A group of Burgas residents has launched a petition to name Lyuben Dilov Jr. an honorary citizen of the city after his death. Organisers say they need at least 1,000 signatures from people registered at an address in the municipality to get the proposal moving.
The committee cites article 45, item 2 of the city's rules on symbols and honours. The signatures will go to the city council, where the nomination is expected to come up for a vote at the October session. If it passes, the award will go to his family on 6 December, St Nicholas' Day and also Burgas's city holiday.
Organisers say the petition is a way of saying thank you for his work in the city's public and cultural life, and for the causes he championed as an MP for the Burgas 2nd constituency.
Dilov Jr. has already received a similar honour elsewhere. In June, Sofia's city council voted to make him an honorary citizen of the capital after his death, and the award was handed over on 17 September 2026, on Sofia's city holiday. The Sofia council cited his work in journalism, television, literature, culture and public life, as well as his career as a screenwriter, publisher and author.
Dilov Jr. died on 2 June 2026, aged 61. Parliament's records show his ties to Burgas go back to 2005, when he was first elected as an MP for the city in the 40th National Assembly. From 2021 on, he won a seat in every parliament that followed, and for the last five years of his life he represented the Burgas constituency. After parliament told the election commission of his death, the commission ended his term and passed the seat to the next candidate on the list.
In August 2021, he pushed the state to fund the blood centre in Burgas and give it proper legal status. In 2022, he named the blood centre and the status of the Chengene Skele fishing settlement as the two top priorities for Burgas MPs. He argued the region should not have to send donated blood to Stara Zagora for processing, especially in the busy summer months.
The regional transfusion haematology centre received 5 million levs from the state budget, 1.8 million levs of which went on construction work and 3.2 million levs on medical equipment. It is now registered as a stand-alone medical facility with 58 staff posts. Work to convert the building next to Burgas University Hospital began in February 2026; by July it was well under way, and five years after Dilov first raised the issue, the project is now in its final stage.
For the fishing settlement, he pushed the state to find a legal way to protect residents' homes, boats and livelihoods. In the 51st National Assembly, the bill reached the regional development committee and passed its first reading, but the parliament's short life meant it never made it into law. Fishermen from Chengene Skele signed the petition as a group and were among the first to back the idea in public, saying they see him as one of their own.
In April 2026, during his final election campaign, Dilov Jr. backed Burgas's bid to become European Capital of Culture.