#Banks in Bulgaria

[soumyapanda28]

Exploring the best banks of Bulgaria

Bulgaria’s keeping money segment has seen surprising development and solidness in later a long time, making it an alluring goal for both neighborhood and worldwide financial specialists. With a well-regulated managing an account framework, a wide run of administrations, and progressed advanced keeping money arrangements, Bulgarian banks have effectively situated themselves as reliable financial educate. In this article, we are going dig into a few of the leading banks in Bulgaria, highlighting their qualities and highlights that make them stand out within the showcase.

UniCredit Bulbank: UniCredit Bulbank is the biggest bank in Bulgaria and has been working within the nation for over a century. It offers a comprehensive suite of managing an account administrations, counting retail and corporate managing an account, riches administration, and venture items. With a broad organize of branches and ATMs, UniCredit Bulbank guarantees simple get to to its administrations over the nation. The bank has too made noteworthy speculations in computerized managing an account, giving clients with user-friendly online and portable managing an account stages.

DSK Bank: DSK Bank, a backup of OTP Gather, is one of the driving banks in Bulgaria with a solid center on retail banking. It caters to a differing extend of clients, advertising personalized administrations and imaginative managing an account items. DSK Bank has an broad department organize and contributes intensely in innovation to supply helpful and secure banking experiences. Their commitment to client fulfillment has earned them a notoriety as a trusted and customer-centric bank in Bulgaria.

Raiffeisenbank: Raiffeisenbank has set up itself as a noticeable player within the Bulgarian managing an account segment. It offers a wide run of money related items and administrations, counting retail and corporate managing an account, speculation keeping money, and resource administration. Raiffeisenbank prides itself on its customer-centric approach and gives custom fitted arrangements to meet the special needs of people and businesses. The bank has too grasped digitalization and offers progressed online and versatile keeping money stages to improve client comfort.

First Investment Bank: First Investment Bank has picked up acknowledgment for its solid budgetary execution and customer-oriented administrations. It gives a comprehensive extend of managing an account items, counting retail and corporate managing an account, resource administration, and capital advertise administrations. Fibank places a solid emphasis on development and has created a extend of computerized keeping money arrangements to improve client encounter and availability. Furthermore, the bank has made notable commitments to social causes and community advancement, gaining it a positive notoriety within the nation.

United Bulgarian Bank: United Bulgarian Bank (UBB) is one of the most seasoned banks in Bulgaria and includes a long-standing nearness within the showcase. It offers a wide cluster of keeping money administrations, counting retail keeping money, corporate managing an account, and speculation items. UBB is known for its solid client connections and personalized approach to managing an account. The bank moreover places critical significance on corporate social obligation, effectively supporting different social, instructive, and natural activities.

Conclusion: Bulgaria’s managing an account segment has prospered in later a long time, with a fewbanks illustrating excellence in benefit quality, advanced development, and client fulfillment. UniCredit Bulbank, DSK Bank, Raiffeisenbank, To begin with Speculation Bank, and Joined together Bulgarian Bank stand out as a few of the leading banks in Bulgaria, each bringing its special strengths and offerings to the table. Whether you’re an person or a commerce substance, these banks give a wide range of administrations to meet your financial needs, upheld by progressed innovation and a customer-centric approach.

[waugh-bao]

London (+ Sofia): Week 3

[lionheartlr]

Discovering Bulgaria: A Comprehensive Travel Guide

Nestled in Southeast Europe, Bulgaria is a gem that offers a rich blend of history, culture, and natural beauty. From ancient ruins and stunning landscapes to vibrant cities and delicious cuisine, Bulgaria has something for every traveler. This guide will provide you with everything you need to know for an unforgettable trip to this enchanting country. A Brief History of Bulgaria Bulgaria’s…

[disasterriskreductionday]

A key instrument for flood risk management.

Flood risks affect almost 2 billion people worldwide.  Climate change and unplanned urbanization will further increase these risks. The impacts on economies, communities, and people can be far reaching.  In 2022, flooding in Pakistan killed more than 1700 people, affected 33 million, and caused damages and economic losses of over US$39 billion. In the same year, Nigeria and Australia were also hit by devastating flood events. To better manage these risks and build more resilient communities, detailed and accurate flood hazard and flood risk maps are essential.  

Flood hazard maps identify areas affected by floods of different probabilities. They provide valuable information about the predicted flood depth and flow velocity. Flood risk maps, meanwhile, present the potential impact of floods on human health and life, economic activity and infrastructure, cultural heritage and the environment. The maps are a key instrument for integrated flood risk management. They are an important tool for raising awareness about areas at risk of flooding and for helping communities develop strategies for reducing these risks through structural and non-structural measures. Civil protection and first responders can use the maps to plan emergency response and the insurance industry refers to the maps and the underlying data to design flood insurance products. The maps are also essential for land-use planning and urban development to avoid creating new risks.

Modernizing Flood Mapping in Bulgaria and Romania in the context of the EU Floods Directive

Bulgaria and Romania are two countries that have taken a leap forward in modernizing their approaches to flood mapping. The World Bank supported both countries to update their national flood hazard and risk maps (FHRM) as part of the drive to implement the second cycle of the EU Floods Directive.

This Directive provides an overall framework for integrated flood risk management and requires EU Member States to (i) identify Areas of Potential Significant Flood Risk (APSFRs), (ii) assess in detail flood hazard and risk and prepare flood maps, and (iii) develop flood risk management plans with programs of measures to tackle the flood risk.

With the World Bank’s support, FHRMs have been developed for different sources of flooding including fluvial, pluvial, flash floods, coastal flooding for all identified APSFRs.

Image 1: The Bulgarian FHRM Web Portal.

Image 2: The Romanian FHRM Web Portal.

Development of Flood Hazard Maps

Developing accurate hazards maps requires vast amounts of input data ranging from spatial data (e.g., land-use, digital terrain models and cross sections of rivers), meteorological and hydrological data, as well information on the existing hydrotechnical infrastructure and their operational rules. This information feeds into hydrological and hydrodynamic models to simulate how flooding spreads across the landscape. Modeling is carried out for synthetic flood events with low, medium, and high probability, e.g., flood events that statistically occur once every 1000 years, once every 100 years and once every 10 or 20 years.

