Surva Sets Record as Pernik Deputy Mayor Krastev Closes Festival

BTA correspondent Maya Kostadinova, Kaloyan Kirilov

Pernik, Western Bulgaria,

25.01.2026 19:46

(BTA)

More than 13,000 participants from all of Bulgaria’s ethnographic regions took part in the 32nd Surva International Festival of Masquerade Games in Pernik, Pernik Deputy Mayor Stefan Krastev said at the closing ceremony on Sunday.

Krastev added that this year’s edition was a record, with the festival held over two consecutive weekends for the first time and drawing more than 34 foreign groups.

“We are bidding farewell to a record-breaking festival. For the first time, it was held over two consecutive weekends. For the first time, we welcomed more than 34 international groups. There is no other winter masquerade event of this scale anywhere in Europe,” Krastev said.

Krastev also said the people of Pernik should feel proud, because the authenticity of their traditions—together with the recognition from the Federation of European Carnival Cities (FECC), which proclaimed Pernik a global centre of masquerade traditions, gave them something to show the world and be proud of. He added that a tradition that had endured for millennia could not be shut down. He said the Surva International Festival of Masquerade Games would go into a quiet period until its next edition in 2027.

On the final day, dozens of groups marched through Krakra Pernishki Square. Bulgarian boxer Tervel Pulev and his family joined the Pernik group from Bogdanov Dol as survakari.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) assumed patronage of the 32nd Surva International Festival of Masquerade Games in Pernik.

This year, several hundred participants from France, the United States, Ireland, Indonesia, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, Greece, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Romania and other countries took part in the parades. The Chinese dragon of the Confucius Institute at St Cyril and St Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo also made an appearance in Pernik.

This year’s festival was a jubilee edition, marking 60 years since its inaugural staging in 1966. For this reason, the jury awarded three grand prizes for the first time: sets of gold, silver, and bronze masks, presented separately to groups from Pernik Province and to those from Western and Eastern Bulgaria.

This year’s jury was chaired by Milan Milanov, Director of the Regional History Museum in Pernik. The members included Galina Dekova, Director of the Pernik Art Gallery; Dimitrina Netsova, Director of the Municipal Youth House – Pernik; Yoana Yordanova-Soika, Director of the United Children's Complex – Pernik; and Radostina Radanova, Director of the International Youth Centre in Pernik. Monika Dzhordzhina, Administrative Secretary at the Regional History Museum in Pernik, served as secretary.

BTA is a media partner of the international event.

/КТ/