site.btaNorth Macedonia Artists, Who Had Confirmed Participation in Sofia Concert on Occasion of Gotse Delchev Birth Anniversary, Announce Non - Attendance

Artists from North Macedonia, who have confirmed their participation in the upcoming concert for the celebration of the 153rd birth anniversary of Gotse Delchev, organized in Sofia by the International Foundation for Cooperation and Cultural Competition "Gotse Delchev" of the conductor and grandson of Gotse Delchev - Hristo Hristov, have announced that they will not participate.

According to the website mkd.mk, a week ago actresses Valentina Bozinovska and Ilina Mitrevska received an invitation to participate in a gala concert with artists from Bulgaria and North Macedonia - Bozinovska  to recite poetry and soprano, Mitrevska to participate in the concert of the Sofia Symphony Orchestra. In a statement to the media, Bozinovska said that the organizer had informed her that officials from North Macedonia would also attend and that they were happy to accept the invitation.

"A cultural event was to be held between the two countries, which was to be attended by officials from (North) Macedonia", Bozinovska said in a statement to mkd.mk. "Something similar to the visit of the Macedonian Opera and Ballet to Sofia. After we found out that none of the official representatives of (North) Macedonia would come, we decided to cancel our participation. We are staying with our people and have informed the organizers about this".

On Wednesday the media in North Macedonia announced that the Gotse Delchev Foundation had officially announced the event, and the concert will feature Ilina Mitrevska - North Macedonia soprano, Neli Dineva - Bulgarian soprano, Valentina Bozinovska - poetry from (North) Macedonia, Elisaveta Shapkareva - poetry from Bulgaria, Lyubka Biagioni-Gutenberg - conductor from Germany, and the Sofia Symphony Orchestra. According to the announcement of the concert, under the honorary patronage of the President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, the President of (North) Macedonia Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, members of the parliaments of both countries, as well as from both governments are invited.

"The Macedonian government says it has not received an official request for a joint celebration and that none is planned", mkd.mk said. According to the media outlet North Macedonia's PM Hristijan Mickoski's agenda was set long ago and on February 4 he will lead the government delegation that will visit Gotse Delchev's grave in St. Spas Church in Skopje. President Siljanovska on the other hand will be in Stip on February 4 for celebrations at the Gotse Delchev University in the city. The media outlet said that none of the MPs in the North Macedonian parliament, who were asked if they had received invitations, had responded positively.

Hristov, the chair of the Gotse Delchev Foundation, told local TV Channel 5 on Wednesday that communication between the two countries should continue through the cultural sphere.

"Now there is an opportunity for legislators from both countries to meet, regardless of what political parties they are from, and be able to talk to each other on a very positive basis. The soloists and the poetry are from both countries, so hopefully it will be something very positive," Hristov said. 

Joint celebrations of Gotse Delchev began in 2017 after then-Prime Ministers Zoran Zaev and Boyko Borissov signed the Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighbourliness, "but due to strained relations after the Bulgarian veto, they quickly came to a halt," media in North Macedonia wrote.

February 4 will mark 153 years since the birth of prominent Bulgarian revolutionary and one of the leaders of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization Georgi /Gotse/ Nikolov Delchev, born in 1872 in the then-ethnically Bulgarian town of Kukush, Salonika Vilayet, Ottoman empire (now Kilkis in Greece). Nowadays he is part of the heritage of both Bulgaria and North Macedonia.