site.btaFifth Open Buzludzha Festival to Light Up Landmark with Free Music, Visual Spectacle

The fifth Open Buzludzha Festival will take place in front of the Buzludzha Monument in Central Bulgaria from August 15 to 17, the organizers from the Buzludzha Project Foundation announced Thursday.

The festival will offer a mix of daytime and nighttime programming, including artistic performances, exhibitions, and discussions in the open air, set against the backdrop of the Buzludzha Monument and the scenery of the Balkan Mountains. 

The rich daytime program will include workshops, tours, and games.

As the sun sets behind the peaks of the Balkan Mountains, visitors can enjoy performances by four DJs on the Sunset Stage.

"On August 15, Closeup North, arriving from Budapest, will perform live music in Ambient Downtempo style. After that, Bulgarian DJ Algorithm will captivate the audience with his sunset selection. On August 16, Fey and Mr. X, winner of last year’s DJ contest, will immerse the audience in a deeptech/organic B2B set. On August 17, Fey will close the festival," the organizers said.

After the sun sets, the festival will welcome the night with a 3D mapping show and live band performances. The visual show, combining the best elements of past performances, will take place on the evenings of August 15 and 16. The 3D mapping show produced by the internationally renowned MP-STUDIO will bring the monument’s facade to life. This year, for the first time, the light show will be accompanied by four bands performing live directly in front of the monument.

On the evening of August 15, the Samuel Manuelyan Project, blending influences from Southern Rock, blues, classic, and progressive rock, will open the show. The musical experience will continue with the performance of Grupa Scarlet, offering a sound that combines post-punk, alternative rock, new wave, and electronic elements. The duo Zhivica will keep the good vibes going after midnight with a DJ party featuring music from the 90s.

On Saturday, the new Bulgarian rock band Mono and the Stereos, who mix rock and country music with the sounds of the violin, will take on the stage. The night will continue with Innerglow, a Bulgarian electronic pop-rock band, and conclude with DJ Medo’s rock-funk DJ party.

The final highlight of the festival will be a classical concert by string quartet Ars Nova chamber formation on August 17.

Admission to the event is free. Under the theme "A Story to Share", the 2025 celebration marks the 10th anniversary of the foundation’s efforts to preserve and transform one of Bulgaria’s most emblematic landmarks into a global cultural destination.

The festival is held with the institutional support of the Regional Administration of Stara Zagora, the Municipality of Kazanlak, and the Shipka-Buzludzha National Park-Museum.

Open Buzludzha 2025 is implemented with the financial support of the European Union, under the international project Developing an Inclusive Process for Communicating Contested Heritage.