Bulgaria Marks 180th Birth Anniversary of Vasil Levski

On July 18th, at 21.00, a solemn ceremony followed by fireworks display will take place at the Vasil Levski Square.It will be attended by Bulgaria's President Roumen Radev: Vice President Ilyiana Yotova and Deputy Chief of Defense, Lieutenant General Plamen Atanasov, according to BNT. 

The President and Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces will salute the guard of houour of the representative units of the Bulgarian Army and will give a solemn speech. Radev will lay a wreath at the monument to Vassil Levski.

Earlier in the day, Vice President Iliyana Yotova will visit the town of Levski. At 10.35 she will held a meeting with the mayor Lyubka Alexandrova in the building of the municipality and from 11.00 will take part in the ceremony in honour of Vassil Levski. At 18.00, Vice President Yotova will visit the village of Lesichovo and will participate in a ceremony for the opening of a commemoration sign dedicated to Vassil Levski.

The anniversary will also be marked in other places in Bulgaria including Veliko Turnovo, Sofia and Berkovitsa.

On July 18th, honour guards of the Navy Forces, the 68th Special Forces Brigade and the Land Forces will take part in military rituals for laying wreaths and flowers in Varna, Bourgas, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Haskovo, Yambol, Shumen, Pleven, Assenovgrad, Lovech, Kazanlak and other places in the country.

Born on 18 July 1837, Levski became known as the Apostle of Freedom for his efforts on organizing and developing a strategy for the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.

He fought for equal rights between Bulgarians and other subjects of the empire in a new republic he aspired to, but was sentenced to death and hanged during the preparations for the April Uprising of 1876.