Both Romania and Bulgaria have invested heavily in improving the input data. In Romania, for example, new digital elevation models for an area of around 28,000km2 were produced using data from airborne LiDAR - a remote sensing method using planes to survey the elevation - and measurements from more than 33,000 river cross sections. In Bulgaria, aerial photogrammetry mapping carried out alongside field surveys to collect additional data related to river cross sections and hydraulic structures, produced new maps covering an area of over 2,500km2. Modeling was completed with sophisticated free and commercial software, mainly two-dimensional modeling with unsteady flow . In addition to the low, medium, and high return periods, both countries also examined a climate change scenario.

Development of Flood Risk Maps

To produce flood risk maps, information on the elements exposed to flooding is needed. This includes information about the population and their housing, social infrastructure such as schools and hospitals, transport infrastructure, industrial sites, agricultural land, protected areas and other types of assets and natural elements. The flood risk maps use a qualitative approach to identify areas of low, medium or high risk. More detailed risk maps that use a quantitative approach present the potential risk in monetized damages per square meter. This detailed information is used to calculate the economics of various investments in flood risk management using cost-benefit and multicriteria analysis.

In Romania, orthophotos - aerial photographs or satellite imagery geometrically corrected such that the scale is uniform - of all APSFR were digitalized using innovative machine learning algorithms to identify and categorize all exposed elements. Floods can cause different degrees of damage for different categories of elements (residential buildings, social, economic, and cultural assets, transport infrastructure, farming land, etc.) depending on the water level. A relationship between the depths of the flooding and the damage was determined for each category and monetized for different sectors. Bulgaria followed a similar approach using an advanced geographic information system algorithm to perform risk analysis based on the results from the hydraulic modeling.

Using newly developed web viewers, the FHRMs were presented to key stakeholders for review and validation. After their approval, the maps were formally reported to the European Commission and published on the internet for all citizens. The new FHRMs are now being used in both countries to identify and prioritize non-structural and structural measures, ranging from nature-based solutions to various structural solutions to be integrated into new flood risk management plans.

The development of these maps is an important step forward in flood risk management for Bulgaria and Romania. Moreover, the flood mapping approaches developed here can serve as a model for other countries dealing with flood risks around the world.

[dlyarchitecture]

[colonna-durruti]

Carlo Rovelli

In 1999, NATO bombed Belgrade for 78 days with the goal of breaking Serbia apart and giving rise to an independent Kosovo, now home to a major NATO base in the Balkans.

In 2001, the US invaded Afghanistan, leading to 200,000 people killed, a country devastated and no political result whatsoever.

In 2002, the US unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty over Russia’s strenuous objections, dramatically increasing the nuclear risk.

In 2003, the US and NATO allies repudiated the UN Security Council by going to war in Iraq on false pretenses. Iraq is now devastated, no real political pacification has been achieved and the elected parliament has a pro-Iran majority.

In 2004, betraying engagements, the US continued with NATO enlargement, this time to the Baltic States and countries in the Black Sea region (Bulgaria and Romania) and the Balkans.

In 2008, over Russia’s urgent and strenuous objections, the US pledged to expand NATO to Georgia and Ukraine. �

In 2011, the US tasked the CIA to overthrow Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Russia. Syria is devastated by war. No political gain achieved for the US.

In 2011, NATO bombed Libya in order to overthrow Moammar Qaddafi. The country, that was prosperous, peaceful, and stable, is now devastated, in civil war, in ruin.

In 2014, the US conspired with Ukrainian nationalist forces to overthrow Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych. The country is now in a bitter war.

In 2015, the US began to place Aegis anti-ballistic missiles in Eastern Europe (Romania), a short distance from Russia.

In 2016-2020, the US supported Ukraine in undermining the Minsk II agreement, despite its unanimous backing by the UN Security Council. The country is now in a bitter war.

In 2021, the new Biden Administration refused to negotiate with Russia over the question of NATO enlargement to Ukraine, prompting the invasion.

In April 2022, the US called on Ukraine to withdraw from peace negotiations with Russia. The result is the useless prolongation of war, with more territory gained by Russia.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the US sought and until today is seeking, without succeeding, and constantly failing, a unipolar world led by a hegemonic US, in which Russia, China, Iran and other great nations have to be subservient.

In this US-led world order (this is the phrase commonly used in the US), the US and the US alone has determine the utilization of the dollar-based banking system, the placement of overseas US military bases, the extent of NATO membership, and the deployment of US missile systems, without any veto or say by other countries.

This arrogant foreign policy has led to constant war, countries devastated, millions killed, a widening rupture of relations between the US-led bloc of nations -a small minority in the planet and now not even anymore economically dominating- and the rest of the world, a global skyrocketing of military expenses, and is slowly leading us towards WWIII.

The wise, decade-long, European effort to engage Russia and China into a strategical economical and political collaboration, enthusiastically supported by the Russian and Chinese leadership, has been shattered by the ferocious US opposition, worried that this could have undermined the US dominance.

Is this the world we want?

[mapsontheweb]

Total GDP Growth in Balkan Between 1990 and 2018.

by FWolf14

Methodological Notes:

The World Bank only reports data for Albania, Turkey, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia and North Macedonia. Data for Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and Croatia was generated by using the relative share of income within Yugoslavia with the GDP of North Macedonia and Slovenia serving as inputs.

Raw Data:

Country - GDP in 1990 (Billion Constant 2010 USD) - GDP in 2018 (Billion Constant 2010 USD)

Greece - 197.552 - 252.723

Slovenia - 27.944 - 55.321

Croatia - 41.115 - 64.900

Serbia - 54.065 - 48.040

Turkey - 365.299 - 1236.994

Romania - 124.804 - 224.629

Montenegro - 3.017 - 5.120

Bosnia and Herzegovina - 20.407 - 20.131

North Macedonia - 8.590 - 11.236

Bulgaria - 36.293 - 60.767

Albania - 6.043 - 14.548

Kosovo - 3.380 - 7.739

[louisupdates]

The Habit He Can’t Break, 1/4

IQ 123 | Gordon Masson | 9.11.2023

Usually, when an act completes a world tour, they come off the road for an extended period to rest, record new material, and then typically two or three years later, the wheels are set in motion for an album, released, promo, and tour dates.

Louis Tomlinson did not get that memo.

His first solo tour ran late due to the pandemic restrictions, meaning that by the time it concluded in September 2022, his second album, Faith in the Future, was scheduled to drop and tickets for the associated tour were ready to go on sale.

