Danube Day has been marked since 2004 and aims to draw attention to the importance and the conservation of the Danube and its tributaries. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Cooperation for the Protection and Sustainable Use of the Danube and the 20th anniversary of Danube Day. The motto of the campaign on the occasion of 29 June is again "Keep the Danube Blue".

From its source to the delta, the river passes through Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine. The Danube basin covers an area of 817 000 km² spread across 19 European countries, connecting 81 million people along its 2 859 km length and bringing together different languages, cultures, and histories. The basin is characterised by an exceptional diversity of ecosystems and habitats for plant and animal species.

The Danube Day campaign aims to encourage all people living around the Danube basin to raise their awareness and be active in protecting the river and its tributaries. Detailed information is published on the dedicated Danube Day page of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube - http://www.danubeday.org/.

The Danube Day programme in Bulgaria includes a variety of initiatives - clean-up actions, awareness-raising and environmental campaigns, festivals, plenaries, concerts and exhibitions, various city celebrations organised by the regional and municipal administrations along the Bulgarian river, institutions, commissions and centres, town halls, associations and civic initiatives. The programme of initiatives for 29 June in Bulgaria can be found HERE.

Once again, Bulgarian students between the ages of 6 and 18 can participate in the traditional international Danube Art Master competition. Organised by the Global Water Partnership in Central and Eastern Europe (GWP CEE) and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), the competition encourages children to take a closer look at their local river, reflect on what the environment means to them and create original artwork, photography, or video. The competition is held at two levels: national and international. The deadline for submission to the national coordinator is October 31, 2024. Detailed information about Danube Art Master is published HERE.

The Convention on Cooperation for the Protection and Sustainable Use of the Danube was signed by the Danube countries in Sofia on 29 June 1994. It is the strategic document on which international cooperation for the protection of one of Europe's most important rivers and its tributaries is based. Danube Day was celebrated for the first time on 29 June 2004 at the suggestion of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube. The campaign, which is being carried out by all countries of the Danube basin, is organised and coordinated by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube. The national coordinator for Bulgaria is the Ministry of Environment and Water and the Danube Basin Directorate.