The International Collectors Fair BULCOLLECTO is held under the motto “Collectibles – a hobby, culture, investments”. The event is unique for Bulgaria with the idea of showing the development of a hobby into an activity that is a serious business, at the same time enriching knowledge with interesting facts from different fields.

The dominating area is philately, which connects science and art and enables people of all ages to develop some kind of research.

BULCOLLECTO is a serious cultural event for the Balkans and it has become a tradition for collectors not only in Bulgaria but in the neighboring countries as well. The exhibition occupies a worthy place among similar European events.

The 9^th edition of BULCOLLECTO presents:

• Unique and varied collections
• Rare high-value items
• Collector accessories

For additional information, see

Accompanying program

• International and national philatelic exhibitions
• Competitions for collectors
• Validation of postage stamps, blocks and stamped
• Attractions for the visitors

Organizers:

• Union of the Bulgarian Philatelists
• “Bulgarian Posts” EAD
• International Fair Plovdiv

Major exhibition categories

• PHILATELY: stamps and blocks, envelopes and stamped cards, postal entireties, maximum cards, picture postcards
• NUMISMATICS: coins (only 19^th and 20^th century ones)
• BONISTICS: paper money (banknotes, bonds, shares)
• PHALERISTICS: medals, orders, decorations, plaques, badges
• OTHER COLLECTORS FIELDS: minerals and jewels from them, phone cards, autographs, ex librises, labels, porcelain figures, film, theater and other posters
• SPECIALIZED LITERATURE AND TEXTBOOKS

Connectivity

BULCOLLECTO 2019 is held parallel with the following:

• International Exhibition of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmaceutics MEDICUS, DENTRO, GALENIA (16-19 October)
• Specialized Exhibition of Flowers, Ornamental Plants, Garden Equipment and Supplies FLOWER AUTUMN (16-20 October)
• INTERNATIONAL CYNOLOGY EXHIBITIONS (19-20 October)

The European Philatelic Exhibition “Plovdiv Phila 2019” is organized within the framework of the 9^th edition of the Collectors Fair “Bulcollecto”. It presents unique collections of postage stamps, stamps sheets and stamped cards.

“Pearls of philately from across the continent” will be exhibited”, Spas Panchev, President of the Union of Bulgarian Philatelists stated a year ago when he announced that this spectacular exhibition was being prepared. It is in support of the initiative “Plovdiv – a European Capital of Culture 2019”.

Participants

Prominent philatelists from 18 countries are participating: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Cyprus, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, Turkey, the Netherlands. Their exhibits will be placed on 480 boards.

Exhibits

• The best of the postal and philatelic history of the individual countries
• Significant exhibits in “Postal History” and “Traditional Philately” classes
• The most impressive and most expensive specimens from the Bulgarian philatelic classics and from the pre-philatelic period
• Two masterpieces of Bulgarian philately – the stamps “The Little Lion” and “Eastern Rumelia”

Program

• 17 October – Day of Plovdiv, European Capital of Culture

Validation of “Old Sailing Boats” stamps series

Validation of “500^th Anniversary of the Death of Leonardo da Vinci” stamps sheet

• 18 October – Day of Historical Heritage

Validation of postage stamp “140^th Anniversary of the Signing of the Constantinople Peace Treaty” - in the presence of Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Honorary President of the Union of Bulgarian Philatelists and of Nikita Lobanov Rostovsky /grandson of Alexey Lobanov Rostovsky, who signed the Constantinople Peace Treaty on the part of Russia/   

Validation of postage stamp “100^th Anniversary of the Birth of the Distinguished Bulgarian Writer Nikolay Haitov”

• 19 October – Day of Environmental Protection

Validation of the low-circulation stamps sheet “Protected Species in Lake Burgas – Otter”

• 20 October – Bulgarian Ethnography Day

Validation of stamps sheet “National Folk Costumes”

For the full program of “Plovdiv Phila 2019” – click here

Organizers

• Union of Bulgarian Philatelists
• International Fair Plovdiv
• Plovdiv Municipality
• “Plovdiv 2019” Foundation

The exhibition provides a platform for collectors, post offices, auction houses and companies offering philatelic and numismatic materials.

Benefits:

• Presentation to a wide audience
• Contacts with connoisseurs and investors
• Exchange of information and exhibits

Communications

International Fair Plovdiv has developed a dynamic model for attracting target groups of visitors through:

• advertising in electronic, printed and online media
• partnership with national and specialized media
• digital marketing on social networks and via email
• presenting exhibitors in its own channels on the Internet and Facebook

Held from 18 to 20 October 2019

• working time for exhibitors: 08.00-19.00 h
• open for visitors: 09.00-18.00 h, on the last day – till 16.00 h

International Fair Plovdiv rents covered and/or open exhibition area – stand/bungalow with standard construction or non-standard custom-made stands.

To hire a stand/bungalow it is necessary to fill in Form 3.

The rent of a stand/bungalow includes also:

• general security, common electricity and water costs, cleaning of common areas, use of infrastructure, waste disposal;
• a certain number of entrance cards for exhibitors;
• inclusion in the catalog and information system (company address, telephone number, fax number, email, Internet address, up to 2 branches and up to 50 characters text information), publishing in the exhibitors’ online catalog and weekly updating of the information in the catalog.

The rental price of the stand/bungalow does not include water connection and water consumption, which are ordered and paid for in addition.

Additional information: in Section “Services, Rent for Stands and Bungalows“

The services cover the activities related to the preparation, holding and termination of the participation.

For additional information see the “Services/Exhibition Services” Section

The International Collectors Fair provides an opportunity to see original collections and rare objects from multiple subject areas, philatelic exhibitions, competitions and attractions.

Benefits

• For collectors – a chance to present and complement their collections
• For connoisseurs – investments in items whose value increases over time
• For amateurs – getting acquainted with interesting facts from various subject areas

Location: Pavilion 7

Working time:

• 18 -19 October: from 09.00 to 18.00 h
• Last day (20 October, Sunday): 09.00-16.00 h

Access

• with ticket – price BGN 5
• for students and retired  – BGN 3

The ticket is also valid for the other exhibitions held at the same time

• International Exhibition of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmaceutics MEDICUS, DENTO, GALENIA – Pavilion 2
• Specialized Exhibition FLOWER AUTUMN – in front of Pavilion 2
• CYNOLOGY EXHIBITIONS – in front of Pavilion 3

Parking lots for visitors

• Maritsa Blvd. (along the Maritsa River)
• Multi-storey parking lot – Bulgaria Blvd.
• Tsar Boris III Obedinitel Blvd. – next to Pavilion 10

How to get to Plovdiv and the Fairground:

• by plane - http://www.sofia-airport.bg/
• by train - http://www.bdz.bg/bg/
• by bus from Sofia - http://www.centralnaavtogara.bg/#b
• by car - http://www.bgmaps.com/

Accommodation

The town of Plovdiv is one of the most developed tourist centers in Bulgaria. It has numerous hotels and lodgings, offering all amenities. One of the most elegant hotels is the four-star St. Petersburg, in which there are also conference halls.