A project from Smolyan won the top prize of €4,000 in the sixth "Gradolyubiteli" (City Lovers) competition. The awards were presented on 9 October at the Flora Exhibition Centre in Burgas.

The ceremony closed the first national "Gradolyubiteli" forum for city ideas, held to support Burgas's bid to be European Capital of Culture 2032.

The winner is the "Young Researchers for Youth Development" association with its project "DendrariYIYdum on the sixth floor".

The BUM association from Mezdra took second prize of €2,000 for its project "Built by hand, kept with heart". Ruska Boyadzhieva, executive director of the Burgas 2032 Foundation, presented it.

Three projects shared third place and each received €1,000: "Veloagora Burgas" by the Burgas Cycling Community, "Green Pockets (Miyawaki micro-forests)" by the Div Roshkov association, and "Small City Ideas" by Branislav Mladenov and a team from Dupnitsa. Three consolation prizes were also given.

The Institute for Urban Ideas organised the forum with the Burgas 2032 Foundation, which is also its main partner. The other partners are the British Embassy in Sofia, the Sustainable Cities Fund, the FLAG Fund and Capital.

The forum covered civic participation, culture, city development and funding. Civic groups, local authorities and businesses shared their experience.

Ognyan Georgiev, founder and manager of the Institute for Urban Ideas, said the mission of "Gradolyubiteli" is to connect and support active communities across Bulgaria. Boyadzhieva described culture as a driver for reviving city spaces and building a shared community identity. Deputy mayor Diana Savateva welcomed the participants and said Burgas should invest in people and in their role in the city's development.

Elizabeth Chapman, deputy head of the British mission in Bulgaria, was a guest at the forum. Helfried Carl of European Capital of Democracy and Prof. Calin Hintea of Babeș-Bolyai University spoke about experience abroad.

The programme also featured the Burgas Brass Band and students from the Prof. Pancho Vladigerov National School of Music and Dance Arts and from the Célestin Freinet school.