Minister of Culture: Bulgaria will not face any reputational damage over the failed hosting of the UNESCO session

"Our partners in Paris are not upset. On the contrary, they are expecting us, and I am convinced that we will represent ourselves well there", Minister of Culture Marian Bachev said in an interview with BNT, commenting on the scandal regarding Bulgaria's hosting of the 47^th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which was approved last year. However, on Wednesday, the Ministry of Culture announced that following consultations between Bulgarian institutions and UNESCO, the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee agreed to organize the 47th session of the Committee at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris from July 6 to 16.

According to Minister Bachev, many deadlines were missed. "This is a team effort. There were many signals, including from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in June last year, that things were not good regarding this organization, which requires technical preparation. By November 6, at the latest, the decision should have been ratified in Parliament- 8 months before the event", said Minister Bachev. ''On a global scale, we will not face any reputational damage, because this is not a precedent", said Minister Bachev.