Contemporary festival brings light to Communist ruin
The fourth iteration of the OPEN BUZLUDZHA festival is scheduled to kick off on 8 August and will last for three nights/four days. A plethora of local and international club scene bands will converge on the lawn beneath the controversial former Communist Party House Monument on Mount Buzludzha, informally referred to as the UFO. These include Wickeda, Hayes & Y, Kerana and the Cosmonauts, Two Cities One World, Funkilicious, Heptagram and others. Thousands of Bulgarians will be joined by an international crowd for the festival that in 2024 has a motto: Memories from the Future.
Some of the non-musical activities include Mission Buzludzha, Message in a Bottle, Theatre of the Future, Uncomfortable Questions, and Buzludzha CoolTour.
The festival is the brainchild of Dora Ivanova, the young German-educated architect, who has been causing ripples in this country's cultural and political landscape during the past few years as she has taken upon herself to render the crumbling former Communist Party monument safe and open for visitors. Dora Ivanova's foundation has received support from the Getty Foundation in Los Angeles and from a variety of international institutions aiming to preserve endangered and controversial architectural legacy through Europe. Having invested about a million leva so far and having employed hundreds of volunteers, the Buzludzha Project has now stalled, owing to the intransigence of the Stara Zagora regional governor who has declared the building "unsafe." At present, entry into the cavernous construction continues to be banned.
For a full interview with Dora Ivanova, please wait until next month's issue of Vagabond, Bulgaria's English Magazine. For the time being, book your tickets for the Open Buzludzha 2024 here
Accommodation and camping details can be seen here
Proceeds from the ticket sales will go to the continued effort to preserve the Buzludzha UFO and make it accessible to everyone.
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