Theater is Not Just the Past: Iliana Yotova at the 2026 Icarus Awards

Theater is not just the past, said President Iliana Iotova during the awards ceremony for the "Ikar" 2026 awards. She thanked the Union of Artists in Bulgaria for the honor of having the anniversary event under the patronage of the presidential institution.

Through your faces and your roles, heroes live who teach us - ordinary mortals - what is good and what is evil in life, the head of state told the artists.

I stand before you tonight with great excitement, dictated by my great love for the theater, by gratitude to all of you, and by the self-confidence that I live in the time in which you also live, the president also noted.

Iotova explained that when a person stands on the other side of the stage, they see something different - a role they have remembered, a gesture that has impressed them, a line they remember or a smile they will never forget.

I want to see from somewhere those Shumen enthusiasts from 170 years ago, who did the hardest thing - the first step, and began to write the long chronicle of the Bulgarian theater, so that it would become not only a part of our life, but to be a part of ourselves, said the head of state.

She pointed out that many things have changed since then, but the love for the stage has remained. A space rich with inspiration, with human imagination, with a lot of thought and with a lot of emotions, said President Iotova. According to her, through the productions, the stage gathers different worlds that reflect the multifaceted human nature.

We see every single human quality, emotion or passion, as if through a magnifying glass. Thank you very much for this, because, leaving this hall, each of us begins to measure ourselves with what we have seen, heard and what we have imagined ourselves to be.

If a person thinks for a moment, they will see outstretched hands everywhere in the hall, which are held, although invisibly, holding each other, giving courage, giving strength and wanting to continue to walk together, she also stated.

Iliana Iotova called for applause for the chairman of the Union of Artists in Bulgaria, Hristo Mutafchiev. He is on this stage to do what he loves most to do his whole life - the roles, the theater, the stage, the music, the words, the text, added the president.

May your flight continue to be just as high and just as beautiful in the enchanted world of the theater, the head of state wished those present.

Iliana Iotova presented the Honorary Sign of the President to the Union of Artists in Bulgaria on the occasion of 170 years since the beginning of the Bulgarian community center cause, as well as for the significant contribution to the development of Bulgarian theatrical and stage art.