A decision on the UNESCO session should have been ratified in the National Assembly on November 6. This was said in “The Day Begins“ on BNT by the Minister of Culture Marian Bachev regarding the scandal with our hosting of the session of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Committee. He emphasized that he has respect for maestro Nayden Todorov and that he takes the hot potato from him.
According to Marian Bachev, Sofia could have hosted the UNESCO session if everything had happened on time. According to him, about two weeks after the new cabinet took office, it became clear that our country would not be able to hold the session in Sofia.
“At the end of January, we began to analyze the individual departments and it began to be understood that we had missed many deadlines. There are procedures that need to be followed. This organization is not organizing a concert by a pop star, which requires several months and people from Bulgaria to see the specific performer. This is related to an organization that is not only the Ministry of Culture, this is teamwork. Many signals have been received, including from June from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that things are not in good condition with regard to this organization, which requires technical time. For example, this decision should have been ratified in the National Assembly on November 6 at the latest, eight months before the start," explained the Minister of Culture Marian Bachev.
He pointed out that Dimitar Glavchev's office has not allocated funds in the 2025 budget for the holding of the UNESCO session in the capital.
"Separately, there are public procurements that need to be done - they take 4 months, if there are appeals, another 4 months; separately, the requirements for the National Palace of Culture; separately, those who need to be accommodated have requirements for 3,4,5 stars – hotels should not have a carbon footprint on air conditioning systems", commented Marian Bachev.
The Minister of Culture emphasized that he is not speaking emotionally, but speaking with facts.
"If everything has been done so well, as the organizers from the previous cabinet say, who am I not to open the session on July 6, dressed in a suit, have a speech and say that such an event happens once every few decades. Obviously, I would very much like to, but it is not possible when the circumstances are such", said the Minister of Culture.
In his words, this is not a precedent on a global scale for another country to be the host and emphasized that our country will be well represented.
It is yet to become clear how much our country will spend for our session, which will be held in Paris. This amount is expected to be many times smaller.
“We will save on logistics, on organization, on renting halls from people who work anyway in the heart of UNESCO. Not to mention issuing visas for foreign guests, some of whom we do not have representation here. The entire organization also requires human resources and capacity, which must be created and well organized“, explained the Minister of Culture.
He indicated that he is continuing the investigation into the affair with the draining of funds from theaters.