves to Bulgarian history. From the same date, the series The Witnesses will begin, featuring reenactments by Bulgarian actors of eyewitness accounts from the April Epic.

BNT 2, the public service broadcaster’s education and culture channel, will also present an extensive programme on the April Uprising.

From 27 April, every weekday at 20:50, viewers can watch the adaptation of Ivan Vazov’s novel Under the Yoke. In the show Altars of Bulgaria, every Saturday at 12:45 during April and May, audiences will learn about various facts, events, and figures of the uprising. Starting 20 April, the Knowledge.BG programme will follow students tracing the paths of Bulgarian revolutionaries in the segment You Are the History. The regional news block Our Place Bulgaria, airing weekdays at 18:30, will also feature special themed editions, alongside a series of educational clips marking the anniversary.

Through this programming initiative, Bulgarian National Television pays tribute to the heroes of the April Uprising and preserves the memory of one of the most inspiring events in Bulgarian history.

***

The April Uprising broke out on 1st of May 1st (20th of April according to the old style caledar) in 1876. It was suppressed by the Ottoman authorities, but produced a wide international response and indirectly resulted in the establishment of Bulgaria as an independent nation in 1878.