“This tour went on sale late October or November - basically a year in advance,” explains agent, Holly Rowland, who represents Tomlinson alongside Alex Hardee, internationally, while Wasserman Music colleagues, Marty Diamond and Ash Mowry-Lewis do likewise for North America. 

Despite that quick turnaround between tours, Rowland reports that ticket sales for the current tour are going very well indeed. “The first leg went through Scandinavia before doing the Baltics and Eastern Europe – Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece – places that most people, especially arena-level acts, don’t really go. And the second leg, which is more mainland Europe, started 2 October.”

The tour is big. Very big for just a second outing in his own name. 

Between May and July this year, Tomlinson played 39 dates in the US and Canada across a mix of amphitheaters, arenas, pavilions, and stadiums. In August, he returned to Europe, where he currently is in the midst of another 39 dates in arenas across the continent and the UK, which will take him to 18 November. Then, in early 2024, the Faith in the Future tour goes to Australia for two outdoor dates in Melbourne and Brisbane, before he takes the show to the country’s biggest indoor venue, the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.

And, as IQ went to press, Louis Tomlinson released dates for a return to Latin America in May 2024 for a mix of indoor and outdoor shows, including stadia, across Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay.

“We’re going to Australia and part of Asia early next year,” states artist manager Matt Vines of London-based Seven 7 Management. We then go into Latin America in May and June. And then we’ll handpick a selection of festivals next summer, before we draw the line on the campaign at the end of the summer.”

Rowland comments, “The tour before obviously was a Covid tour where the dates had to be chopped and changed. The positive aspect of that was that we were able to upgrade venues where that made sense. But it was really nice to start from scratch on this tour to make sure the routing was all going in the right direction.”

Back to You

Playing a major role in shifting that ticketing inventory is a network of promoters also enjoying Tomlinsons rising star.

“On this tour, it’s mainly Live Nation – we use a lot of the One Direction promoter,” explains Rowland. “But for Greece, we used Honeycomb Live, Charmenko did Romania, 8 Days A Week promoted the three shows in the Baltics, All Things Live did Finland, Fource are doing Orague, it’s Gadget in Switzerland, Atelier in Luxembourg, and when we get to the UK, it’s SJM, and MCD in Ireland.”

With a total of 39 European dates, Rowland split the outing into separate legs, scheduling a break after Scandinavia, the Balkans, Baltics, and Athens, Greece, and another after mainland Europe, ending in Zürich, Switzerland. 

“It’s a perfect ratio, if I do say so myself,” she laughs. “It was right to split it up – 39 dates is a long, long tour, especially with the American tour throughout the summer being 11 weeks! We made sure to schedule days off, for everyone to recharge their batteries.”

In Spain, Nacho Córdoba at Live Nation promoted Tomlinson’s shows in Bilbao, Madrid, and Barcelona, and reports sell-outs at each of the arenas involved. 

“When Louis was last here, it was three days before the pandemic shut everything down in Spain. In fact, I think he played the final show before the market closed because of Covid.,” says Córdoba.

“Last year, Louis organized his Away From Home Festival in Fuengirola, and that also sold out, so we know he has a big following in Spain, and we also know that Spanish fans are super loyal. So, on this tour we sold out 7,000 tickets at Bilbao Arena Miribilla, 13,600 tickets at Wizink in Madrid, and 11,200 at Palau St Jordi in Barcelona.”

Already looking forward to Tomlinson “and his fantastic team” returning on the next tour, Córdoba believes it will be important to see what happens with the next album – and Tomlinson’s expectations – before making any plans. 

“The most important thing is to keep the fans happy and keep the momentum building with Louis,” he states. “I am a big fan of the arenas, because the atmosphere at his shows was incredible. So, rather than look at going bigger, it might be a case of looking at other arenas in other markets. Whatever he does, we cannot wait to have Louis back in Spain.”

Stefan Wyss at Gadget abc Entertainment in Switzerland promoted Tomlinson when he visited Zurich’s Hallenstadion on 23 October and explains that he previously played the city’s Halle 622 venue on the first tour.

Recalling the debut solo outing, Wyss tells IQ, “At first, we announced a mid-size theatre club show, 1,800-capacity, but it sold out instantly. Then we moved it to Halle 62, which is 3-500-cap and that also sold out immediately, so it was a really big success. 

“They’ve invested a lot in the production of this current tour, and it’s doing really strong numbers, so that’s why we decided to go to the arena this time around, where we set a mid-size capacity of 7,000, which is good for a small market like Switzerland, especially because he’s coming back just one year later and playing a much bigger show.”

Wyss adds, “He’s kept the ticket prices reasonable – and he never wants to do any gold circle or VIP tickets. I think that’s why he’s so close to his fans, because it’s not about maximising profits. Another reason for his success is that in addition to attracting a mainstream audience, he’s also getting the music lovers because he’s just a very good songwriter and has brilliant songs.”

Wyss also notes that with many young fans typically arriving the day before the concert, the responsibility to look after them is extended. “We set up toilets, we have security overnight, we give water away. It’s part of the organization that we will take care of the fans.”

Fresh from announcing 12 dates across Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Paraguay, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay, promoter Fabiano Lima De Queiroz at Move Concerts reports that Tomlinson will visit a mix of arenas, as well as stadiums in Santiago, São Paulo, and Buenos Aires, during his May tour.

“Our first tour with Louis was supposed to be in 2020 and we’d booked half arenas everywhere – 5,000–6,000 capacities,” he informs IQ. “Louis was one of those acts who connected very well with the fans during the pandemic, so when we shifted the dates, first to 2021, and then to 2022, we ended up selling out and having to upgrade in certain metropolitan markets.”

2/4, 3/4, 4/4

[dailytomlinson]

Faith In The Future Tour (Behind The Scenes) for IQ

Full interview with Matt Vines, tour promoters, agents and more people involved in the making of the tour under the cut:

Usually, when an act completes a world tour they come off the road for an extended period to rest, record new material, and then typically two or three years later the wheels are set in motion for an album release, promo, and tour dates. Louis Tomlinson did not get that memo. His first solo tour ran late due to the pandemic restrictions, meaning that by the time it concluded in September 2022, his second album, Faith In The Future, was scheduled to drop and tickets for the associated tour were ready to go on sale. 

“This tour went on sale last October or November ‒ basically a year in advance,” explains agent Holly Rowland, who represents Tomlinson, alongside Alex Hardee, internationally, while Wasserman Music colleagues Marty Diamond and Ash Mowry-Lewis do likewise for North America.

