［CITY］
Sofia … Bulgaria
［SCHEDULE］
2026：5.24 … 10.10
To the festival site ▷
Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria and is known as one of the oldest cities in Europe. The origin of the name cames from the St. Sophia church in the Eastern Roman Empire Justinian era (ruling 527 – 565). However, in the 4th century, there was already a church of St. Georgi, the oldest Christian cathedral in the Balkans.
Aside from the Saint Sophia church, the cathedral of St. Alexander-Nevsky, the Balkan’s largest Orthodox Cathedral, is now one of the Sofia symbols. On the other hand there is a synagogue – Sofia is a rare city where Catholicism, Islam, Eastern Orthodox Church, Judaism, all chapels are in one square kilometer. It is because it also has an eternal history.
The festival was founded in 1970. Since then, the music festival has enhanced fame as a music festival that represents Eastern Europe. The late May to the beginning of July. The venues are Bulgaria Hall, National Palace of Culture built in the socialist era.
Concerts by Bulgarian artists are central, but of course there are many overseas orchestras and artists’ guest performances as well. The main event in the music festival of 2017 was the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra led by Valery Gergiev appearing in the opening concert.
