Sofia Airport Transportation Blog

Arena Armeec Sofia will host the first edition of the International Sports Festival “Be Strong – Dimitar Dimitrov’s Classic” which will include some of the most spectacular sports. Founder of the competition is Dimitar Dimitrov, world and two–time European bodybuilding champion, in partnership with Swanson Health Products, the largest American company for vitamins and supplements.

The Festival “Dimitar Dimitrov’s Classic” is also benefiting sports in schools, by giving 10 % of the profit from the festival to schools in the form of sports equipment, vitamins, herbal products and minerals. The prize of the competition is $ 50,000, which makes it one of the most prestigious tournaments in Europe. It will include several categories like Bodybuilding, Bikini Fitness category for women, Strongmen, tournaments of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Grappling, Muay Thai, and for the grand finale – MMA Gala Evening.

Participants in this event will be the most prestigious national and international athletes. The gates will be open all day and the visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy the  various tournaments and demonstrations by the athletes, as well as learn about the products of leading sports companies, presented at the Expo, also part of the Festival.

The event will take place in Sofia, Arena Armeec on October 19 and the price of the tickets is ranging between BGN 10 and BGN 20. The Gala is scheduled for 20:30 PM and the ticket is BGN 10.

Sofia will host the WTA Tournament of Champions 2013 for second consecutive year. The event is scheduled for October 29 to November 3, 2013 and the place will be again Arena Armeec Sofia in the capital. The Arena will host eight of the best tennis female players in the wolrd, including two wildcards and six players who have captured at least one International tournament during the year and who are not participating in singles at the season-ending WTA Championships.

The Tournament of Champions Sofia is the Season-Ending Championships of the WTA’s International Series that features top WTA players and next-generation champions. The event debuted in 2009 in Bali, where it was held until 2011. Later, it was moved to Sofia’s Arena Armeec for the 2012-2014 editions. Winners from the previous tournaments are Aravane Rezai in 2009, Ana Ivanovic in 2010 and 2011 and Nadia Petrova in 2012. The tournament also offers a $750,000 prize.

The tournament will begin each day around 5:00 p.m. and will continue until 11:00 p.m. The tickets are ranging between BGN 20 and BGN 150. VIP tickets are also available at the price of BGN 200 for one day and BGN 899 for the whole tournament.

Great news for those of you who love tattoos, the 12th editon of the annual Tattoо Fest Sofia will be held next month in Party Center 4km in the capital.

Some of the best Bulgarian studios, along with many foreign artists will participate in this year`s event. You`ll have the chance to go home with a beautiful tattoo, made by the best professionals in the world. Special guests of the festival will be the young metal bands PIRANHA and THIS BURNING DAY.

The chef with the most tattoos in Bulgaria will present a great Japanese culinary show and the bravest from the audiance will have the opportunity to taste dishes from restaurant Miyabi. The most beautiful girls will gather for Miss Tattoo contest and later everyone will enjoy the traditional Art Fusion – the combined work of tattoo professionals with different styles.

The Tattoo Fest will include also a calligraphy show by Max (Volt skateshop), gothic belly dance, fashion show by extravagant models of gothic shop Gorgon and many other interesting activities. The special finale will include a spectacular fire show by Miss Vanity and her stage partner Aggie.

The event will begin on Saturday, October 5, at 1:00pm in Party Center 4km and will finish on Sunday, October 6.

The 6th edition of Regalo, the South-East European Exhibition on Gifts, Beauty & Fashion Accessories, Home Decor & Textile will take place in Sofia on 25 – 27 September. The event presents a great business opportunity by bringing together buyers and sellers – importers, wholesalers, retail shop owners, dealers, designers, interior decorators.

The previous 5 editions of REGALO have made it known as a distinguished event and now it is one of the prominent specialized trade shows for gifts in South-East Europe. This year`s exibition will have an upgraded format. There will be 2 Exibition zones, so that the interests of the gift business community and of the general public will be met.

The trade show will present several sections, including Gifts (luxury, promotional gifts, souvenirs, toys and games, wedding accessories, sports goods, etc.), Beauty & Fashion (aromatherapy, cosmetics, fashion accessories, jewelry, perfumes, etc.) and Home Decor & Textile (decorative furniture, glass and crystalware, candles, pictures, etc.). The show is a great opportunity to promote your company or simply to buy gifts for you and your family.

World Education Fair – Experience Education represents one of the most successful international student recruitment fairs in Bulgaria over the past years. The Fair is the biggest international education exhibition of its kind in Bulgaria, and this year it will take place in several cities in Bulgaria, including Sofia, in October 2013.

Since 2003, the event has attracted young people, which are interested to study abroad for their secondary or higher education in distinguished international institutions. Thanks to the project, foreign educational institutions are popularized in Bulgaria. The World Education Fair gives you the opportunity to meet representatives from more than 60 institutions from Britain, Holland, Denmark, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, Italy and Norway and collect all the information you need about your future education.

