site.btaBulgaria to Mark 20 Years in NATO with Solemn Concert and Conference

On March 29, the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria's membership in NATO will be celebrated with a solemn concert and conference in Sofia, the government press service said. On January 31, the Council of Ministers adopted a National Programme of initiatives to mark the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria's accession to NATO throughout 2024, the Government Information Service said.

In 2024, 75 years since the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Bulgaria marks 20 years since joining the most successful political and military union in the world. As a family of shared values, NATO guarantees the peace and security of 32 member countries and over one billion citizens, the Council of Ministers said. 

Bulgaria joined NATO as a full member on March 29, 2004, when Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha handed the instruments of ratification of the country's accession protocol to US State Secretary Colin Powell in Washington, D.C. Six other countries acceded on that date: Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia. On April 2, the flags of the seven new member countries were raised at an official ceremony at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

On Friday, under the auspices of the Council of Ministers, the Foreign Ministry Diplomatic Institute, together with the Information Centre of the Ministry of Defence, the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria and the Sofia Security Forum are organizing a national conference at the Central Military Club, titled titled "20 Years Bulgaria in NATO: Because We Are Stronger Together". President Radev will attend the conference.

The celebration of the anniversary will continue with a solemn concert, titled "20 Years of Bulgaria in NATO", organized by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will take place at 6 pm at Knyaz Alexander I Square in Sofia. It will feature the  National Guard Brass Band, the Representative Brass Band of the National Guards Unit of Bulgaria and the NATO Jazz Orchestra, which is visiting Bulgaria for the first time. The The NATO Jazz Orchestra is the premiere jazz ensemble of the SHAPE International Band. The concert will be opened with a joint performance of the anthem of Bulgaria and the anthem of NATO.

The National Programme of initiatives to mark the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria's accession to NATO throughout 2024 includes a large number and variety of events, including conferences, exhibitions, open days, sports events, which will take place throughout the year. 

"Membership in NATO makes us secure," said outgoing Minister of Defence Todor Tagarev on Thursday in his address at the opening of an exhibition at the National Military History Museum, titled  "The Bulgarian Army: 20 Years in NATO". The Minister said that in the past 25 years, many people have worked hard for Bulgaria's membership in NATO so that this country could develop as a worthy member of this most powerful military-political union.