site.btaUPDATED Rivers of Sofia Festival Takes Place September 1-3

The 2023 edition of the Rivers of Sofia Festival is taking place on September 1-3 near Toplocentrala Center for Contemporary Arts. The event's message is that the capital has real, living rivers running through it that have the potential to bring joy to the city and be a full part of it, Martin Yankov, founder of The Collective Foundation, organizer of the festival, said Friday.

The festival aims to draw citizens' and the municipality's attention to the possible future of the capital's rivers, to the problems they have and the solutions for improving their condition, Yankov adds.

He recalled that within the framework of the initiative in the past years a large number of temporary interventions have been carried out at different river locations in the city, expert working groups and consultations on the state of the rivers in Sofia. These concluded that the highest priority for the future of the capital's rivers is to build a system to separate domestic sewage from stormwater, and this project has the potential to tangibly increase the cleanliness of the capital's rivers. 

"As the city grows, the capacity of domestic sewers designed to run by gravity parallel to the rivers decreases. Even now, thousands of tons of sewage are probably poured directly into the Perlovska River under the National Palace of Culture every day, flowing openly through the very centre of Sofia. A video by independent expert and activist Ivo Anev is very indicative of the pollution of the rivers, showing the real problem. And its solution is becoming more and more urgent, because every new neighborhood at the foot of Vitosha that joins the sewage network puts additional strain on the system in the central part of the city and it overflows into the river," the festival team said. 

They say another major problem of the capital's rivers is that there are too many institutions responsible for their protection. "The Sofia Municipality, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Regional Development and other institutions related to the rivers can hardly synchronize efforts to find a systematic solution to the case and the necessary funds," Yankov said. In his words, it is the Sofia Municipality that should take the leading position and responsibility for the city's well-being, uniting other institutions in finding solutions.

According to Yankov, separating the dirt from the storm sewer system is a difficult but inevitable task if the capital's residents want to live in a clean city.

Programme

This year's festival programme will feature several stages tailored to the natural habitat of the Perlovska River in South Park 2, and will see talents such as 4etno ethnic band, artist Ivan Shopov, The Science, street musicians JamBure and more.

On the first night Inside joke Stand up comedy will entertain guests on the river from the water stage, and on Sunday the programme will end with a short film. During the three days of the festival, visitors will also enjoy circus, science and art workshops, yoga, a handmade bazaar and a team competition with questions about botany, ecology, geography and, of course, rivers, The Collective said. 

In addition to the traditionally inspiring cultural programme, art installations and interventions in space, this year's edition offers a special interactive lesson on activism and urban planning.

It is supported by the European Parliament Office in Bulgaria. Part of the parallel programme of Sofia Rivers and the first national forum Placemaking Connected: Bulgaria, which aims to create a network of organisations involved in urban development in Bulgaria. The open lesson will explore alternative forms of citizen participation and possible roles in the process of creating interventions in the urban fabric. 

For several years, The Collective Foundation has been developing the Rivers of the City initiative on a national level, which in 2023 took place in Stara Zagora, Veliko Tarnovo, this weekend it will take place in Gabrovo, and after the Sofia edition it will also visit Sinemorets.