The Grand Prize “Golden Orpheus”, Grand Prix for 2025 at the “Euro Folk – Black Sea” International Folklore Festival, was awarded to SMA Labschool Kebayoran – Senior High School – Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia, with artistic director Ouky Surya Timur. The award was personally presented by Kaloyan Nikolov, President of the European Association of Folklore Festivals (EAFF), and the participants received a special gift as a souvenir from Bulgaria.

The festival was held from June 25 to 29 in Primorsko and gathered over 800 participants from Bulgaria, Turkey, and Indonesia. For several days, the amphitheater stage came alive with music, dances, and authentic national costumes, turning the seaside town into a colorful folklore center filled with rhythms and colors from three continents.

First prize “Golden Orpheus” in the “Old Urban Songs” category was awarded to the vocal group “Vdahnovenie” at Chitalishte “Otets Paisiy 1905” – Polski Trambesh, with artistic director Petar Petrov. The authentic folklore group “Tetevenski Bozhurcheta” at Chitalishte “Saglasie 1869” – Teteven, with director Bistra Gencheva, won first prize in the “Authentic Songs Groups” category. In the “Arranged Songs Group” category, the jury awarded first prize “Golden Orpheus” to the mixed formation at Chitalishte “Hristo Botev 1940” – Glavinitsa, and the artistic director Plamen Skorcheliev was also honored with the title “Maestro”.

Among the awarded was also the folklore dance group from Private Schools Atayurt – Tepebaşı, Eskişehir, Türkiye, with artistic director Uğur Erman Torsu, which impressed the audience with their performances and stage presence.

The special award for contribution to the preservation and development of Bulgarian folklore, provided by the travel agency “Event Vacation”, was presented to the Folklore Ensemble “Izvorche” – Krumovgrad, with artistic director Katya Cholakova. The agency manages the accommodation, transfers, and excursions of participants in EAFF festivals.

The festival once again proved that folklore knows no borders, bringing together performers from different countries and cultures, united by the magic of music, songs, and dances. The international forum was held under the auspices of the European Association of Folklore Festivals – EAFF, an accredited organization with consultative status at UNESCO in the field of intangible cultural heritage.