BTA Director General Addresses Bulgarians in Bolhrad

Dimitrina Solakova, BTA special correspondent Simona-Alex Mihaleva

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev speaking at a concert by Bulgarian folk singer Ilia Lukov in Bolhrad, Ukraine, October 30, 2025 (BTA Photo/Hristo Kassabov)

Bolhrad, Ukraine,

30.10.2025 21:12

(BTA)

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said here on Thursday: "Because of the place of the Bessarabian Bulgarians in Bulgarian history and the Bulgarian spirit preserved today, Bulgaria preserves and protects the knowledge of their heritage and language." He was speaking at a concert by Bulgarian folk singer Ilia Lukov in Bolhrad.

Lukov's concert in Bolhard was the second in a series of concerts with the free participation of the Bulgarian folk singer under the slogan "Ilia Lukov and the Talents of Bessarabia: 30 Years of Songs with Love." The concerts are an initiative of the Bulgarian News Agency, with organizational support from the Consulate General of Bulgaria in Odesa, as part of the week-long celebrations of the Day of Bessarabian Bulgarians, October 29.

"The rumbling generators that made this concert possible until the power came back on, and the [air-raid] sirens that provided the backdrop for the lighting of the renovated monument to Hristo Botev in Izmail [earlier on Thursday], reminded me of how, just over a year ago, in June, journalists from Bulgaria and 13 other countries -14 including Bulgaria - from 18 media outlets came to Odesa, Bolhgrad, and Izmail, to participate in a global meeting that the Bulgarian News Agency organizes every year - the World Meeting of Bulgarian Media," recalled Valchev.

He added that this meeting in Odesa was a continuation of another world meeting of Bulgarian media, held in Taraclia in 2017. "So we, Bulgarians in Bulgaria, keep a constant eye on the Bessarabian Bulgarians. And this is no coincidence, because it is precisely in these lands, a little further north, that Bulgaria begins – Great Bulgaria, founded in 632 by Khan Kubrat," Valchev emphasized.

According to him, because of this place, the Bulgarian News Agency, Bulgarian National Television, and Bulgarian National Radio have launched a joint initiative to mark 14 centuries of Bulgaria in Europe with notable dates from Bulgarian history – until 2032, when it will be 1,400 years since the creation of Great Bulgaria.

He added that the concerts of Ilia Lukov and the talents of Bessarabia are part of preserving this memory. "In conclusion, I wish you what we enjoy in Bulgaria: peace and freedom," the BTA Director General said.

/DS/