31st Surva Festival Draws Record Participation in Pernik

The 31st Surva International Festival of Masquerade Games brought over 12,000 participants to Pernik, Bulgaria, setting a new attendance record, the Pernik Municipality announced. This marks a notable increase from last year’s 10,000 attendees, CE Report quotes BTA

The festival, which began on Friday, featured a record-breaking children’s masquerade procession with over 1,500 participants, surpassing the previous year by 500. A scientific conference, "Masquerade: Tradition, Memory, Modernity," organized by the Regional History Museum in Pernik, also highlighted the event.

International participation surged this year, with 22 groups from countries including Greece, Spain, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Italy joining the festivities.

Recognized as Europe’s largest masquerade festival, Surva has been held since 1966. In 2015, the Surova folk feast from the Pernik region was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, celebrating Bulgaria’s rich folklore traditions.

The festival is supported by the Culture Ministry and the Tourism Ministry, with BTA serving as a media partner.