The article presents Behar as an entrepreneur, international speaker and author whose work connects communications, business and diplomacy. Highlights include his lectures at Harvard and universities across Africa, Asia and Europe, as well as his book The Global PR Revolution.

His professional journey began in journalism, working in newsrooms in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. In 1992, he co-founded the Standart newspaper, and two years later established M3 Communications Group, Inc. Today, he serves as the company’s CEO and Chairman of the Board. For more than three decades, the firm has worked in public relations and media communications.

His international career led him to the presidency of the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO), a position he held from 2015 to 2017. Today, Behar leads the World Communications Forum Association (WCFA), based in Davos, Switzerland. The organisation brings together communications professionals and business leaders from different countries to exchange experience and ideas about the future of the profession.

In 2017, Behar became the first Eastern European inducted into the Global PR Hall of Fame in London. The MSN feature also notes his inclusion in PRWeek’s Global PR Power Book and his service on the advisory board of the Museum of Public Relations in New York. His international honours also include PRWeek’s recognition as Best PR Professional in Europe in 2020 and 2022.

Diplomacy is another significant part of Behar’s work. Since 2004, he has served as Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Seychelles in Bulgaria. The MSN feature highlights the recognition he has received from Lithuania, Seychelles and the Czech Republic for his work in journalism and diplomacy, reflecting another dimension of his career beyond the PR industry.

His inclusion in the selection draws international attention to a Bulgarian professional who combines running his own business with an active role in the global communications community. His career brings together entrepreneurship, education and international cooperation, fields in which he continues to contribute as a consultant, speaker and author.

Read the original feature on MSN.

During the meeting, Maxim and Veneta presented Hristo Stoichkov with a special photograph from their space camp in the United States, signed by both of them, as a personal keepsake from one of their most exciting experiences.

Maxim and Veneta Behar shared more with Stoichkov about the training, simulations, and challenges they went through during the program.

The program includes realistic simulations of space missions, work in conditions resembling weightlessness, EVA training, systems operation, and a simulation of a complete mission to Mars.

“It is always a real pleasure to talk with Hristo. Throughout his life, he has shown that with talent, hard work, and tremendous determination, you can overcome any boundaries. For Veneta and me, it was very special to share part of our space adventure with him,” Maxim Behar commented.

“I am always happy when I see Bulgarians achieving great success and bringing recognition to our country. Bulgaria has many talented and ambitious people not only in sports, but also in science, business, technology, and every other field. Maxim and Veneta show that when you set ambitious goals and work hard to achieve them, you can accomplish a great deal,” Hristo Stoichkov commented.

The three had a long conversation about sports, space, major challenges, and the motivation to continuously set new goals. At the end of the meeting, they were joined by two other major names in Bulgarian football, Krasimir Balakov and Daniel Borimirov.

Maxim and Veneta Behar completed the space training with the support of the “Hello, Space!” project of the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, which works to promote science, space technologies, and young people’s interest in STEM disciplines.

The meeting concluded with wishes for new successes and the shared message that the achievements of Bulgarians in different fields can serve as a strong example and inspiration for future generations.

Dear friends, tonight our guest is a man whose life proves that boundaries exist only in our minds. He is the only Eastern European inducted into the World PR Hall of Fame in London.

He has been a journalist, diplomat and adviser. He has received numerous awards, including Best PR Professional in Europe. He has written some of the bestselling books on business, leadership and even cooking.

But above all, he is a dreamer who does not simply look at the stars, but literally went through an intensive training course at NASA.

Dear viewers, it is a true pleasure for me to introduce Maxim Behar.

Maxim Behar: Good evening.

Host: I am glad to see you.

Maxim Behar: I am very happy to see you too.

Host: Welcome. You know that here, in our studio, you are always not a guest, but at home.

Maxim Behar: I am already at home, that is a fact.

Host: Exactly.

I would really like to ask you about everything I mentioned in the introduction. But since this is “The Ku-Ku Band Night,” let us start with a question like this.

