site.btaEtropole Flag Flies over Antarctica

The flag of the western Bulgarian town of Etropole was raised in Antarctica by the head of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute and leader of the Bulgarian Antarctic expeditions, Prof. Christo Pimpirev, together with journalist Maria Cherneva. The symbolic gesture took place a day before a group of participants in the 34th Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition, led by Pimpirev, departed from the continent.

On Livingston Island there is a peak named Etropole, as the town is known for its Revival-era roots and traditions, Cherneva told BTA. Near Mount Etropole there is a copper deposit, and the first researchers of Livingston Island, who were geologists, passed through these mines as part of their scientific development, she added.

The flag was presented to Pimpirev by Etropole Mayor Vladimir Alexandrov during the presentation in the town of the book Antarctica - History, Nature, Bulgarian Polar Explorers, authored by Christo Pimpirev and Iglika Trifonova.

The Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) departed for Antarctica from Varna (on the Black Sea) on November 7, 2025. After a month-long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, the ship arrived at the Argentine naval base in Mar del Plata on December 13.

BTA has had a national press club on board the ship since 2022 and another on Livingston Island since February 2024. These are added to the news agency’s other 41 national press clubs (33 in Bulgaria, seven abroad in neighbouring countries and in nations with large Bulgarian communities, and one mobile National Book Press Club). BTA's Director General Kiril Valchev announced ahead of the fourth voyage to Antarctica on November 7, 2025 that the national news agency would send a special correspondent in January-February 2026.

He said the press clubs exist thanks to the generous support of RSV 421 and Bulgaria’s St Kliment Ohridski Base, which provide the necessary facilities. 

The news items of BTA's special correspondents on RSV 421 and Antarctica are freely available in Bulgarian and English on the agency's website. They can be used free of charge by all media, with attribution to BTA. Valchev recalled that thanks to its correspondents, the news agency appears among the top results on Google when searching for the phrase “Antarctica correspondent”.