This year, the event will take place on 5 – 6 October 2013 at Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan in the capital of Bulgaria. To participate in the Fair, however, you should register online in advance.

Another music legend is coming to Bulgaria to perform at the National Palace of Culture in the capital of the country. The British rock band Alan Parsons Live Project will meet with the Bulgarian fans for the first time ever on September 28, 2013.

The band, founded by Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons was most active between 1975 and 1990. Their music focuses on the rock, and more precisely on the progressive rock, soft rock, pop rock and art rock. In 1994, Alan Parsons formed a new version of the band, which went through various changes through the years, leading to the latest version of the group, called the Alan Parsons Live Project.

The concert will begin at 8 pm in Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture in downtown Sofia. Keep in mind, however, that during the concert you won`t be allowed to use any kinds of cameras. The tickets for the event have been on sale since May 10 with ranging prices between BGN 50 and BGN 150.

We are sending off summer with a special concert of Manu Chao in the capital of Bulgaria. The legendary musician will present his project, called La Ventura in front of Bulgarian public on September 16, at the Festivalna Hall. The fans will have the chance to meet again with their favourite singer, 2 years after his previous concert in Sofia.

Now, it`s time for a new show, including some of the greatest hits of Chao like “Clandestino”, “Bongo Bong”, “Me Gustas Tu”, “Je ne t’aime plus”, “Me Llaman Calle”, etc. Manu Chao`s style of music is very interesting, combining elements of Ska, Reggae, Punk, Latin music, Salsa and Rock. Not to mention that he sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Galacian, Portuguese and even Arabic.

Don`t miss your chance to have fun with Mano Chao and his unforgettable show in Festivalna Hall. The concert will begin at 8 pm and the price of the tickets is BGN 50. Keep in mind, however, that their number is limited to 3000.

Bulgarian Transport Minister Danail Papazov has dismissed Plovdiv Airport head Doychin Angelov.
Angelov was appointed Director of Plovdiv Airport on October 9, 2009, during the term in office of the previous center-right GERB government.

Angelov, as cited by the Focus news agency, made clear Monday that a decision of the Transport Minister ordering that two members of the Board of Directors be replaced had been faxed to Plovdiv Airport late Thursday afternoon.
He emphasized that the decision for his dismissal did not provide motives but only informed about the appointment of Ivan Karnabitov and Ivanka Petkova as BoD members and the termination of his participation in the Board of Directors.
Angelov commented that he expected Karnabitov to be appointed as his successor. Karnabitov headed the Commercial Department of Plovdiv Airport until his dismissal by Angelov six months ago.

Regarding the appointment of Ivanka Petkova, Angelov explained that she had been an associate of former Transport Minister Petar Mutafchiev and had been a member of the Airport’s BoD until 2009, but insisted that she was an outside person. He said that the decision for his replacement by Karnabitov was the better scenario for the development of the Airport because he was not an outsider and was well acquainted with the problems at Plovdiv Airport.
During Angelov’s term in office, year-round regular flights were opened for the first time in the history of the airport, according to investor.bg.

Plovdiv Airport currently offers regular flights between London and Plovdiv three times a week and regular flights connecting Frankfurt and Plovdiv twice a week.

Angelov expressed regrets that he had not managed to increase the salaries of the staff but noted that there had been no job cuts at the Airport during his term in office.

In 2012, Plovdiv Airport processed over 90 000 passengers.

Since the launch of the first regular flight in 2010, over 180 000 passengers have passed through the airport.

Wizz Air announced today the 4th aircraft for its Bulgarian base at Sofia airport. The new Airbus A320 aircraft will be delivered in Sofia in May 2014.

The new aircraft will support operations of a total of 16 Sofia routes and increase seat capacity by 30% resulting in over 1.1 million seats. This shows that low fares lead to tourism and job creation and stimulate business with foreign markets as consumers really want access to low cost air travel. Wizz Air announced more weekly flights on the existing services to Brussels Charleroi, Eindhoven, London Luton and Milan Bergamo.

The 4th aircraft will also support the summer operation of the earlier announced Dubai route, which starts operating with 3 frequencies on 29 October and a new route to Malmo Scandinavia which will be operated two times per week from 16 May 2014. Seats on the new Sofia route are already on sale from incredible BGN 59.99. Wizz Air

Iron Maiden’s ex singer Paul Di’Anno announced that Bulgaria will be part of his Farewell tour in October. The legendary lead singer from the first two albums of the group -“Iron Maiden” and “Killers”, revealed a year ago that in 2014 he will officially stop performing.

Fortunately, on October 3rd 2013, the Bulgarian fans will have the opportunity to hear live and for the last time some of their favourite hits, like “Iron Maiden”, “Running Free”, “Phantom of The Opera”, “Wrathchild”, “Murders in The Rue Morgue”, “Killers”, etc. Paul Di’Anno arrives with special guests for the show, the Greek band Sorrowful Angels.

The concert will begin at 20:30 in Sofia`s RBF club. The price of the tickets is BGN 22.