What is music to you?

Maxim Behar: Like everyone from my generation, we grew up with music that we listened to on shortwave radio, such as Radio Luxembourg, BBC, Voice of America and many others. And all of this was incredibly exciting.

Do you know why we listened to so much music in those years?

On the one hand, yes, it was interesting, although we had “Shturtsite” here, we had “Signal.”

I myself played in a band called “Salzite,” and Dancho Karadzhov from “Signal” remembers it very well. They used to come every Friday to the club in Pavlovo to watch “Salzite,” and on Saturdays we would go to watch “Bandaratsite” at the Ovcha Kupel hall.

But those are stories.

When I think about it now, so many years later, why did we listen to that music so persistently, with so much energy and involvement, when it was on shortwave radio, secretly, and not everything could be heard on Bulgarian radio stations?

Back then, I had the feeling that when you listened to good music, when you listened to The Beatles, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, this world that we had never seen entered my little room in the Buxton neighbourhood.

That whole world, which was wonderful and about which so many beautiful things were sung, with such beautiful rhythms, made it feel as though we were suddenly going to the West without even realizing it.

Host: In other words, thanks to music, your imagination somehow helped you transport yourself to all sorts of different places.

Maxim Behar: I did not understand that at the time.

But now, looking back, I realize that we all know that back then we could not simply go to the West, watch and listen to concerts, as we do every year now.

But through music, somehow, we entered that world. And it was wonderful.

So I grew up with this music and, for me, it is simply part of life.

I make songs quite often. They get quite a lot of views, especially on YouTube. I hope that later in this wonderful show we will play one of them.

“Viva Bulgaria” has more than half a million views on YouTube.

When someone tells me, “You make music,” I say, “Wait a minute. I do not make music. I do marketing.”

I do marketing. I send messages through music.

You are musicians, of course. You are the best. I simply try to send messages through music.

Host: All right, let me pick up on what you just said. In recent years, does marketing not help enormously, when it is done well, the creators of what we now call creative content?

Maxim Behar: Yes.

Personally, I think that between 10 and 20 percent is having a musical sense, and of course you need to have a voice.

But everything else is marketing.

How are you going to sell it? How are you going to package it? What are you going to say?

The global market is currently flooded with music. Tons of it. Millions of tons.

You go into AI and it tells you: “Give me three seconds of your voice and I will make you great music that will be number one in the charts.”

That is why, in my opinion, the marketing messages you put into these songs are much more important.

Why, for example, did hundreds of thousands of people gather in stadiums for the concerts of our friends from “The Ku-Ku Band”?

Because those songs had messages.

Host: Messages from truly golden times, with a lot of meaning, sometimes with irony and satire, especially in the early years.

Later, of course, they developed tremendously and demonstrated exceptional skill both in composing and in writing lyrics.

Maxim Behar: I do not know anyone to whom you could say, “Let me play you a song,” and they would reply, “I do not care about music. Mind your own business. You are not going to play me any songs.”

I do not know such a person.

Host: And in early childhood, who shapes your musical taste?

Let us go back to those years. What kind of child was little Maxi?

Maxim Behar: I was not a very obedient child.

I wandered around the streets and played in the neighbourhood garden, like all of us, of course.

And somehow information passed from person to person: “Did you hear? The Beatles have a new song. The Stones have done something new.”

That music was passed around among us and we liked it very much because it was unfamiliar and sounded wonderful.

But I was not particularly obedient.

I read a tremendous amount. And to this day, I continue to read a lot.

I was very young, around 12 or 13 years old, when one evening my father called me into the little kitchen in the Buxton neighbourhood. He was sitting on a stool, I was standing, and that put us eye to eye.

He said to me: “Maxim, you cannot just wander around anymore. Go and work.”

I was thirteen and a half.

I asked him: “Where should I work?”

He said: “I have a friend at the Serdika factory. They might take you on as a carpenter.”

And that is how I ended up at the Serdika factory as a carpenter.

