A musical-poetic spectacle and the awards ceremony for the first edition of the youth literary competition “Burgas Inspires” brought together young authors, artists, musicians and friends of poetry at the Flora Expo Center.
The initiative is by the Student Committee of Burgas Municipality, with the support of Burgas Municipality and the “Youth International Center” - Burgas.
Official guests of the event were Mikhail Nenov, Deputy Mayor “Education, Healthcare, Social Activities and Youth Policies”, and Maria Salabasheva - Director of the Municipal Enterprise “International Youth Cultural Center”. They congratulated the young artists for the courage to share their texts and emphasized that such initiatives build the cultural image of Burgas and support the city's candidacy for European Capital of Culture 2032.
The competition set a special creative challenge - the participants had to include in their poems a quote from favorite Burgas poets, thus creating a bridge between the classics and the new poetic voices. In this year's edition, 50 young people participated in two age groups - 14-18 and 19-30 years old. The nominated works were presented on stage by students from NUMSI “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov”, and musical performances complemented the festive atmosphere.
The jury of the competition, consisting of: Rumyana Emanuilidu, Dr. Loris Manuelian and Yana Valcheva, distinguished the following participants:
I age group (14-18 years)
- I place - Kristiyan Kamenov Krastev (NEG “Goethe”) for the poem “The Night City”;
- I place - Dimitrina Petrova Guteva (PGCHE “Vasil Levski”) for the poem “The Sea Does Not Remember”;
- II place - Daria Todorova Georgieva (NEG “Goethe”) for the poem “Under the Stars the Sea is Silent”;
- III place - Eva Dimitrova Sabeva (AEG “Geo Milev”) for the poem “Burgas Falls Asleep in a Bluish Twilight”.
Also nominated in this age group are:
- Radina Ivanova Boyadzhieva (EG “Hristo Botev”, Kardzhali),
- Nikiyan Nikolaev Dimitrov (PPMG “Geo Milev”),
- Lachezar Kaloyanov Kutsarov (PGEE “Konstantin Fotinov”),
- Elena Emilova Georgieva (PGRE “Georgi S. Rakovski”) and
- Siyana Alexandrova Kostadinova (NEG “Goethe”).
II age group (19-30 years)
- I place - Rositsa Filipova Stoyanova for the poem “I Remained Alive”;
- II place - Shirin Marinova (Medical Faculty at BDU) for the poem “The Sea Called Me”.
Also distinguished with nominations in this group were:
- Kalina Todorova Kuneva (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”) for “Far Away Remains the Beautiful Shore” and
- Ana-Maria Boykova Simeonova (SU “St. Kliment Ohridski”) for “The Night Came”.
All participants received certificates of participation, and those distinguished received special awards, provided with the support of Burgas Municipality, the Regional Library “Peyo Yavorov”, the Aviation Museum - Burgas and the Publishing House “Znatsi”.
“Burgas Inspires” will continue to encourage young people to create, read and discover their poetic voice, and the city to establish itself as a space where art has a home.