Despite that quick turnaround between tours, Rowland reports that ticket sales for the current tour are going very well indeed. “The first leg went through Scandinavia before doing the Baltics and Eastern Europe ‒ Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece ‒ places that most people, especially arena-level acts, don’t really go. And the second leg, which is more mainland Europe, started on 2 October.”

The tour is big. Very big for just a second outing in his own name.

Between May and July this year, Tomlinson played 39 dates in the US and Canada across a mix of amphitheaters, arenas, pavilions, and stadiums. In August, he returned to Europe, where he is currently in the midst of another 39 dates in arenas across the continent and the UK, which will take him to 18 November. Then, in early 2024, the Faith In The Future tour goes to Australia for two outdoor dates in Melbourne and Brisbane, before he takes the show to the country’s biggest indoor venue, the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. 

And, as IQ went to press, Tomlinson released dates for a return to Latin America in May 2024 for a mix of indoor and outdoor shows, including stadia, across Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay. 

“We’re going to Australia and part of Asia early next year,” states artist manager Matt Vines of London-based Seven 7 Management. “We then go into Latin America in May and June. And then we’ll handpick a selection of festivals next summer, before we draw the line on the campaign at the end of the summer.”

Rowland comments, “The tour before obviously was Covid tour where the date had to be chopped and changed. The positive aspect of that was that we were able to upgrade venues where that made sense. But it was really nice to start from scratch on this tour to make sure the routing was all going in the right direction.” She reports, “We’ve done nearly 16,000 tickets in Amsterdam, and 14,000 in Paris, which I think just underlines his credibility as an artist and his growing reputation among fans.”

Playing a major role in shifting that ticketing inventory is a network of promoters also enjoying Tomlinson’s rising star.

“On this tour, it’s mainly Live Nation ‒ we use a lot of the One Direction promoter,” explains Rowland. “But for Greece, we used Honeycomb Live, Charmenko did Romania, 8 Days A Week promoted the three shows in the Baltics, All Things Live did Finland, Fource are doing Prague, it’s Gadget in Switzerland, Atelier in Luxembourg, and when we get to the UK, it’s SJM, and MCD in Ireland.”

With a total of 39 European dates, Rowland split the outing into separate legs, scheduling a  break after Scandinavia, the Balkans, Baltics and Athens, Greece and another after mainland Europe ending in Zurich, Switzerland. 

“It's a perfect ratio, if I do say so myself,” she laughs. “It was right to split it up ‒ 39 dates in a long, long tour, especially with the American tour throughout the summer being 11 weeks! We made sure to schedule days off, for everyone to recharge their batteries.”

In Spain, Nacho Córdoba at Live Nation promoted Tomlinson’s shows in Bilbao, Madrid, and Barcelona and reports sell-outs at each of the arenas involved. 

“When Louis was last here, it was three days before the pandemic shut everything down in Spain. In fact, I think he played the final show before the market closed because of Covid,” says Córdoba. 

“Last year, Louis organised his Away From Home festival in Fuengirola, and that also sold out, so we know he has a big following in Spain, and we also know that Spanish fans are super loyal. So, on this tour we sold out 7,000 tickets at Bilbao Arena Miribilla, 13,600 tickets at WiZink in Madrid, and 11,200 at Palau St Jordi in Barcelona.”

Already looking forward to Tomlinson “and his fantastic team” returning on the next tour, Córdoba believes it will be important to see what happens with the next album ‒ and Tomlinson’s expectations ‒ before making any plans.

“The most important thing is to keep the fans happy and keep the momentum building with Louis,” he states. “I am a big fan of the arenas, because the atmosphere at his shows was incredible. So, rather than look at going bigger, it might be a case of looking at other arenas in other markets. Whatever he does, we cannot wait to have Louis back in Spain.”

Stefan Wyss at Gadget abc Entertainment in Switzerland promoted Tomlinson when he visited Zurich’s Hallenstadion on 23 October and explains that he previously played the city’s Halle 622 venue on the first tour.

Recalling that debut solo outing, Wyss tells IQ, “At first, we announced a mid-size theatre club show, 1,800-capacity, but it sold out instantly. Then we moved it to Halle 622, which it 3,500-cap, and that also sold out immediately, so it was a really big success.

“They’ve invested a lot in the production of this current tour, and it’s doing really strong numbers, so that’s why we decided to go to the arena this time around, where we set a mid-size capacity of 7,000, which is good for a small market like Switzerland, especially because he’s coming back just one year later and playing a much bigger show.”

Wyss adds, “He’s kept the ticket prices reasonable ‒ and he never wants to do any gold circle or VIP tickets. I think that’s why he’s so close to his fans, because it’s not about maximising profits. Another reason for his success is that in addition to attracting a mainstream audience, he’s also getting music lovers because he’s just a very good songwriter and has brilliant songs.”

Wyss also notes that with many young fans typically arriving the day before the concert, the responsibility to look after them is extended. “We set up toilets, we have security overnight, we give water away. It’s part of the organization that we will take care of the fans.”

Fresh from announcing 12 dates across Argentina, Brazil (x 3), Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Pery, Paraguay, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay, promoter Fabiano Lime de Queiroz at Move Concerts reports that Tomlinson will visit a mix of arenas, as well as stadiums in Santiago, São Paulo, and Buenos Aires during his May tour.

“Our first tour with Louis was supposed to be in 2020 and we’d booked half arenas everywhere ‒ 5,000-6,000 capacities,” he informs IQ. “Louis was one of those acts who connected very well with the fans during the pandemic, so when we shifted dates, first to 2021, and then to 2022, we ended up selling out and having to upgrade in certain metropolitan markets.”

“In Santiago, for instance, we’d sold out two full arenas of 13,000 cap, but then the government declared that for mass gatherings the numbers needed to be limited to 10,000 people.”

Rather than let fans down, Move added a third date, which again ended up selling out. “I remember being on a night plane from Miami, while Matt Vines was flying in from Dallas, and we were both using the aircraft wi-fi to negotiate via text for that third show,” says Queiroz. “It was an interesting way to confirm putting the third date on sale, just three days before the actual show!” 

He adds, “We’re taking a big bet on this tour when it comes to the number of cities and the capacities of the venues, but we’re hoping for the best and we’ve gone out strong. We feel that the artist is in a good moment and that the latest album has just created more interest, so we’re looking forward to when he arrives in May.”

