When: 12-14 August, 2027 (Friday-Sunday) Date to be confirmed
Where: Buzludzha Monument, Balkan Mountains, Bulgaria
Cost: FREE
High in the heart of the Balkan Mountains, where the air is thin and history hangs heavy, a concrete saucer emerges from the peaks like a forgotten spacecraft. This is the Buzludzha Monument, Bulgaria’s most enigmatic architectural relic. For decades, it has stood as a silent, decaying sentinel to a complex past. But for three days each August, this silence is spectacularly broken. The OPEN BUZLUDZHA festival transforms this solemn site into a vibrant, pulsating hub of art, music, and collective hope.
- A Stage Like No Other
- A Story to Share in 2025
- A Festival for All
- Getting There
- Sleep in 2025
- Practical Details for 2025
- Program for FRIDAY (15 August, 2025)
- Program for SATURDAY (16 August, 2025)
- Program for SUNDAY (17 August, 2025)
A Stage Like No Other
The festival’s magic lies in its breathtaking setting. The main stage is the monument itself, its vast, curved facade becoming a canvas for one of Europe’s most impressive 3D mapping shows. As darkness falls on Friday and Saturday, the concrete behemoth awakens. Created by MP-STUDIO, the visionary minds behind Sofia’s Lunar Festival of Lights and spectacles at landmarks like Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, the show is a true sensory marvel. Beams of light dance across the structure, reinterpreting its stark geometry into a swirling vortex of fantasy and futurism. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience that transports you from a Bulgarian mountaintop to a realm of pure imagination.
Games and Workshops
By day, Buzludzha becomes a sprawling, open-air classroom and playground. The rich cultural program is designed to connect visitors intimately with the monument’s past, present, and future.
You can join a guided tours or take a nature walk with landscape architects to appreciate the stunning surroundings. Creative workshops invite hands-on participation: you can build your model from spaghetti with the project’s architects, create a mosaic jewel with their restorers.
At the Buzludzha Pavilion, you can learn about the next crucial steps: the construction of a new roof and windows. It’s a chance to understand that you are not just a visitor, but a part of the story ensuring this landmark survives. Buzludzha monument now is positioned not as a political symbol, but as a global destination for culture and education.
A Festival for All
OPEN BUZLUDZHA is a truly intergenerational affair. A dedicated kids’ program ensures young explorers are equally enthralled. They can launch straw-and-paper spaceships, embark on a Buzludzha treasure hunt, create cosmic mandalas, or learn about internet safety through fun games. It’s a family-friendly environment where the wonder of discovery is contagious.
The festival culminates on Sunday afternoon with a moment of sublime contrast. The raw power of electric guitars gives way to the elegant strains of a classical string quartet from the Ars Nova Chamber Foundation. As their music echoes against the monumental backdrop, it’s a powerful reminder of the site’s evolving identity—a place where all art forms can converge and resonate.
Getting There
Getting there is part of the adventure. The monument is best reached by car, with free parking organised a short walk from the site.
Taxis are not impossible but keep in mind that the place is more or less remote and some local taxi drivers can take advantage of this. Rightfully.
Rent a car would be your best option. You can rest a car from a lot of trusted local companies. Keeping in mind that this is open air fest with options for camping, you can even consider renting a camper.
Sleep in 2025
For the full experience, embrace the mountain spirit by camping in the mowed meadow near the Buzludzha Hut, a 15-minute stroll away from the monument. Remember, mountain weather is fickle; pack a warm jacket for the crisp August nights alongside your daytime shorts.
No camping set? No worries! You can buy cheap and good value camping items from Decathlon. You can order them online and pick them up in a preferred store in Bulgaria or have them delivered to a trusted place. You can get a brand new tent for 3 for some 40 EUR or less in case of promotions.
Alternatively, you can sleep in the nearby hut Stara Buzludzha. Edelweiss hotel is also nearby. I highly recommend you to secure your accommodation well in advance because those places have limited rooms.
You cal also consider staying in the nearby large towns but in this case you will have to travel by car a few kilometres at night in order to get to bed.
Practical Details for 2025
It is strictly forbidden to light fires on the festival venue and the camping zone. Please respect this order for your own safety and the other people and animals in the mountain. The summer in Bulgaria has been extremely dry. Firefighters and volunteers have been struggling to tame a lot of wild fires in the country and the danger of uncontrolled for fires that start as an innocent camping light is very serious.
While Bulgaria is still among the countries where cash is king, some notable exceptions still exist. The festival area is a cashless event, with a variety of delicious food and drink vendors available on-site. You can use your preferred card or payment app. Outside the festival venue, it is still recommended to have cash. Bulgaria will stat using the Euro currency on 1 January, 2026. Until then, you will notice that all prices are marked in Leva and Euro. As of the time of the festival in 2025, the official currency is Bulgarian Lev (1,00 Euro = 1,95583 Bulgarian levs) and few businesses will accept Euro.
If you are having a pet, keep in mind that your four-legged friends are welcome to join this unique mountain gathering!
