Bulgaria hosts international media, celebrates Rose Festival

By Emmanuel Yashim

Director General of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), Kiril Valchev on Friday described Bulgaria as a country that has attained freedom owing to the many choices available to its people.

Valchev stated this in Kazanlak, a town on the outskirts of Sofia, during the BTA-hosted 18th World Meeting of the Bulgarian media.

The director-general said journalists from 23 news agencies and organisations from across the world were attending the meeting with 18 of them represented at a time the traditional Rose Festival is taking place in Kazanlak.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Kazanlak rose festival is the largest annual carnival in Bulgaria.

Valchev stated that there were times in the history of the country that opening events such as happened on Friday was a massive challenge due to freedom challenges.

He said the co-operation agreements signed by the BTA with other international news agencies across the world had enabled the BTA to discuss issues that countered falsehood and promoted truthful reportage.

“The 18 international news agencies share our thoughts.
“We cannot promote falsehood. We need to make choices between truth and falsehood.

“It costs money to develop relationships with international news agencies and develop experience and news exchange prgrammes.

“Freedom means learning from the past.

“In BTA we do not make choices for the people; we provide them with the options for them to be able to make the choices,” he said.

Valchev said before Bulgaria became independent there were more than 20 rose distilleries in the country for the production of rose oil.

“We celebrate the 120th year of freedom during which we have promoted the festival.

“We are reminding the world about our tradition and heritage.

‘We are talking heatedly about the future of a democratic Bulgaria,” he added.

The event also witnessed the ceremonial blessing for prosperity on the occasion of the Day of Kazanlak and official hoisting of the flag of the town.

The event also saw the flower-laying ceremony on the occasion of the death of Hristo Botev, a national poet.

The anniversary of the death of Botev coincides with that of the festival of roses.

As part of efforts to remember the heroes of Bulgaria, visits were embarked upon to the “Tower” ethnographic Complex, the Kazanlak Tomb, and the Rose Museum – all in the same town.

Meanwhile, one of the two towns which claim to be the capital of Bulgaria’s Rose Valley crowned its Rose Queen on Friday night.

The people of Kazanlak gave the 55th annual distinction to Kristina Popova, who has just finished high school.

The crowning ceremony in the central Seuthopolis Square was held after Kristina was selected as the winner of the Rose Queen Competition on May 19.

The Rose Queen competition is won by a female considered to be the Most Dignified Girl – an icon of the town.

The winner of the title is then coronated and given as a reward, the key to the town of Kazanlak.