Laureate Days Katia Popova

The Katya Popova Laureate Days is an international music festival in Pleven founded in 1966 to present winners of major performance competitions. Initially held annually, it took the soprano Katya Popova’s name from its third edition. Its later statutes established a biennial October festival organised by Pleven Municipality with partner institutions. It is a non-competitive platform for invited young singers and instrumentalists, offering orchestral appearances and other concert opportunities rather than awarding competition prizes. The programme connects emerging performers with Pleven’s musical institutions and audiences. The idea behind the festival, set out at its founding in 1966, was to bring prize-winners from international competitions to Pleven — hence the name. The Pleven Philharmonic runs it each October, using the hall that carries Katya Popova's name and the Ilia Beshkov art gallery; symphonic programmes, opera, chamber music and, more recently, ballet share the bill. The thirty-second edition ran from 8 to 25 October 2024.