That was my first job, when I was thirteen and a half years old.

I have worked continuously ever since.

Even when I was studying in Prague, I was studying at two universities at the same time, the University of Economics and Charles University, both very prestigious universities, and I worked all day in a newsroom.

I wrote.

And on Saturdays and Sundays, I swept the streets.

Host: Why?

Maxim Behar: To earn some money.

And it was a great pleasure.

I think that when a person works, it somehow keeps them sharp, makes them better and allows them to see the results of what they do.

It does not matter whether you are sweeping streets or driving a car.

My friend Misho Shamara drives an Uber in Chicago.

Host: Yes, we see his posts on YouTube and Facebook. They are quite emotional.

Maxim Behar: Sometimes he uses pretty harsh language, which irritates many people, but his music is like that as well.

But in any case, he drives an Uber.

And he understands many other things too.

There is absolutely no problem with what kind of work you do. The important thing is to do it with pleasure, for it to bring you satisfaction and somehow make time pass quickly.

Host: And do different jobs and different environments help shape musical taste?

I am asking because I assume it was one thing in the carpentry workshop you mentioned and another thing in Prague.

Does the environment influence taste?

Maxim Behar: In my opinion, no.

It depends more on what kind of person you are.

Maybe it is your upbringing at home, maybe it is what your mother and father listen to. Although my parents did not really listen to much music at home.

It depends on who you are and what kind of company you find yourself in.

I doubt that your job, unless you are a musician, can shape your musical taste.

The music you listen to is who you are.

Host: It is your mirror.

Maxim Behar: If you listen to hard rock, you are probably a hard rocker in life as well.

You make tough decisions. You are uncompromising.

Host: Ultimately, the music you listen to builds you and shapes your character and your world.

Maxim Behar: The music you listen to is your mirror. It is your character.

Host: Tell us a little about the time when you decided to become a journalist.

Maxim Behar: I think that even back in that carpentry workshop, I wanted to do something that would allow me to report, analyse, tell stories, opinions or points of view, and have people listen to them.

When I found myself working in a newsroom in Prague, for a magazine with a circulation of around one million, I happened to sit down for coffee in a café.

The person next to me asked: “Is this seat free?”

Back then, it was normal for people to sit at an empty seat at someone else’s table.

He sat down and noticed that I did not speak the language very well.

He asked me: “Where are you from?”

I had just arrived in Prague.

I said: “Bulgaria.”

This was in 1981, when Bulgaria was celebrating 1,300 years since its establishment in 681.

There were huge celebrations.

He told me: “I run a very large magazine and I want someone to write an article for me about Bulgaria and the fact that you are celebrating 1,300 years.”

And that is how I ended up at that magazine.

I started learning, I started writing, and it gave me tremendous pleasure.

Then I returned to Bulgaria and started working for newspapers.

One day, a man called me on the landline. There were no mobile phones then.

He said: “Good evening. My name is Krasimir Stoychev. Is this Maxim Behar?”

I said: “Yes, Maxim Behar.”

And he said: “I am planning to finance the creation of a new newspaper. Would you agree to be part of my team?”

We are talking about Standart newspaper, and that is how I started working there.

That was actually my last job as a journalist, after which I decided that I wanted to try something new.

I do not even use the expression “something of my own,” because the work of a manager, and today I have a large company, companies with many people, is still not something I would describe as “mine.”

These are my colleagues.

I have responsibilities, they have responsibilities.

That is how I got into journalism, and it was incredibly interesting.

Wonderful years.

Maxim Behar: I am sure some of the viewers remember Standart newspaper. For its time, it was a very good media outlet.

We tried to maintain good, intelligent language.

We tried not to be aggressive, but to explain things calmly.

That is history now, but it is part of me.

Host: And the other universities, the other degrees, Seattle, London?

Maxim Behar: They are also part of my life.

Two years ago, when I was doing my doctorate at Sofia University, many people asked me: “Max, why do you need this doctorate?”

