site.btaUPDATED Ceremony in Plovdiv Marks High Point of Unification Day Celebrations

The main ceremony marking the 141st anniversary of the Unification of Bulgaria on Sunday was held in the evening in the southern city of Plovdiv, where the unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia was officially announced on September 6, 1885.

The commemorative ceremony was attended by President Iliana Iotova, National Assembly Chair Mihaela Dotsova, Prime Minister Rumen Radev, Chief of Defence Emil Eftimov, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church's Metropolitan Nikolay of Plovdiv, Regional Governor Georgi Yanev, Municipal Council Chairman Atanas Uzunov, members of parliament, commanders of military formations, representatives of local government and civic organizations, and members of the public.

Wreaths and flowers were laid at the Unification Monument by state institutions, patriotic organizations and members of the public. A military tattoo was held, featuring representative units from the Land Forces, the Air Force and the Joint Special Operations Command, and the Air Force Representative Brass Band. The ceremony was led by Brigadier General Bozhidar Boykov, commander of the Joint Special Operations Command.

In a speech, President Iotova said: "There are few dates like this in Bulgarian history. From this day, Bulgaria returned to the geographical map of the world; from this day, the name Bulgaria returned — a name that the Bulgarian people have never lost or changed from the establishment of the state to the present day."

Iotova said that years after the Unification, Simeon Radev, author of The Builders of Modern Bulgaria, described it as one of the happiest days — a day of revolution and of happiness for the Bulgarian people.

Plovdiv Mayor Kostadin Dimitrov said: "141 years ago, the people of Plovdiv changed history. What kind of history we write today is up to us." Dimitrov recalled the difficult decisions of the 1878 Congress of Berlin, which left the Bulgarian land divided.

Plovdiv in those years was a city of educated and enterprising people, with a European outlook and a strong Bulgarian identity. Despite their achievements, however, the people of Plovdiv did not forget the great national goal - Unification, the mayor stressed. "An artificial division was rejected by the will of the Bulgarian people," Dimitrov said.