The story
Varna Summer International Jazz Festival in Varna
Founded in 1992 by composer Anatoly Vapirov, the Varna Summer International Jazz Festival is a distinct jazz strand of the wider Varna Summer brand, staged in the courtyard of the Varna Archaeological Museum among Thracian and Roman artifacts. Editions typically run in July or August and combine international touring musicians with a stage reserved for young Bulgarian players. Roughly 1,000 artists have performed across more than three decades of editions.
Composer and saxophonist Anatoly Vapirov spent years pushing for a jazz strand inside the Varna Summer festival before finally launching the Varna Summer International Jazz Festival in 1992, reportedly greeting its first edition with the line: we waited, we waited for a long time, and finally we saw it.