And I replied: “You know, it helped me tremendously because I read around 150 books in order to write my dissertation. Otherwise, I would never have read those books.”

It was a powerful motivation for a person to go much deeper and into much greater detail in something that interests them.

You should never stop learning.

Never.

Many of my colleagues know that I get up at 7:01 every morning.

Host: Why 01?

Maxim Behar: The reason is simple. Because I want to be number one.

Host: Wonderful. You have always been number one in everything you have taken on.

Maxim Behar: Sometimes, of course, I fall asleep again for a little while.

But when I get up, I make myself a coffee and start reading.

I read the interesting things that happened in my business the day before because my business is extremely dynamic.

Music is a little different.

You can create a composition, a song or a piece of music and it can still be relevant 20 years later.

Whereas my business, the media, is constantly changing.

Host: Let me ask you about public relations, as we are used to calling it in Bulgaria.

Maxim Behar: Yes.

The Bulgarian translation “relations with the public” is a rather funny translation, even lexically.

But it does not matter.

In Bulgarian, I think the closest term would be “public communications.”

We deal with communications and when we do them publicly for our clients or partners, that is probably the closest translation.

But it does not matter.

The term has already become established.

Even in German, for example, they use public relations as an English expression.

Just like “marketing.” In Bulgarian, we say “marketing.”

It is a very interesting business. A wonderful business.

When I started, it had so many levels, so many opportunities to do things for your clients in so many different directions.

Host: And what is important in this communication?

Maxim Behar: I have always said that for our business, and perhaps not only ours, the rule of the three S’s is important. I came up with it around 20 years ago.

And the more time passes, the more convinced I become that it works.

The three S’s are: Speed, Simplicity, Self-confidence.

Speed, simplicity and self-confidence.

Speed.

It is extremely important how quickly you reply to emails, how quickly you make decisions, how quickly you communicate with your colleagues and partners.

No one is going to wait a day for you to check your email and reply.

In the meantime, another thousand messages have arrived.

Simplicity.

You need to have priorities.

What do you do in the morning when you wake up?

You pick up your phone and look at it.

We all do it, everyone here at “The Ku-Ku Band” and everyone else.

You pick up your phone and check: who has written to me? Do I have anything on WhatsApp? Do I have anything on Viber? Has someone sent me a message?

All of this is information.

Millions of pieces of information.

You go into Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter or wherever else, and you read and read and read.

That is why you need priorities.

That is what simplicity actually means.

You tell yourself: “Three things are important to me. I may get everything else done or I may not. I can read it later.”

But you need to know what the three important things are that you have to do today, tomorrow or this week.

Then comes self-confidence.

I do not know anyone who is happy, successful or satisfied if they do not have self-confidence.

It is extremely important to have the confidence that you can do it, that you will do it, that you have to do it, that you can overcome something challenging.

These three S’s are extremely important for every person in order to work well.

Host: Is that also part of the reason why you are the only Eastern European in the World PR Hall of Fame in London?

Maxim Behar: I was president of the global PR organisation.

Even when I was elected, at a large gathering in Milan, I could not believe it.

I kept thinking: “Who am I? Some guy from Bulgaria, and I am president of the global PR organisation.”

I walked out of the hall stunned.

After several very successful years, they invited me to join the World PR Hall of Fame.

That is recognition.

Recognition for me, but also recognition for Bulgaria, of course.

It is extremely important to me that Bulgaria is heard around the world.

That is my greatest concern.

That is my cause.

Twenty-five years ago, together with my partner, former Nevada Governor Bob Miller, we started working on that.

Bob Miller was also a guest on “Slavi’s Show.” I remember he was a very successful guest many years ago.

We started a series of conferences called “Bulgaria, Dream Area.”

I came up with the name because it rhymes, it is easy to remember, and it has a dream in it.

There were also many critics who said: “What Dream Area? Look at the mess here.”

That negativity always appears at some point.

But we organised seven or eight “Bulgaria, Dream Area” events at an extremely high level.

That was in the early 2000s.