Program for FRIDAY (14 August, 2026)
MUSIC
SUNSET SESSIONS
18:00 – FineApple Beats
21:00 – Peril
NIGHT PROGRAM
21:00 Trigaida
22:20 Mona
0:00 – 5:00 90’s hits party – DJ Duo Zhivica
WORKSHOPS
Mosaic: Create your own mosaic jewel with Nikifor (NАA), restorer from Buzludzha Project
Friday: 11:00 to 18:00
Roof Structure: Build the roof of Buzludzha from spaghetti with Dobri, architect from Buzludzha Project
Friday: 11:00 to 18:00
Create your own interactive illustration casting with Rawlab
Friday: 11:00 to 18:00
Costumes from the future: bring or create your own futuristic costume
Friday: 11:00 to 18:00
FOR CHILDREN
Mission: Safe Internet
Friday: 12:00 to 14:30
Cosmic and creative workshops with the Palace of Children
Friday: 14:00 to 17:30
EXPERIENCES
Meet the team (90 min)
Friday: at 14:00
Audio Performance: Theatre from Another Planet (60 min)
Friday: at 16:00
Balfolk Dances (45 min)
Friday: at 11:00, at 13:00, and at 17:00
A Walk in the Mountain (90 min)
Friday: at 14:00, and at 18:00
DIGITAL STORYTELLING
Busludzha’s Digital Twin
Friday, 11:00 to 18:00
Audioguide About Buzludzha
Friday, 11:00 – 18:00
90-min Group Tour
Friday, 16:30
Interactive Map of the Region
Interactive game
Friday, 11:00 to 18:00
Program for SATURDAY (15 August, 2026)
MUSIC
SUNSET SESSIONS
17:00 Mr. Scott
19:00 Fey & Mr. X B2B Fey
NIGHT PROGRAM
21:00 Preyah
22:30 Robi
0:00 DJ Scarabei (Sake)
2:00 DJ Pacho
5:00 Julieta Intergalactica
WORKSHOPS
Mosaic: Create your own mosaic jewel with Nikifor (NАA), restorer from Buzludzha Project
Saturday: 11:00 to 18:00
Roof Structure: Build the roof of Buzludzha from spaghetti with Dobri, architect from Buzludzha Project
Saturday: 11:00 to 18:00
Create your own interactive illustration casting with Rawlab
Saturday: 11:00 to 18:00
Costumes from the future: bring or create your own futuristic costume
Saturday: 11:00 to 18:00
FOR CHILDREN
Mission: Safe Internet
Saturday: 13:00 to 15:00
Cosmic and creative workshops with the Palace of Children
Saturday: 11:00 to 17:30
The Adventures of Masha: Draw, Colour and Read
Saturday: 16:00 to 18:00
Architecture Workshop for Children
Saturday: 11:00 to 15:00
EXPERIENCES
Meet the team (90 min)
Saturday: at 14:00
Audio Performance: Theatre from Another Planet (60 min)
Saturday: at 12:00 and at 16:00
Balfolk Dances (45 min)
Saturday: at 11:00, at 13:00, and at 17:00
A Walk in the Mountain (90 min)
Saturday: at 10:00, and at 18:00
DIGITAL STORYTELLING
Busludzha’s Digital Twin
Saturday, 11:00 to 18:00
Audioguide About Buzludzha
Friday, 11:00 – 18:00
90-min Group Tour
Saturday, 16:30
Interactive Map of the Region
Interactive game
Saturday, 11:00 to 18:00
Program for SUNDAY (16 August, 2025)
MUSIC
SUNSET SESSIONS
17:00 Fey
MONUMENT STAGE
0:00 The Foreigners
2:00 Bagerziev & Dimitar Petrov
5:00 Mr. X
WORKSHOPS
Mosaic: Create your own mosaic jewel with Nikifor (NАA), restorer from Buzludzha Project
Sunday: 11:00 to 16:00
Roof Structure: Build the roof of Buzludzha from spaghetti with Dobri, architect from Buzludzha Project
Sunday: 11:00 to 16:00
Create your own interactive illustration casting with Rawlab
Sunday: 11:00 to 18:00
FOR CHILDREN
Mission: Safe Internet
Sunday: 13:00 to 15:00
Cosmic and creative workshops with the Palace of Children
Sunday: 11:00 to 13:00
The Adventures of Mishi: Draw, Colour and Read
Sunday: 14:00 to 16:00
Architecture Workshop for Children
Sunday: 11:00 to 14:00
EXPERIENCES
Meet the team (90 min)
Sunday: at 14:00
Audio Performance: Theatre from Another Planet (60 min)
Sunday: at 12:00
Balfolk Dances (45 min)
Sunday: at 11:00, at 13:00, and at 17:00
A Walk in the Mountain (90 min)
Sunday: at 10:00, and at 18:00
DIGITAL STORYTELLING
Busludzha’s Digital Twin
Sunday, 11:00 to 18:00
Audioguide About Buzludzha
Sunday, 11:00 – 18:00
90-min Group Tour
Saturday, 16:30
Interactive Map of the Region
Interactive game
Sunday: 11:00 to 18:00
The festival is a rally for conservationists, a playground for families, and a party for night owls. It’s where the past is not erased. It is reinterpreted. It is where a decaying monument is shown not as an ending, but a beginning. It’s a testament to what can be achieved when a community shares a cause. So, from August 15th to 17th, make the journey to the peak. Come with a curious mind, and leave with a story to share.