site.btaBulgaria Faces No Reputational Risk over UNESCO Session Decision, Culture Minister Bachev Says

Commenting on the Bulgarian Culture Ministry’s decision to decline hosting the 47th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, Culture Minister Marian Bachev claimed that Bulgaria’s international reputation would not suffer. Speaking to Bulgarian National Television (BNT), he said: "Our partners in Paris are not upset, on the contrary, they expect us, and I am confident we will represent ourselves well there. On a global scale, we will not face any reputational damage," he stressed.

On Wednesday, the Culture Ministry announced that the session would take place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris from July 6 to 16, 2025, with Bulgaria providing financial support as the designated host.

When asked if Sofia could have hosted the session, Bachev responded: "Of course, it could have. It would have been great – if everything had happened on time".

Bachev refrained from criticizing his predecessor, Nayden Todorov, who served as caretaker culture minister, saying: "I respect Maestro Todorov, we have known each other for years. As ministers, we want to maintain good communication, so I will not say anything negative about him. However, since I have to deal with the consequences, I must speak in detail".

Explaining why Sofia ultimately could not host the event, Bachev pointed to missed deadlines and procedural delays. "We realized this about two weeks after the new government took office. By late January, as we reviewed the different departments, it became clear that many deadlines had been missed. I already explained this during Parliament’s Question Time on Friday – there are mandatory procedures to follow," he said.

Bachev clarified that organizing such an event required cooperation between multiple ministries, including the Culture Ministry, the Environment and Water Ministry, and the Foreign Ministry. Warnings had been issued as early as June, including from the Foreign Ministry, about the disorganized state of the preparations. A parliamentary ratification should have been completed by November 6, 2024 – eight months before the event – but this never happened.

He noted that the transition between the two caretaker governments led by Dimitar Glavchev further complicated the situation. "I assume that at some point, Todorov realized that a lot of time had been lost. They had made artistic and creative preparations, but the technical aspects and, most importantly, financial provisions were lacking," Bachev explained.

Addressing Todorov’s claim that significant progress had been made, including in securing funds for the UNESCO Session, Bachev said he was unaware of such thing. He pointed out that former caretaker Prime Minister Glavchev had not included the necessary funds in the 2025 State Budget Bill.

"There are public procurement procedures that take about four months to organize. There will always be appeals, which add another four months. Additionally, UNESCO representatives had specific technical requirements for Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture (NDK), particularly regarding lighting and sound. Accommodation requirements also included three-, four-, and five-star hotels with climate systems that leave no carbon footprint," Bachev added. He emphasized that meeting UNESCO’s newly introduced environmental standards for the event would have been a significant challenge for Bulgaria.