On January 18, in the Belgravia Hall of The Lanesborough Hotel - one of the most prestigious hotels in London, a charity dinner was held in support of the construction of the new church "St. Ivan Rilski", which will be located meters from the Royal Albert Hall. The dinner was organized by Irina Behar and Diva Events London at the initiative of prominent representatives of the Bulgarian community in the United Kingdom, and with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony. The event was held under the patronage of H.E. Mr. Marin Raykov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Bulgaria in London, and with the support of Prince Kiril Preslavski.
For Unique Estates, with representative Ilonka Stoyanova, International Markets Manager, it was a privilege to be among the selected guests. The evening was brightened by performances by young musicians and the world-famous violinist Mila Georgieva, who performed the piece "Pirin" by the composer Dobrinka Tabakova on a Stradivarius violin.
During the event, a video address was broadcast to the guests with an overview of the famous and generous industrialists of Bulgarian history, with a call to the dinner guests, following the example of their ancestors, to support the construction of the new temple, which will become a new home for all Bulgarians in the heart of London. The appeal was followed by a presentation by the architect of the project, Carlo Bughi, who spoke about the challenges and the innovative architectural solution of the new Orthodox church, which will be the center of the Bulgarian community in the English capital.
Together, dinner guests raised over £180,000 for the charitable and worthy cause and the funds will go towards the interior decoration of the new church as fundraising continues.