An interactive exhibition featuring photographs and pictures by renowned Bulgarian artists will welcome the guests to the Opening ceremony for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU tonight.

The multimedia display, presented on an area of 700 sq. m, presents a variety of images portraying Bulgaria's long history, magnificent architectural monuments, natural beauty and iconic artistic masterpieces.

The multimedia show will be displayed on screens varying in size and shape. The paintings and pictures depict eight different aspects of the country, completing the sentence “Bulgaria is….”  

The first series of images present the mysticism of Bulgarian lands – the rituals of Nestinari dancers on glowing ember, Lazarki, Kukeri, Koledari, Danovists.

The millennia-old history of the country will be illustrated by jewel artefacts from the Varna, Panaguirishte and Preslav treasures, as well as images of the ruins of ancient fortresses and temples in Tatul, Preslav, Serdica, Sredets, Perperikon, Starosel, Tsarevets, Hisarya.  

Another part of the exhibition sets the emphasis on religion and displays various architectural monuments of Christian art – the Boyana Church, the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo, Sveshtari Tomb, Rila Monastery.

The storyline of the second part of the exhibition guides the audience into more recent times. It puts on display elements of the specific Bulgarian architecture of Koprivshtitsa, Old Plovdiv, Sozopol, Nessebar.

The next series of images focuses on the abundance of Bulgarian nature – hot springs, Rayskoto Praskalo waterfall, Chudnite Mostove, the waterfall near Trigrad, Yagodinska cave, Magurata and Ledenika caves, Belogradchik rocks.  Followed by breath-taking landscapes of the most beautiful places in Bulgaria – the Rila lakes, the Rhodope Mountains, Strandzha, Pirin, Kamen Bryag, showed in pictures from all seasons.

Finally, a collection of emblematic works of great Bulgarian artists is displayed, epitomising different periods of the development of Bulgarian culture.