Sofia's rivers: from sewage channels to community spaces

Rivers of Sofia: Reclaiming Our City's Waterways

Once neglected and treated as sewage channels, Sofia's rivers are undergoing a remarkable transformation. Since 2020, Rivers of Sofia has mobilized hundreds of thousands of residents to reclaim and reimagine these vital ecosystems.

What started as a mission to clear polluted banks has blossomed into a wide movement. Through light design interventions like steps, ramps, temporary bridges, and art installations, we reconnected rivers with the city. Our annual festival has become one of Bulgaria's largest cultural events, with 82,000 documented visitors in 2025. We have built a broad coalition of citizens, NGOs, businesses, and experts for clean and accessible rivers. Our communications reach a million people annually: in our country of 6.5 million people, we have built a cultural phenomenon and generated unmatched excitement for preserving nature.

The results speak for themselves: two new riverside parks now welcome people, infrastructure improvements have reduced sewage overflow, and our city's mayor committed to river conservation through an official memorandum.

We've made rivers a key part of Sofia’s future vision, in terms of both policy and the popular imagination. Yet our work continues. Moving forward, we're focused on two priorities: keeping our community engaged through the 2026 festival, and holding authorities accountable about their promises of mapping urban rivers, monitoring water quality, and eliminating pollution.

Clean, accessible rivers for all isn't a dream: it's becoming our reality. With your support, we'll ensure this momentum doesn't fade.

Through this funding round, we’ll be able to make the 2026 Rivers of Sofia Festival in August a success, showing our local government that people are more engaged with the cause than ever. We will capture the media moment with features on national television and radio, reminding decision makers about people’s desire for clean rivers with renatured riverbanks. In November, on the 2-year anniversary of the memorandum on rivers, we will hold a conference where city representatives will publicly report on progress made, and we’ll set goals and expectations for next year. We will celebrate successes while also highlighting shortcomings and ensuring accountability so that the upward momentum continues.