site.btaEurope Day to Be Celebrated with Various Events in Sofia

Europe Day will be celebrated with various events in Sofia on Friday. The holiday of the European communities is celebrated in Bulgaria in accordance with Decree 54 of the Council of Ministers of March 29, 2005.

In the morning, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Rumen Radev, National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova and Vice President Iliana Iotova will lay flowers at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in memory of the Bulgarian soldiers who died during World War II.

After that all three  will attend the ceremony of raising the European Union flag in front of the presidential institution on the occasion of Europe Day. Before the ceremony, the head of State will receive the guard of honour of the National Guard, the presidential press centre said. The anthems of Bulgaria and the European Union will be played.

A festive concert will take place at 6:30 pm on an open stage in the garden of the National Palace of Culture,  with the participation of the Bulgarian National RadioBig Band, Irish and Bulgarian musicians and dancers from the Sonas ensemble and the Hungarian dance ensemble Falmis, the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria said. The concert is organized jointly with the Sofia Municipality, the European Parliament in Bulgaria, Visit Sofia and Sofia Airport. Guests will be welcomed by  Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev, Head of the EC Representation Yordanka Chobanova, the Ambassador of Poland Maciej Szymanski and the Director of the Vasil Levski Airport in Sofia Jesus Caballero.

A 3D mapping show will take place at 9 pm on the facade of the National Library,  organized by the Bureau of the European Parliament, the European Commission Representation and Sofia Municipality, as part of the LUNAR Festival of Lights.

Europe Day has been celebrated since 1986, according to a decision of the European Community summit in Milan, Italy (28-29 June 1985). The day is the anniversary of a speech (1950) by French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman in Paris, France, in which he outlined his plan for the unification of the coal and steel industries of Western European countries (the so-called Schuman Declaration) as "the first real step towards a European federation".