BULGARIAN CITY OF PLOVDIV FORMALLY DESIGNATED AS EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE IN 2019

On 19th of May, in Brussels, EU Culture Ministers formally designated the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv as the European Capital of Culture in 2019. The city's aim is to be more recognizable as a cultural centre and to attract new investments and tourists.

Plovdiv will share the status of 2019 European Capital of Culture with the Italian city of Matera.

Ivan Totev, the Mayor of Plovdiv said that in the next years Plovdiv will have joint events with the other Bulgarian cities which competed for the title - Sofia, Varna and Veliko Turnovo.

Valeri Kyorlevski from the municipal foundation "Plovdiv 2019" (established in 2011 with the aim to prepare Plovdiv’s bid for European Capital of Culture in 2019) has said that by 2019 Plovdiv will invest at least 34 million euros in various projects related to being the host. A million and a half euros will be provided by the European Commission.Mayor Ivan Totev expects all projects to be completed on time, he added.

Plovdiv, the historic Thracian capital, has a population of 339,129 inhabitants. It is the second largest city in Bulgaria after the capital Sofia.