Further north, Ocesa will prompte three dates in Mexico, including a stadium show at the F1 circuit, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, deepening Tomlinson’s footprint in that crucial North America market. 

Meanwhile, in Tomlinson’s homeland, Jack Downling at SJM is promoting seven UK dates in November at arenas in Sheffield, Manchester, Glasgow, Brighton, Cardiff, London, and Birmingham, which will round out the European leg of the tour.

“SJM has done every show Louis has been involved with, including all the One Direction arena and stadium shows,” notes Dowling, adding that on the first tour, the London show was originally pencilled in as a Roundhouse, then two Roundhouse shows, before finally being upgraded to Wembley Arena.

“This time, The O2 arena show in London will be sold out, while all the others have passed the expectations of where we wanted to be on this tour. In fact, when the UK dates were announced, it ranked as the fourth most engaged tour on social media in SJM’s history ‒ his fans are just nuts.”

But Downling also reports that the fanbase for Tomlinson is expanding. “The demographics are pulling not just from pop but also from indie rock now.”

Downling adds, “Louis really looks after his fans. On the last tour they did a deal with Greggs {bakery chain} to give free food to the people waiting in line, as some of them camped out for days in advance.”

Ensuring his fans are looked after properly is the number-one priority in Tomlinson’s live career. 

Noting that Tomlinson’s audience comprises mainly young women and girls, Rowland reveals that, at the artists’s insistence, a safety team has been added to the tour to ensure everyone that attends his shows is looked after. “Thry manage all the safety within the shows for the fans,” she explains. “They came in for the Wembley show last year and have been with us ever since ‒ they’ve been beneficial to the running of the tour.”

“When he played in South America, some of his fans were camping outside for a month. So we have a responsibility to look after them. Coming to a show should be a safe space, it’s where they find joy, and we have a responsibility to protect that.”

Manager Vines comments, “One issue we came up against almost all last year was crushing and fans passing out. We adopted a system where we could communicate with fans, who could hold up a mobile phone with a flashing red-and-white sign if they were in trouble but then we’d see them all popping up.”

“I don’t know whether some of that was a hangover of the pandemic where fans just weren’t used to being in venues. But we experienced a number of situations where hydration and temperatures in venues became an issue. I know Billie Eilish went through similar issues.”

With Tomlinson determined to meet a duty of care towards his fans, Vines says that the team now sends a “considerable advance package” to promoters ahead of their tour dates. “Our safety team goes into venues in the morning and basically ensures that a number of different things are in place ‒ making sure that water is given to the fans, where the water comes from, and at what points in the show it happens.”

And on the crushing phenomena, he reports, “We’ve worked out how many fans it’s safe to have without a secondary barrier. So we instruct promoters to have certain barriers in place to relieve that pressure and avoid crushing.”

He adds, “I get detailed incident reports after each show, which lets myself and my management team know exactly what happened, and so far on this tour, we haven’t had any issues with crushing or hydration, which is fantastic.”

Production manager Craig Sherwood is impressed by the way the tour has pivoted to protect the ‘Louies’. “The welfare officers are vital for the young girls who are aged from, I guess, 14 upwards. They can get dehydrated and malnourished pretty quickly if they are camping out for days, so it’s important that we look out for their wellbeing,” says Sherwood.

Citing the extremes that the Louies will put themselves through in an effort to secure themselves prime positions at the front of the stage, Sherwood recalls, “The first show on our US tour was in February, and it was freezing, but we found out that girls had been camping out on the pavement for five days. It’s crazy, as we know these young girls are coming from all over the world to see Louis.”

However, Tomlinson’s connection with those fans is evident in the level of merchandise sales at each show. “It’s a huge part of our business,” says Vines. “In America, we averaged about $36 a head, and it’s not much shy of that in Europe ‒ we’ve set a few national records in terms of spend per head. But we spend a lot of time on merch plans, and we do venue-specific drops and give it a lot of care and attention, as it’s a really important element of Louis’ business.”

Making sure that the Faith In The Future tour delivers Tomlinson to his growing legion of fans, PM Sherwoord’s long association with artist manager Vines made him the obvious choice when the artist first began his solo career.

“I remember doing a lot of promo dates around the UK and US before we started touring properly,” says Sherwood of his work with Tomlinson. “In fact, one of the first shows I remember doing with Louis was in Madrid when he played in a stadium, and I could see it was a taste of things to come.”

The partnership between Sherwood and Vines is crucial.

“In terms of the show growing, our biggest challenge is keeping costs down, because we’re extremely cautious on ticket pricing,” says Vines. “We don’t do dynamic pricing, we don’t do platinium ticketing, we don’t do paid VIPs, we don’t increase ticket prices on aisle seats ‒ all those tricks that everyone does that most fans don’t know about: we don’t do any of those.”

“So, when it comes to the production side of things, we need to be incredibly careful. But I’ve been working with Craig for a decade, and he knows the importance of trying to keep costs as low as possible. For instance, we’ll run the show virtually a number of times so Louis can watch it with the show designer, Tom Taylor, make comments and tweak things. Then we’ll go into pre-production. But we try to do as much in virtual reality as possible before we take it into the physical world.”

Sherwood states, “Basically, we started out with two or three trucks, but now we’re up to nine, and things seem to be getting bigger day by day.”

Thankfully, Sherwood has amassed a vastly experienced crew over the years, allowing them to handle even the most unexpected scenarios. “I’ve been touring since the dawn of time, but the core crew I work with now have been together since about 2010, and I trust them implicitly, so I leave it up to them who they hire, as long as they think I’m going to like them, and they’ll get along with everyone. So far, it has worked well,” Sherwood reports.

And that veteran crew has dealt with some terrifying weather extremes on the current tour, including a show at Red Rocks in Colorado where the audience were subjected to a freak storm with golf ball-sized hailstones injuring dozens of people.

Elsewhere, the crew has had to act quickly when the threat of high winds in Nashville caused problems on that outdoor run. “We didn’t want the video screens blowing about above the heads of the band, so it must have been amusing for the audience to see us taking them down,” Sherwood reports.

Indoors in Europe, the environment has been more controllable. The production itself involves an A-stage set 180 degrees across the barricades, although Sherwood says that on occasion a catwalk is also used by the performers.

