site.btaParticipants in 19th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media Hide in Odesa Opera House Bomb Shelter during Air Raid Alert

Alarm bells and sirens interrupted the "Musical Hits of World Cinema" concert at the Odesa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, attended by participants of the Nineteenth World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, held in Ukraine. Minutes after the orchestra played the Star Wars soundtrack, it was announced over the loudspeakers in the concert hall that there was an alert and attendees had to go down to the bomb shelter of the building.

Some members of the Bulgarian delegation spent about half an hour there, and after the alert was lifted the musical performance continued. All present strictly complied with the instructions of the authorities. Among them were BTA Director General Kiril Valchev, Deputy Director General Evgenia Drumeva, Bulgarian Consul in Odesa Svetoslav Ivanov, Director General of Bulgarian National Radio Milen Mitev, Chairman of the Council for Electronic Media Gabriela Naplatanova, Rector of Sofia University Prof. Georgi Valchev, BTA reporters and representatives of Bulgarian-language media abroad.

This year's World Meeting of Bulgarian Media, which opened Wednesday at the BTA National Press Club in Odesa, will continue until June 21 with discussion panels in Bolhrad and Izmail.