Opening ceremony of Bulgaria’s Plovdiv as European Capital of Culture (video)

The Bulgarian National Television on 12^th of January aired a live broadcast of the official ceremony for the opening of Bulgaria’s’ Plovdiv status as European Capital of Culture for 2019.

Viewers of BNT1 and BNT 4 enjoyed the spectacular display entitled “We are all colours” which combined music, dance, light and emotions.

More than 1,500 participants from Bulgaria and abroad recreated on the open air 30-metre stage-tower the grand colourful metaphor of the main themes included in the programme of Plovdiv 2019: fuse, transform, revive and relax.

Hundreds of volunteers took part in the opening event, contributing to the spectacular vision expressing the main message of the European Capital of culture 2019 – “Together”.

The show ended with the great performance of virtuoso Bulgarian folklore singer Valya Balkanska and piper Petar Yanev.

The concept of the event is created by the German artistic network “Phase7 performing.arts”, with artistic director Sven Sören Beyer.

The ancient heritage and diverse cultural life of Bulgaria’s second largest city of Plovdiv will be boosted this year by more than 500 events.

The European Capital of Culture is an initiative of the European Union. It is awarded to two cities each year.

In addition to Plovdiv, the Italian city of Matera was also awarded the title for 2019.