“It’s a great lighting show and fantastic for audio, as we have a phenomenal front-of-house sound engineer ‒ John Delf from Edge Studios ‒ who makes life very easy for the rest of us,” says Sherwood. He also namechecks Barrie Pitt (monitor engineer), Oli Crump (audio system designer), Tom Taylor (lighting designer), Sam Kenyon (lighting technical director), and Torin Arnold (stage manager), while he praises Solo-Tech for supplying the sound, and Colour Sound Experiment (CSE) for taking charge of lighting video, and rigging equipment.

Indeed, CSE has ten personnel out with the Faith In The Future tour. “We have eight screens on the road ‒ six on stage plus two IMAGS that we use wherever appropriate,” the company’s Haydn Cruickshank tells IQ.

“We need to tweak the rigging on a daily basis, as we move to different venues, but other than that it’s a fairly smooth process thanks to Craig Sherwood. He is old-school and planned and worked on the production very far in advance, which is a great scenario for all involved. Craig is definitely one of our favourite production managers to work with.”

Garry Lewis at bussing contractors Beat The Street is also a fan of PM Sherwood.

“Craig split the European tour into different runs. So, from Hamburg to Zurich, we had two super high-decker 12-berth buses for the tour party and two 16-berth double-deckers for the crew,” says Lewis. “After the show in Athens, we still have the two super high-deckers, as Louis loves them ‒ he prefers to spend time on the bus, rather than in hotels ‒ but we also have two 12-berth super high-deckers for the crew, as well as another crew 16-berth double-decker.”

Lewis continues, “We’ve worked with Craig for a good few years, and we have a great relationship with him. He plans everything way in advance, so it means it’s all very straightforward for us with no issues. So, we use single drivers for each bus, except on the longer runs or when our drivers are scheduled for prolonged breaks, and then we’ll fly in extra drivers as needed.”

With the production travelling to Australia in early 2024, before shifting to Latin America, Andy Lovell at Freight Minds is gearing up to become involved with Tomlinson once again.

“We did the Central and South America dates on the tour last year, and onto Mexico,” says Lovell. “It was very challenging back then as we were still coming back from Covid, and various systems and infrastructure were in pieces. But it all went well in the end, as we kept an eye on things and worked on it every day to make sure we had solutions to everything that was thrown our way.” 

Lovell continues, “Things on this tour kick in early next year for us. Historically, Australian services were quite reliable, as we could use any number of airlines. But post-pandemic, the number of long-haul flights still aren’t as frequent as they were. As a result, the production is being reverse engineered with the budget being worked out before we can see what we can afford to take as freight, and then we try to plan accordingly.”

“Similarly, in Central and South America there are still just a fraction of the flights operating, compared to pre-Covid, so that makes it very challenging. If there aren’t the flights to handle the gear, then you have to start looking at chartering aircraft, or alter your schedule, and that can become very expensive, very fast.”

With everyone working on the artist’s behalf to make sure the tour remains on track, being able to call on such experienced production experts is paying off on a daily basis.

Sherwood notes, “There are a few back-to-back shows over long distances that occasionally mean we don’t arrive at the next venue until 11am, rather than 6am. But we’ve never failed anywhere to open the doors on time, so we know we’re capable of getting things done, even if we have a late start at mid-day.”

Such dilemmas are not lost on agent Rowland. “It’s not so much the routing, it’s more like the timings, because Louis does have two support acts, so the show starts at 7 o’clock, and then when we’re done, we need to load out to get to the next show in good time for loading in the next morning and soundchecks, etc.”

Nonetheless, Sherwood admits that he loves the trickier venues and schedules. “Because I’m a dinosaur, I relish anything that makes things difficult or awkward for us on the production side of things,” he says. “I think everyone on the crew looks forward to challenges and finding the solutions to problems.”

Having amassed millions of fans through his association with One Direction, Tomlinson very much has a ‘pay it forward’ attitude to music and is building a reputation as a champion for emerging talent, wherever he performs. 

“He’s a great advocate for alternative music,” says manager Vines. “Louis realises that he’s in an incredibly privileged position in terms of what he can create in terms of awareness. He loves alternative music and indie music, and he understands how hard it is for that music to be heard. But we have this amazing platform where we can put these bands in front of these audiences as a showcase that allows them to build these authentic new audiences. It’s a hude part of his love of music, wanting to help younger bands.”

Rowland agrees. “He took an act called Andrew Cushin ‒ a very new artist ‒ on the road in America with him as his support, and he’s doing the same for Europe. Louis is a fan and is championing his career.”

Indeed, Tomlinson’s A&R skills have knock-on effects for his agent, too. “He asked me to confirm the Australian band Pacific Avenue as support for his Australian tour last year. The music was great and they didn’t have an agent, so now I’m representing them!” says Rowland.

As the European tour speeds toward its conclusion, agent Rowland is enjoying every minute of it.

“It’s incredible ‒ they’ve really stepped things up,” she says, fresh from seeing the show in Athens and Paris. “They’ve got 6 hanging LED screens on the stage, and the whole production just looks polished and professional.”

And Rowland is especially excited about next year’s Latin America dates, which will deliver her first stadium shows as an agent.

“The return to Latin America is going to be huge ‒ Louis is playing arenas and stadiums in South America and Mexico: 15 shows in 11 countries,” she says.

Vines is similarly enthused. Harking back to the Covid situation, when a show would go on sale, sell out, be postponed, and then rescheduled in a bigger venue, Vines says, “For example, in Chile, originally the show was scheduled at a 5,000-cap, half-capacity arena in Santiago. And what we ended up doing was three nights at 10,000-cap in that same venue.”

Vines contends that Tomlinson’s work ethic is outstanding. “He loves his fans, and he loves performing for them, it’s as simple as that,” he says. “He just loves being on the road and seeing how the songs connect live. In fact, the second album was very much written with the tour and live shows in mind ‒ ‘This song could work live,’ ‘This one will open the set,’ ‘This is the one we can do for the encore.’”

Another element to Tomlinson’s psyche has been his decision to visit places off the usual tour circuit. 

“Louis has a real desire to perform to fans in markets that are often overlooked,” says Rowland. 

