In an emotional video, Bulgarian football star Hristo Stoitchkov has backed a fundraising campaign for building a 111-metre pole to fly the Bulgarian flag in the Rhodopi Mountains, the Heritage in the Future Foundation which launched the initiative said on Wednesday.
"Today we need unity more than ever! We must do it for the future generations. Let's have the Bulgarian flag fly 111 metres above the Rozhen meadows", Stoitchkov said as quoted by the foundation.
The initiative for the 111-metre flagpole is backed by a national fundraising campaign mottoed "Bulgaria Deserves!" under the patronage of President Rumen Radev. The project relies entirely on donations from Bulgarians.
The campaign was launched in 2022 on National Awakeners Day, marked every year on November 1.
BTA became a media partner of the project on December 11 when Director General Kiril Valchev signed a partnership agreement with the foundation. Other media partners include Bulgarian National Radio, Bulgarian National Television and the 24 Chasa daily.
The structure will be put up in the Rozhen area in the Rhodopi Mountains at 1,430 metres above sea level and will be the tallest of its kind in the EU, the Heritage in the Future Foundation said. A time capsule and a marble plaque depicting the Bulgarian map will be embedded in the base with messages to the future generations.
The pole height of 111 metres is significant: Bulgaria's area is nearly 111,000 square kilometres. The three 1's are meant to symbolize the awakening of the spirit. Also, in 2023 when the pole is expected to be put up, this country celebrates the 111th anniversary of the Rhodopi Mountains' liberation from Ottoman rule.
The flagpole weighing 55 tonnes will be 3 metres wide at the base and 0.75 metres at the top. The structure, comprised of 12 segments ranging from 8 to 12 metres long, will be able to withstand wind speeds of up to 180 km/h. The flag itself will measure 25 by 40 metres.
/LG/
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