Fairs in Bulgaria

A short overview of Bulgaria’s exhibition places

Plovdiv International Fair

The city of Plovdiv is situated in the south part of Bulgaria, 130 km from the capital Sofia. The oldest and biggest Bulgarian fairground works since 1892. The Plovdiv International Fairs was particularly privatized after the political changes and but the Bulgarian government is still a shareholder.

The fairground is built on an area of 352 000 square meters and offers 17 exhibition halls with 64 500 square meters exhibition space. The exhibition program is still marked by the old communist tradition. Like in the years before 1989 behind the iron curtain the biggest events are two big exhibitions with a wide variety of products: the consumer fair in spring and the industrial exhibition in autumn.

In the last two decades there are some new and professional orientated trade fairs like Agra, Vinaria, PrintKom, Dento, Galenia, Medicus, FoodTech or Hemus.

The actual exhibition program of Plovdiv International Fair you can find here.

Inter Expo Center

In the last years there are some different fair organizers trying to change Plovdiv International Fair’s leading position. The situation has completely changed after the opening of the Inter Expo Center in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia. Six modern exhibition halls with totally 42 000 square meters space are situated near the Sofia International Airport. They offer common western standards and also the exhibition program contents mainly professional trade fairs. Most of the shows are created by the exhibition center owner Bulgarreklama. A big advantage for the organizers is the fact that they are situated in the capital of the country so they have a direct connection to national institutions, business associations and politics. Another interesting fact is that the exhibitions in Sofia are visited from much more trade visitors coming from the neighbor countries Serbia and Macedonia than the Plovdiv International Fair which for them is about 130 km more for travel by car. Sofia’s new underground line already stops in front of the Inter Expo Center so you are fast and easily connected to the city center.

More details about the exhibition program of Inter Expo Center you find here

National Palace of Culture

Sofia’s Convention Center was built in the years of communism and was mainly used for party conferences and big international political events. Until now Sofia’s Palace of Culture is host of high level concerts, conferences and seminars. Some fair organizers use these facilities for public fairs because they are situated in the main city center and the access is more than easy. But please note that the Palace of Culture is not a typical exhibition hall. They are eleven floor levels with totally 15 000 square meters connected through stairs, escalators and elevators offer 6 000 square meters for exhibition stands. The unique exhibition possibilities advertised by the owners of the center are more or less a handicap fort the visitors because it is not so easy for them to orientate oneself in the big building. The Palace of Culture hosts twice a year the popular building and interior exhibition Stroyko. Other shows taking place here are the travel exhibition Vakancia and the main event for the domestic producers of consumer goods called Made in Bulgaria.

More details can be found here

Universiada Hall

This traditional sport hall is not far from the Sofia city center located in a quiet district. Infrequent here are held small public fairs. The Universiada Hall offers 1500 square meters exhibition space. During Easter and Christmas holidays a preferred place for local product presentations and special sales activities.

More details here

Festivalna Hall

Another sport hall a little bit more far from Sofia’s city center and not so easy for access with public transport. Used sporadic for small fairs and exhibitions. Good car parking possibilities. The nearby located Akademik stadium is host of most of the open air concerts in Bulgaria’s capital.

More details here

Dobrich Fair

A local fair specialized in agricultural exhibitions. The city of Dobrich is located in the center of the Dobrudzha region: Bulgaria’s granary. Main topics in the fair program are seeds, plant protection and beehonney.

More details here