Manager Vines explains that while the Covid-delayed first tour allowed them to upgrade venues pretty much everywhere, “On this tour, we’re a bit more competent on venue sizes, but we still speculate a little bit in different territories. In Europe, for example, we’ve gone into the Baltics and a number of different places to test the markets there, while in America, we are looking at A and B markets but also tertiary markets as well ‒ we go to places where people just don’t tour in America, just to see what the reaction is. That was something that very much interested Louis ‒ to play in front of people who don’t normally have gigs in their town. So there’s been a lot of experimentation on this tour in terms of where we go and what room to play.”

That concept is something that Vines has employed before. “I manage a band called Hurts who were pretty much overlooked by the British radio system and we have spent 15 years building a business outside of the UK. And that was built on going to play at those places where people didn’t normally go. They built to multiple arena level in Russia, for instance.”

“If you can build fanbases in lots of different places, you have festivals that you can play every summer, as well as youring those places. It allows you to have more consistency over a number of years, by having more opportunities.”

Such a strategy found a convert in Tomlinson. Vines tells IQ, “Louis also is extremely fan-focused in everything that he does. He comes at it from a perspective of ‘I want to take the show to them,’ meaning he’s always more willing to take the risky option to try something out.”

And the results? “It’s a combination,” concludes Vines. “There have been a couple of places where we now understand why tours don’t go there. But there are more places where it’s worked incredibly well. For example, we enjoyed incredibly good sales in Budapest. And overall, it’s allowing us to get a clearer idea, globally, of where the demand it, which will help us when we go into the next tour cycle.”

[ashleyrowanthewriter]

Jak będą pamiętać? - How Will They Remember?

Do pewnej dziewczynki grającej w piłkę

Wpadli niebiescy umieścić ją w klitce.

Za dwie dwójki będzie obiadki pożerać.

Jak będą o niej pamiętać?

Ścigali dzielnie kolegę byłego.

Przekrętem zajumał tysiące euro.

Wnet przez seksmisję próbował uciekać.

Jak będą o nim pamiętać?

Na kilku numerkach jechali oszuści,

By przez Temidę nie zostali opluci,

Lecz już na czerwonym nie mogą jechać.

Jak będą o nich pamiętać?

Kraj ma z nich pierwszorzędną bekę

Czytając zawiłą kartotekę.

Tymczasem me włosy stają dęba.

Jak będą o nas pamiętać?

Idę nad rzekę, zaglądam do Mila.

Może ma szczęście, że już sobie pływa.

Pytam, czy podziela moje spostrzeżenia

Jak będą o nas pamiętać?

Cisza, spokój wpadają pod pociągu koła

Jak piramida z bursztynu i złota.

Już i tak się smród dokoła pałęta.

Jak będą o nas pamiętać?

Obawiam się jakiś czas chodzić do banku.

Mimo, że konto mam w porządalu,

Dwa miliony mogą mi zawsze wyjechać.

Jak będą o nich pamiętać?

*************

To one girl playing ball

The blue ones came to put her in a cramped room

For two twos she will be devouring dinners.

How will they remember her?

They courageously hunted an ex-friend.

He stole thousands of euros with a scam.

Suddenly he tried to escape through a sexmission.

How will they remember him?

The cheaters were driving on several numbers

So they wouldn’t be spit on by Themis,

But on the red light they can’t drive anymore.

How will they remember them?

The country is laughing at them first class

While reading the complicated case files.

Meanwhile my hair stands on end.

How will they remember us?

I go to the river, I visit Milo.

Maybe they’re lucky they’re swimming already.

I ask whether or not they share my observations.

How will they remember us?

Silence, peace fall under the wheels of a train

Like a pyramid of amber and gold.

There’s already a stink following us.

How will they remember us?

I’m afraid of going to the bank for some time.

Even if my account is in order,

Two millions of mine can always leave.

How will they remember them?

*************

Inspired by the arrest of Andrzej D./Joanna R. A scammer who stole thousands of euros and changed legal gender to avoid justice? This is for sure going to have an influence on how Poland sees transgender people. And we're already one of the most transphobic countries in the EU, probably beaten only by Hungary and Bulgaria.

[royal-confessions]

“Prince Umberto of Bulgaria is the most handsome prince of his generation. He is 24 y.o, has bachelor degree from Georgetown Uni, and currently works in investment banking in London. I ship him with The Princess of Asturias. They definitely know each other. His dad is the godfather of her sister, vice versa. And he speaks Spanish, has 75% Spanish blood. Perfect.” - Text & Image Submitted by Anonymous

[waugh-bao]

*

[disdaidal]

Btw I got a call from Paypal this morning, which sounded a helluva lot like an automated message (a female voice spoke in English, but it sounded distant, almost robot-like). And this voice said something similar to "we have received a request to withdraw money/funds from your Paypal account" (the requested amount was around a hundred-something) and "if you want to cancel it, press 1".

I hung up immediately. The phone number on my screen showed (+359) and "Bulgaria". I'm Finnish.

After ending the call, I immediately googled the message that I had heard on the phone, and it seems like a lot of Paypal users have gotten similar emails from 'Paypal' (I'm no stranger to such scam emails myself), but none of them mentioned a phone call. So I searched for that number and couldn't find it—or at least nothing that suggests that it's 'potentially harmful'.

I thought about reporting it to PayPal (still might), but somehow I doubt that'll do anything. I also checked my Paypal account activity in case of any new suspicious activity and transferred my money to another bank account (not linked with PPL) just in case.

I'm sure it was just a phishing attempt and nothing serious happened because I didn't respond, but you really can't be too careful these days.

Anyway, if you use Paypal and get emails or phone calls like this, don't answer them. Don't give them any information. Just hang up and delete those emails and/or mark them as spam. If you're not sure if they're legit, go to the Paypal official website and contact their support. They should know.

[reality-detective]

There were 173 Banks around the World that failed this week – and went unreported by the Mainstream Media.

