The Vidin-Oltenia cross-border region has a rich history, valuable historical heritage and a diverse culture that complements the European cultural landscape. The historical sites, the urban model of the historic centers of the Danube cities, the tangible and intangible cultural heritage form the basis for the development of modern tourist infrastructure. In recent years, a number of measures have been taken to increase the tourist attractiveness of the cross-border region and various attractive products have been created, including those in the field of cultural tourism. However, they are mainly based on the intangible cultural heritage of the region and the preserved rich and authentic folklore. Contemporary cultural institutes and creative industries that create quality products and have huge potential to participate in the process of making the region a desirable and popular tourist destination are out of focus. The development of music tourism as a type of specialized tourism is not one of the topics that the cross-border region is actively working on. Existing resources and opportunities to use them have not been evaluated. The partnership between Symphony- Vidin and the Philharmony – Craiova aims to change this situation.

The main objective of the project is to increase the tourist attractiveness of the cross-border region of Vidin-Oltenia and to promote the local natural beauties and cultural values, using modern creative industries and creating an innovative cultural event.

The project will develop a joint strategy to promote music culture and the development of music tourism in the cross-border region. Accentuating contemporary creative industries will help to attract another group of potential tourists that has not yet been covered.

A unique formation of Bulgarian and Romanian musicians has been created to develop a joint concert program. A music festival will be organized, as part of the program will be presented in the town of Vidin and the other in the town of Craiova. The festival program will be determined by the boards of the two orchestras.

Innovation and attractiveness will be sought not only through the ability to combine musicians from the two orchestras, but also through the presentation of the concert program outside the traditional venues to provide an unforgettable experience for the audience.

A key point in this project is to promote the unique natural beauty and cultural values ​​of the cross-border region in an innovative way. The creation of the Musical Guide will promote both the music festival as a cultural event and the whole cross-border region as a place with unique natural assets and cultural and historical heritage. The videos included in the guide will make the unique system of natural, historical and cultural values ​​of the cross-border region “come to life” and will attract attention.

The Philharmony – Craiova and the Symphony – Vidin will cooperate for the first time. These two cultural institutes have a rich history, an extremely high reputation and play a key role in the implementation of cultural policies in their regions, but have not yet worked as partners. Their musicians are proven professionals who want to apply innovative approaches to their creative activities. They will combine efforts to create a new, high-quality and attractive cultural product that will generate interest not only for local communities but also increase the potential for tourism development in the region. The implementation of the project will lead to the creation of a unique cultural and tourist product that the orchestras on both sides could not create on their own.

By uniting the potential of two of the largest cultural institutes and forming a common tourism product and promotion policy, the project will contribute significantly to the sustainable development of tourism in the cross-border region. The project is related to Priority Axis 2 – Green Region; Specific objective 2.1. – Improve the sustainable use of natural heritage and resources and cultural heritage and will contribute to both programmatic product indicators. Two major products will be created: an innovative cultural event – the Musical Festival and the Musical Guide, which promote natural resources and the unique cultural heritage of the cross-border region. A strategic document will be developed – a joint strategy to promote music culture and the development of music tourism in the cross-border region.

All activities planned under the project will be implemented on the territory of the cross-border region.