At the time, I thought that by 2007 or 2008 Bulgaria really had a chance to start having a much stronger presence both in the news and in people’s minds.

Today, of course, it is present, but it is not where it should be.

Bulgaria continues to be something of a big secret.

Not enough people know that we have the lowest taxes in Europe.

Not enough people know that Bulgaria is full of young, intelligent, wonderful European people.

A few months ago, I told a story on one of your programmes about when my wife and I returned from our NASA training.

On the first day, when we were introducing ourselves, one of the people in charge, an engineer, asked us where we were from.

My wife said: “Bulgaria.”

We expected to start explaining where Bulgaria was, whether it had been part of the Soviet Union and so on.

The engineer said: “Bulgaria? You have fantastic mathematicians. You have incredible engineers. We know you. You are way ahead.”

That gave me tremendous pleasure.

But I still believe that Bulgaria needs to be promoted much more actively abroad, and that is part of our business.

When a young Bulgarian student wins a world Olympiad, when an athlete becomes the best in the world, when we have talented tennis players, volleyball players, when we see Hristo Stoichkov on the pitch, step by step, drop by drop, Bulgaria becomes more recognisable.

Host: I reserve the right to ask you in a moment how this can happen today with all these networks and all this dynamic change.

But let us return to music and to the first song you chose for this musical evening.

It is Leonard Cohen’s “I’m Your Man.”

Why did you choose it for tonight’s show?

Maxim Behar: Tonight I am going to tell two stories that I have never told anywhere before.

One of them is connected to “I’m Your Man.”

Many years ago, quite by chance, I met a girl at a party.

Completely by chance.

It took us literally 15 seconds to meet.

Then we went our separate ways.

Later, I invited her to lunch.

We had lunch and when we got up, everything was already clear.

I left her a flash drive.

A memory stick, a flash drive.

I said: “This is for you.”

There was one song on it.

That song was Leonard Cohen’s “I’m Your Man,” by a man I love very much. I have also been to his concerts.

I left that flash drive with that girl.

And that girl is my wife today.

Host: Dear viewers, sometimes the most beautiful declarations of love are wrapped in the most beautiful music.

Now we are going to enjoy exactly that.

It is my pleasure to present Leonard Cohen’s “I’m Your Man,” performed by my wonderful colleagues from “The Ku-Ku Band.”

[Musical performance: “I’m Your Man”, Leonard Cohen]

Host: Dear viewers, you are watching “The Ku-Ku Band Night,” and today our guest is Maxim Behar.

You have also written many books that have become bestsellers.

I will ask you about your first book as well, but before that, since in a moment we are going to watch a video featuring you and Misho Shamara, whom we already mentioned at the beginning, how did you start working together?

Maxim Behar: Completely by chance.

We already said that Misho is very emotional in his comments.

Someone had attacked him on Facebook.

It was around two in the morning.

I was sitting there, doing something over a glass of wine.

I defended him and wrote something along the lines of: “Leave the man alone. Everyone has the right to an opinion. After all, this is a free medium. Why are you attacking him so much?”

He sent me a private message and said: “My brother, thank you so much. You were the only person who defended me. I owe you.”

I told him: “Misho, what do you mean you owe me? One day we will make a song together.”

Until then, I had never made songs.

After that, he started writing to me from time to time: “I have booked a studio. When are you here? You write the lyrics, get moving, Lil Sha will make the music.”

Eventually, at one point, he wrote to me: “I am arriving on Tuesday morning. At nine o’clock we are at the studio in Ovcha Kupel. I am waiting for you with the lyrics.”

And I thought: “Oh wow, what have we got ourselves into now?”

I had written lyrics in Bulgarian called “PR Is a Gift from God.”

We went into the studio.

Lil Sha was 16 or 17 years old at the time.

I gave him the lyrics and he said: “Max, who is going to listen to these lyrics in Bulgarian? Let us do something in English so that people in America can listen to it too.”

I said: “All right, but wait a minute.”