 

The Rothschild Banks in controlled collapse, including the US Federal Reserve:

Afghanistan: Bank of Afghanistan

Albania: Bank of Albania

Algeria: Bank of Algeria

Argentina: Central Bank of Argentina

Armenia: Central Bank of Armenia

Aruba: Central Bank of Aruba

Australia: Reserve Bank of Australia

Austria: Austrian National Bank

Azerbaijan: Central Bank of Azerbaijan Republic

Bahamas: Central Bank of The Bahamas

Bahrain: Central Bank of Bahrain

Bangladesh: Bangladesh Bank

Barbados: Central Bank of Barbados

Belarus: National Bank of the Republic of Belarus

Belgium: National Bank of Belgium

Belize: Central Bank of Belize

Benin: Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)

Bermuda: Bermuda Monetary Authority

Bhutan: Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan

Bolivia: Central Bank of Bolivia

Bosnia: Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana: Bank of Botswana

Brazil: Central Bank of Brazil

Bulgaria: Bulgarian National Bank

Burkina Faso: Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)

Burundi: Bank of the Republic of Burundi

Cambodia: National Bank of Cambodia

Came Roon: Bank of Central African States

Canada: Bank of Canada – Banque du Canada

Cayman Islands: Cayman Islands Monetary Authority

Central African Republic: Bank of Central African States

Chad: Bank of Central African States

Chile: Central Bank of Chile

China: The People’s Bank of China

Colombia: Bank of the Republic

Comoros: Central Bank of Comoros

Congo: Bank of Central African States

Costa Rica: Central Bank of Costa Rica

Côte d’Ivoire: Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)

Croatia: Croatian National Bank

Cuba: Central Bank of Cuba

Cyprus: Central Bank of Cyprus

Czech Republic: Czech National Bank

Denmark: National Bank of Denmark

Dominican Republic: Central Bank of the Dominican Republic

East Caribbean Area: Eastern Caribbean Central Bank

Ecuador: Central Bank of Ecuador

Egypt: Central Bank of Egypt

El Salvador: Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea: Bank of Central African States

Estonia: Bank of Estonia

Ethiopia: National Bank of Ethiopia

European Union: European Central Bank

Fiji: Reserve Bank of Fiji

Finland: Bank of Finland

France: Bank of France

Gabon: Bank of Central African States

The Gambia: Central Bank of The Gambia

Georgia: National Bank of Georgia

Germany: Deutsche Bundesbank

Ghana: Bank of Ghana

Greece: Bank of Greece

Guatemala: Bank of Guatemala

Guinea Bissau: Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)

Guyana: Bank of Guyana

Haiti: Central Bank of Haiti

Honduras: Central Bank of Honduras

Hong Kong: Hong Kong Monetary Authority

Hungary: Magyar Nemzeti Bank

Iceland: Central Bank of Iceland

India: Reserve Bank of India

Indonesia: Bank Indonesia

Iran: The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Iraq: Central Bank of Iraq

Ireland: Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland

Israel: Bank of Israel

Italy: Bank of Italy

Jamaica: Bank of Jamaica

Japan: Bank of Japan

Jordan: Central Bank of Jordan

Kazakhstan: National Bank of Kazakhstan

Kenya: Central Bank of Kenya

Korea: Bank of Korea

Kuwait: Central Bank of Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan: National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic

Latvia: Bank of Latvia

Lebanon: Central Bank of Lebanon

Lesotho: Central Bank of Lesotho

Libya: Central Bank of Libya (Their most recent conquest)

Uruguay: Central Bank of Uruguay

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Lithuania: Bank of Lithuania

Luxembourg: Central Bank of Luxembourg

Macao: Monetary Authority of Macao

Macedonia: National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia

Madagascar: Central Bank of Madagascar

Malawi: Reserve Bank of Malawi

Malaysia: Central Bank of Malaysia

Mali: Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)

Malta: Central Bank of Malta

Mauritius: Bank of Mauritius

Mexico: Bank of Mexico

Moldova: National Bank of Moldova

Mongolia: Bank of Mongolia

Montenegro: Central Bank of Montenegro

Morocco: Bank of Morocco

Mozambique: Bank of Mozambique

Namibia: Bank of Namibia

EVERYTHING is going to crash!

Are You Prepared? 🤔

[sheltiechicago]

The National “Khabar” Television Studios And Administrative Offices. Almaty, Kazakhstan, Built In 1983

Revitalizing The Heritage Of Socialist Modernism: BACU’s Online Initiative To Protect Central And Eastern European Architecture

Preserving the monumental yet decaying structures of central and eastern Europe erected between 1955-91 is the mission of the online initiative, Socialist Modernism, created by the Bureau for Art and Urban Research (BACU). With an aim to revitalize this heritage, BACU believes in the significance of these elements which managed to defy some of the ideological requirements of their time, giving the urban space a distinct flavor characteristic of the socialist period.

The Monument To 1300 Years Of Bulgaria

Housing Building On Bobur Street. Tashkent, Uzbekistan Built In 1974

Former Ministry Of Transportation, (Now: Bank Of Georgia) Tbilisi, Georgia, Built In 1974

[beardedmrbean]

On August 19, a major police operation aimed at dismantling an international migrant trafficking ring operating along the so-called "Western Balkan route" was conducted in the Plovdiv region of Bulgaria, BNT reports. This route spans from Turkey through Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania, ultimately reaching Western Europe. The operation was spearheaded by the Main Directorate "Fighting Organized Crime" (GDBOP) and involved close coordination with the Main Directorate "Border Police" and the State Agency "National Security" (SANS). Oversight was provided by the District Prosecutor's Office in Plovdiv, and the action was supported by EUROPOL agents stationed in Bulgaria, as well as border police and anti-organized crime units from Romania and Moldova.

The coordinated effort resulted in the neutralization of a substantial international criminal organization consisting of Syrian, Jordanian, Bulgarian, and Moldovan nationals. The Bulgarian member of the group primarily handled logistics, including providing vehicles, registering individuals with lower social status, and overseeing their transportation. Moldovan drivers, recruited through online platforms, transported illegal migrants through Romania into Bulgaria. Once in Bulgaria, the migrants were picked up and transported by Moldovan drivers. The criminal network utilized mobile applications for internal communication.

During the operation, eight individuals were detained, with seven—including the leaders of the trafficking ring—facing charges. Authorities carried out 15 searches of residences and vehicles, leading to the seizure of six bank cards, 1.5 grams of cocaine, an illegal firearm with ammunition, numerous documents related to money transfers and vehicles, 16 electronic devices including phones, tablets, and laptops, four GPS trackers, and various identity documents.

Since early April, the GDBOP's investigation has linked the group to 17 cases involving over 130 illegal migrants. More than 20 drivers have been arrested, predominantly Moldovan nationals, with some individuals from Syria and Serbia also involved. The vehicles used were mostly Bulgarian-registered, often with temporary transit numbers.

The GDBOP investigation has received substantial support from EUROPOL and partner services from Romania and Moldova, as well as funding from the "Improving Cross-Border Cooperation in the Fight Against Organized Crime" project under the FFS 2021-2027.