Burgas will host a festival called "Burgas – a World Stage of Languages and Cultures" on 20 and 21 November. It is devoted to languages and cultures from Europe, Asia and Africa. Entry is free on both days, the organisers said.

The event is on the second floor of the Central Park complex, in the Tria Co-working Space. The festival opens officially with a stage programme at 6:30pm on Friday, 20 November.

The programme has dozens of workshops and creative studios, fashion parades, literary readings and language games. Little-known musical instruments will also be played. Visitors will paint on water, try writing in unfamiliar scripts, put on traditional clothes and hear poetry in the original language.

There will be workshops on Venetian masks, the Indonesian angklung and Japanese taiko drums. Visitors can also learn Swahili proverbs. Exhibitions show traditional clothing, musical instruments and calligraphy.

Open lectures include talks on the history of writing and the image of artificial intelligence in German science fiction. In the language workshops and literary meetings, guests will hear how different languages sound, compare scripts and learn the stories behind words, gestures and customs.

The 14 cultures on show are those of Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Iran, Armenia, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Italy, France and Portugal. Several embassies will have stands and give information on site.

On Friday during the day, the programme is for organised groups of 11th and 12th grade pupils. It includes practical activities and meetings with teachers and students. The organisers say it adds to foreign-language teaching at school. On Saturday, 21 November, the festival welcomes visitors of all ages from 10am until the evening.

More than 60 teachers, students and doctoral students from Sofia University "St Kliment Ohridski" are coming to Burgas. All departments of the Faculty of Classical and Modern Philologies take part. The co-organisers are the Burgas branch of Sofia University, Burgas Municipality and Central Park Burgas. Students from Alma Mater in Burgas, who study music media technology and sound engineering, provide the sound and stage effects.

The organisers say the festival builds on the growth of foreign-language higher education in Burgas and shows anyone interested a part of what is taught in university lecture halls. Sofia University already offers bachelor's programmes in Burgas in Japanese, Chinese and Korean.