site.btaTwo Media Anniversaries to Be Highlighted at Bulgarian Cultural Institute in London

Two media anniversaries will be commemorated at the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in London on June 19. The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) is celebrating 60 years since publishing the first issue of its LIK magazine for literature, art and culture. The other anniversary is 90 years since the establishment of Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).

Early in 2025, the two special dates were featured in thematic LIK issues, which will be presented during the upcoming event. BTA Director General Kiril Valchev and BNR Director General Milen Mitev will take part in the London conference. The Bulgarian Cultural Institute in the UK capital will also host two exhibitions, a documentary one marking the BNR anniversary and a display of works from the national competition “In the Footsteps of Sirak Skitnik,” honouring the acclaimed painter and first BNR director.

Pianist Mario Angelov will perform music by Panctho Wladigueroff, Dimitar Nenov and Krasimir Kyurkchiiski. LIK Editor-in-Chief Georgi Lozanov will join the event by videoconference. The magazine’s Executive Editor Yanitsa Hristova will take part in the discussion.

LIK was launched on January 8, 1965, as a weekly bulletin. Its title is an acronym for the Bulgarian words for “literature, art, culture.” It was conceived as a publication providing detailed information from all over the world concerning events and developments in the field of literature, theatre, the visual arts, music and education, among other domains. Illustrated with photos and reproductions, the bulletin was advertised by BTA as “a window to the varied cultural scene of the contemporary world.”

LIK’s circulation reached record-large numbers in the 1970s and 1980s. The magazine was closed in 1992 for financial reasons, and relaunched seven years later. It was published as a monthly magazine until January 2013. From March 2013 until the end of the year, it was available only online. After another seven years, in July 2020, it came out in an extraordinary issue covering the COVID pandemic. LIK was restored again as a monthly publication in March 2022.