He asked me: “Tell me, what rhymes with PR?”

And suddenly, out of nowhere, I said: “Behar.”

And that is how the title “PR We Are” was born.

The song starts with “My name is Max Behar...”

He added lyrics, I added lyrics, and we made the song.

Then it was sent to a number of American radio stations.

We played it first on BG Radio.

Suddenly, Hot 21, one of the major R&B and hip-hop radio stations in America, said that they liked the song.

Why?

Because no one before had made a song about PR.

At least that is what ChatGPT and all the research I have done show.

And millions of people around the world work in PR.

Hot 21 liked it and started playing it.

Suddenly there was some Maxim Behar appearing out of nowhere.

Misho and Lil Sha at least live in Chicago.

And that is how it all began.

That was our first production.

After that, we made another five, six, seven songs.

Our latest song is about the Seychelles and is called “We Are Seychelles.”

In it, I sing with a Seychellois woman who lives in Paris, Rita Romain.

She recorded her part in Paris.

I recorded part of mine in the Seychelles and part in Bulgaria.

It was mastered in Chicago.

Like in the movies, one person records on one side of the world and the other on the other side.

Before coming here, I saw that it already had around 750,000 views on YouTube.

And I am still just me.

But that is marketing.

Host: I assume that many of the people working in your companies also support and help with these projects.

I mean the younger generation, fans of R&B music, for example.

Maxim Behar: The younger generation does not listen to that much R&B anymore.

It is more of a remnant of the 1990s, Bulgarian rap, Vanko 1, Misho Shamara and that whole story.

You are part of it and you witnessed it.

My colleagues mainly help me by being the first people to listen to everything we have made.

Host: They are the first listeners and viewers?

Maxim Behar: Yes.

They listen to the songs and say: “No one is going to listen to this.”

And I say: “All right, we are doing it.”

But as I keep saying, for me this is not so much music.

When I wrote “Viva Bulgaria,” I really wanted this song to appear among the results if someone typed “Bulgaria” into Spotify or somewhere else.

And now it does, because it has a lot of listens.

When I made “Viva Bulgaria,” no one believed that this song could somehow “sell” Bulgaria.

Everyone kept asking me: “What are you going to sing about Bulgaria for?”

But in the end, it became a good production and the video turned out very well.

Then my good friend Poli Genova called me and said: “I really like your latest song.”

And I said: “Wait, Poli, I do not make music. I do marketing. To me, these are messages.”

Host: But look at how many valuable lessons you are giving, especially to our viewers who work in music.

They can hear from you an example of how something created as music finds its way.

Maxim Behar: No one can convince me that marketing is not important for Madonna, Pink or any other world-famous performer.

They are great.

They have exceptional qualities.

Veneta and I go to their concerts whenever we can.

But marketing is a huge part of it.

Host: A little earlier you said that you defended Misho Shamara.

I assume I know why he was being attacked, because he is one of our compatriots in the United States who quite openly sympathises with the current president, Donald Trump.

My observations from our tours there are that a large part of the Bulgarian community also sympathises with Donald Trump.

That was the case before as well.

My question is: should artists show their political preferences and feelings, even at the risk of losing part of their audience, or is it better to be more moderate?

What would you advise them?

Maxim Behar: I would not use the verb “should.”

I would say that everyone has the right to an opinion.

For example, Robert De Niro is someone who talks about Trump categorically from morning until night.

In my opinion, it is a matter of personal choice.

If you have an opinion and you want to express it, do it.

You are an artist.

A free person in a free world.

But if it does not concern you that much and you say to yourself: “Wait a minute. Even if I express my opinion, nothing will change. It is better to make a nice, positive song that can provoke good feelings, and when all these people hear it, perhaps they will become a little better.”

There are different ways to express your position.

But if someone is against Trump or supports Trump, or anyone else, let them say it.

We live in a free world.

That is an enormous, enormous advantage that sometimes we do not realise in 2026.

