4,000 workers are building the stage for British superstar Ed Sheeran's concert in Sofia

A spectacular musical event, on a scale that makes it the biggest in recent years in our country, to be held in Sofia on August 31, BNT reported.

4,000 workers build the stage for British superstar Ed Sheeran's concert. 60 thousand tickets have been sold. The income for our economy will be in the amount of millions of BGN.

Is it possible for Sofia to find a place on the world map for such events and what is the most visited concert in our country so far?

34 years after Lepa Brenna landed in Todor Zhivkov's helicopter for his mega-concert at the National Stadium, British superstar Ed Sheeran is preparing a more modest appearance, but a more spectacular show. Its stage will be 360 degrees, and 80 tires are already unloading the equipment.

"In fact, this will be the biggest event since there has been a concert life in Bulgaria, considering all the production that is coming, the number of people that will be accommodated in the stadium,", said Stefan Elenkov, executive director of a promotion company.< br />
There are legends about the number of spectators at the stadium in the distant 1990 - between 80,000 and 120,000 people. 19 years later, another queen - of pop music - Madonna, gathered 55,000 people. The top 3 of the most attended events is completed by Slavi Trifonov's concert in 2015, for which 70,000 people came under the rain and AC/DC.

"55,000 people. Bon Jovi rather less so. So at this stage, because the stage is placed in the middle of the stadium and all sectors for the audience are actually used, plus those on the ground around the stage, they make this concert the biggest", Stefan Elenkov added.

According to economists, this means millions of revenues for the local economy, short-term benefit and long-term image.

"We have to distinguish between an event for 5-10,000 people, who are usually from the city, who decided to visit a specific location, and an event for 50-60,000 people and above, which automatically means that there is also a tourist flow, including foreigners, people and from other cities that have arrived. Visits to the city, overnight stays, short-term accommodation, greater consumption in the city itself," comments Petar Ganev, Institute for Market Economy.

"We had a study at the time along the Spirit of Burgas and Plovdiv - European Capital of Culture, when the amounts that the municipalities invest in such projects were calculated, so that every one leva invested is returned to the municipality ten later," said Stefan Elenkov.< br />
"But the bigger effect is the image that a location acquires for being on the world map when a big performer comes," said Petar Ganev.

He also has a ticket for August 31st. However, Elitsa Vacheva from Ruse will not watch Ed Sheeran in Sofia, but in Bucharest this Saturday. She has a tour operator company and already three busloads of fans will travel to the capital of Romania, which in recent years has earned more than 100 million euros from music festivals. Bucharest will host the British artist for the second time. Over the years, world stars have also chosen to appear first in Romania, not in our country.

"The ticketing system itself was blocked, a lot of people were afraid that they wouldn't be able to buy tickets, and a lot of people couldn't because they quickly ran out of seats, so they turned to Bucharest," comments Elitsa Vacheva, manager of a travel agency.

Can Sofia also host events with over 50,000 people more often.

"Next year we expect four such groups to come to Bulgaria, I hope everything goes as it should. Unfortunately, Sofia is not one of the cities that like to invest in cultural content on such a large scale. At this stage, I see no reason for Sofia to become like Bucharest, because the city administration does not invest in such a cultural product, to develop in this way. Everything for now is done only with our own efforts on our own backs", Stefan Elenkov also said.

"There is a very nice and interesting musical life in Bucharest, and we from Ruse often take advantage," commented Elitsa Vacheva, manager of a tourist agency.

And one more difference between Sofia and Bucharest - the most expensive tickets in our country for Ed Sheeran are BGN 300, and in Bucharest BGN 160.