Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

International mummer festival Surva in Pernik cancelled due to water crisis

The 28th edition of Surva International Festival in Pernik attracted more than 7,500 participants
Photo: BGNES

Because of the ongoing water shortage in the town of Pernik, the traditional mummer International Festival Surva will not be held this year, Pernik Mayor Stanislav Vladimirov has told media. On Tuesday Bulgaria's Minister of Healthcare Kiril Ananiev and the Chief State Health Inspector Assoc. Prof. Angel Kunchev visited the town. The firm opinion of health authorities is that because of the risk of diseases, it was better to cancel the forthcoming edition of the festival. The Regional Health Inspectorate has also called against conducting Surva 2020. The risk for human health is big, so we had to make this difficult decision, Vladimirov said. 

The 29th edition of the festival, which is part of UNESCO’s World Intangible Cultural Heritage, was to be held from 24 to 26 January. Nearly 6,000 mummers from more than 100 groups had registered for taking part in this year's festival. Every year the festival attracts participants from all ethnographic regions of Bulgaria as well as numerous foreign guests. The first edition of the festival was held in 1966. 




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Construction of Bulgaria's First National Paediatric Hospital to begin March 2026, Ministry of Health announces

The Ministry of Health shared a short video showing what the country's first National Paediatric Hospital (NPH) will look like. This hospital is set to open by 2028, as reported by BTA.  The construction will begin in March next year, three months..

published on 6/1/25 3:36 PM

Pope Leo XIV appears at a Catholic celebration wearing his Bulgarian omophorion

Pope Leo XIV appeared last night in the Vatican Gardens wearing an omophorion gifted to him by Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov , the Catholic Church in Bulgaria reported. The prime minister presented the omophorion during his recent visit to..

published on 6/1/25 1:10 PM

NSI: One in four parents cannot afford to take their children on holiday

Nearly one in three children in Bulgaria lives in material deprivation, according to data from the National Statistical Institute for last year, reported by BNR’s Victoria Todorova. Children in the Roma community are the most affected, with more than..

published on 6/1/25 12:29 PM