Vezhdi Rashidov

Bulgarian Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov and Jean-Luc Martinez, director of the Louvre, signed a new five-year cooperation agreement between the culture ministry and the French museum.

This happened in Paris on Thursday during the working visit of Rashidov to France, the culture ministry informs.

Bulgaria's Culture Ministry said on Friday it had warned local authorities in Plovdiv against the demolition or other actions affecting an old tobacco warehouse, which was bulldozed last weekend, prompting public outcry.

US film director Ted Kotcheff, who is on a visit to Bulgaria for Sofia Film Fest events, on Friday said he would start work on a movie dedicated to the fate of Bulgarian King Boris III (1918-1943).

Kotcheff, who was awarded a Golden Age order by the Culture Ministry on the same day, was also shown in front of reporters a government decision grantinghim Bulgarian citizenship.

Bulgarian Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov called on Tuesday for restoring the demolished tobacco warehouse in the city of Plovdiv to its original look.

The demolition began on Sunday, but was halted on Monday after large-scale protests by architects, public figures and citizens, including the formation of a human chain in front of the building.

Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov on Tuesday moved to stop restoration works at the site of Serdica, an ancient city whose remains lie beneath Bulgaria's capital Sofia.

Rashidov took the step after being warned by citizens that the restoration process is detrimental to the archaeological complex's original appearance.

Italian actress Claudia Cardinale on Thursday was awarded an honorary degree by the National Academy for Theater and Film Arts (NATFA) in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Bulgaria and Italy signed on Monday a memorandum of understanding on countering illegal trafficking of cultural property.

The document was signed by Bulgarian Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov and his Italian counterpart Dario Franceschini, private bTV station reports.

The National Gallery Square 500 is to host an official opening ceremony on Thursday in downtown Sofia.

Exhibitions have been available for several days, and entrance will be free by Friday.

There are over 42 000 works, half of them by Bulgarian artists, and others coming from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

A video, which will be broadcasted by more than 30 televisions, advertises the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv as the 2019 European Capital of Culture.

The video has a length of thirty seconds and depicts the citizens of Plovdiv doing arts, sports and their daily activities with some of the city's most popular places featured in the background

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the delegation headed by him will have an audience with Pope Francis on Saturday.

The visit to the Vatican and Italy on Saturday and Sunday will be on the occasion of May 24 - the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavonic Script.