In the Media

The CityLovers competition for good urban ideas returns for its sixth consecutive edition with a EUR 10,000 prize fund, Maya Tsaneva of the Safe Playgrounds Association told Radio Sofia. City Ideas Institute is the new organizer; the application deadline is September 11, with winners announced October 9.

Citybuild.bg reported on the winners of the fourth CityLovers competition. The grand prize went to Bee School, a project by teacher Irena Petrova in Ihtiman, with second place for Natural Art in Burgas's Bedechka Park and third for a shared youth space in Chernomorets. Prizes were awarded at a ceremony on November 7 at the British Embassy residence in Sofia, with nearly 50 project ideas submitted.

EU Funds Media covered the fourth edition of the CityLovers competition, launched in April 2024 to support ideas for the future of Bulgarian cities across five areas: green energy, clean air and transport, urban environment and quality of life, water, and urban technologies. The competition is organized by Capital and the British Embassy in Bulgaria, with support from the Fund for Sustainable Cities, the FLAG Fund and Siscom Engineering, offering a 22,000 BGN prize fund.

bTV Novinite profiled the CityLovers competition for good urban ideas, aimed at people, organizations and businesses with ideas for the future of their city. Journalist Ognyan Georgiev explained the competition's origins, and the British Embassy's Daniel Jackson discussed the previous year's winners. Applications were open until September 15.

For the fifth consecutive year, the CityLovers competition opened its call for ideas. With a record prize fund of 22,000 leva and support from the Fund for Sustainable Cities, Flag Fund and Siscom Engineering, the competition accepted 60+ applications across five urban challenge areas.

Two young women from Dimitrovgrad won the first CityLovers competition with their idea for a demonstrative green roof. The awards were presented by British Ambassador Rob Dixon at a ceremony in Sofia, marking the beginning of what would become Bulgaria's largest civic urban initiative platform.

One year after the first CityLovers awards, Capital revisits the winning projects to see how they've progressed. From green rooftops in Dimitrovgrad to pollen warning systems in Veliko Tarnovo — the follow-up reveals what happens after the prize ceremony ends.

For the second consecutive year, Capital and the British Embassy in Sofia opened their call for urban ideas. The competition expanded its scope, offering cash prizes of 7,000 and 5,000 leva for projects in green energy, clean air, transport, urban environment and water.

A look at how the small-scale projects supported by CityLovers are making real change — from vertical gardens on residential facades to rooftop micro-turbines generating clean energy. The article follows several past winners as they implement their ideas on the ground.

The "Safe Playgrounds" collective, led by Maya Tsaneva and Stiliana Todorova, won the grand prize of the 3rd CityLovers edition. Their "Outdoor School" project identifies and improves public spaces where students can hold outdoor lessons — bridging education and urban reclamation.

From the Black Sea coast: Ivan Despov's project transforms a Chernomorets schoolyard into a shared youth space with lighting, furniture and themed events. In Yambol, "Urban Canvas" brings mobile murals to the city for its 2025 visual arts festival — turning blank walls into community stories.

Two awarded projects from the 4th CityLovers edition: "Natural Art" aims to create Bulgaria's first permanent land art park inside Stara Zagora's biodiverse Bedechka Park. In Haskovo, a mobile library caravan and book-shaped play stage will bring reading outdoors for children and families.

Economics teacher Irena Petrova from Ikhtiman took the grand prize with her Bee School — a wooden beehive-shaped structure offering environmental education for children aged 3+. Nine projects from across Bulgaria were awarded at a ceremony in the British Ambassador's residence in Sofia.

A deep dive into the three winning projects of CityLovers 2025 — from outdoor art panels in Svishtov built on 10 years of the "River" cultural festival, to recycled bottle-cap seating in Silistra's parks, to a mobile glass-and-wood greenhouse in Sofia.