site.btaAssociation of Bulgarian Event Industry Established

An Association of Bulgarian Event Industry (ABEI) has been established to unite and defend the interests of clubs, promoters and organizers of concerts, music and cultural events in the country, Fest Team said. ABEI will work in partnership with the National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria and aims to provide representation and protection of the rights of the event community both in Bulgaria and internationally.

ABEI is the first associate member east of Germany of Live DMA, Europe's leading network of concert hall, festival and club associations, uniting over 3,000 cultural spaces in more than 20 countries. The network works to build a strong independent music sector through advocacy with European institutions, research, exchange of best practice and policy making for better working conditions in the music industry. ABEI's membership in Live DMA is an important step towards the international positioning of the Bulgarian events industry and its inclusion in European professional standards," Fest Team commented.

Among the founding members of ABEI are Petar Koev (Sofia Live Club, Sofia Live Festival and official representative of the organization), Martin Mihaylov (Stroeja), Atanas Boev (Artvent), Nikolay Todorov (KMD), Stefan Elenkov (Fest Team), Boris Deninski (EXE), Martin Popov (HMSU), and Ruth Koleva (Sofia Live Festival).