Deputy Mayor Diana Savateva with a presentation to the National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria for good practices in Burgas in the 2020 season

The challenges posed by the pandemic crisis in all public spheres, including culture, and the flexible solutions for overcoming them by the municipal administration were presented by the Deputy Mayor for "Culture, Tourism, Sports" Diana Savateva in Burgas Municipality at a meeting of the National Association of municipalities.

The focus of the presentation was the themed weekends, which visibly helped the culture and tourism business, most severely affected by the restrictions due to Covid-19. "The first steps taken by the Municipality of Burgas during the pandemic were the creation of alternative employment for people from the blocked sectors, the formation of a volunteer unit of employees of the Department of Culture and cultural institutions, the implementation of online versions of events."

The Deputy Mayor also presented the safety measures taken before the opening of cultural sites and the holding of major events and festivals. She stressed that the reformatting of the cultural poster is based on events with proven capacity, but new initiatives are also included. The representatives of the local authorities from the country were informed how the projects of the independent artists were integrated in the overall program of the municipality, as well as about the achieved synergy between the spheres of culture - tourism - sport.

In conclusion, in her presentation to the Committee on Education and Culture Savateva summarized that the "Model 2020" of the Municipality of Burgas to deal with the effects of Covid-19 is successful and after careful analysis will be supplemented and improved in 2021.