The annual honour of World Capital of Sport was passed from Sofia (2024) to Monaco (2025) during an ACES Awards Gala at the European Parliament in Brussels Thursday reports the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). Representatives of the Bulgarian capital handed the flag to a delegation from Monaco.
ACES is a non-profit association based in Brussels which assigns every year the recognitions of World Capital, European Capital, Region, City, Island, Community and Town of Sport.
Sofia has been lauded as one of the most active and innovative capitals of sport. It has helped 14 other settlements in Bulgaria to earn similar recognition in the respective categories and to avail themselves of many new opportunities for promoting active and healthy living.
Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovatchev, one of the principal advocates of the ACES project, attended the ceremony along with Dimitar Shalafov, Chairman of the Children, Youth and Sports Committee in the Sofia Municipal Council and President of the Sofia: European Capital of Sport Foundation. Olympic karate champion Ivet Goranova (Tokyo 2020), Olympic group rhythmic gymnastics bronze medallist Reneta Kamberova (Rio de Janeiro 2016) and Olympic fencer Yoana Ilieva (Paris 2024) were also there. The three athletes have for years supported Sofia's development as a sport capital.
Gian Francesco Lupattelli, President and Founder of ACES, said that Sofia has taken full advantage of its status as World Capital of Sport in 2024 and has performed remarkably, particularly in providing more opportunities for sport.
The Sofia representatives received a long roar of applause in the large hall of the European Parliament filled with delegates of cities and communities from across Europe, senior European Commission officials and MEPs.
During the ceremony, the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Sozopol was named European Town of Sport 2025. Lupattelli presented the flag and the certificate to Sozopol Deputy Mayor Todor Damyanov.