Half of my life was spent in a world that was not quite so free, so perhaps that is why I appreciate it.

God willing, such times will never return.

But if they ever do, then we will understand what freedom means, the ability to express your opinion, and that it is not something to be taken for granted.

It is something we fight for every day.

If you do not want to express your opinion publicly, do not.

But once every four years, go and express it where people vote, through your right to vote.

Host: This shows how important it is, dear viewers, to have a good specialist, a good PR professional who can give you good advice when asked a question.

Maxim Behar: This is not even so much about my PR business.

It is about how a person feels and how they want to participate in the society in which we all live.

We travel on the metro, on trams and buses, we wait in queues, we go to concerts, we sit in restaurants.

If you want to express an opinion, express it.

No one is going to stop you.

Just do not do it aggressively.

Do not insult people.

Do not disturb them.

Express your opinion.

And if you do not want to, make good music, like “The Ku-Ku Band” does.

Host: Let us now go to the song we were talking about.

It is “PR We Are.”

Dear viewers, let us watch the video for the song by our guest Maxim Behar together with Misho Shamara and Lil Sha.

Host: It really is very entertaining.

Maxim Behar: Now it even makes me laugh a little when I watch it because we shot it in a single day.

We recorded everything and I called my colleagues and said: “We are doing something here with Misho Shamara. Can you come with two cameras?”

They came from the office and we shot the video.

When we were finished, I first sent it to a few friends.

One of them, Martin Zahariev, told me: “Max, fix the ending.”

So we added that ending, which cuts off abruptly.

But I wanted there to be a bridge, to have a female voice moving between one part and the other.

One evening, I went to a party at a small bar owned by Vasko Krapkata, behind the Madara baths, a bar called “Krapkata.”

There was a girl there singing in English.

I had something written on my T-shirt.

She came up to me and asked what it meant.

I explained it to her, although I no longer remember exactly what it was.

She said she really liked it.

We started talking.

At some point, she left.

The next morning, I sent her a message on Facebook: “It was very nice meeting you.”

She replied: “It was nice meeting you too.”

I wrote to her: “By the way, you sing very well, even though it looked so effortless.”

She said: “I am a professional singer.”

I said: “You know what? I have a song. Would you like to take part in it?”

At the time, she was at Munich Airport and we were messaging each other.

She was going back to America.

I sent her the song.

She said: “Okay. I am in. Send me everything.”

That was Sarah Harralson.

After that, she also took part in our second song, “Runaway.”

After “Runaway,” she received Grammy nominations as well.

When I invited her to take part in our next song, “Viva Bulgaria,” she told me: “Max, there is no way. I already have publishers, I have a company representing me, and I am not allowed to participate in any other projects.”

Host: That is already another level.

Host: Since this is a music show, I am asking you more about music, but our viewers know you well, so let us not leave out everything else.

You work with tremendous passion and love in many different fields.

Where do you feel most at home?

In economics? In politics? In sport?

What companies have you worked with? Who have you advised?

Maxim Behar: I feel best in communications.

When I talk to people like you.

When I am in the company of the wonderful “Ku-Ku Band.”

When I am out on the street.

When I communicate with clients.

Host: All right, but when we are talking about businesses worth millions.

Maxim Behar: I run a business from morning until night.

But I feel best when I am doing something different.

When I have an innovation.

When I come up with something interesting.

When I say to myself: “I have never done this before.”

Or when I see that my company, which has now existed for more than 30 years, 32 years, has reached a certain level and I want to take it up another floor or half a floor.

I ask myself: “What should I come up with?”

I start reading, watching videos, consulting friends.

And when I achieve something new, then I say to myself: “Wow. It worked. Keep going.”

Host: And do technological innovations help you in that direction?

All this dynamic change that we are immersed in, particularly over the last year and a half or two years?

I am talking mainly about artificial intelligence and the possibility of using enormous amounts of information through it.

Maxim Behar: Before artificial intelligence came social media.

For the first time in history, social media put an interactive medium on the table.

In other words, you speak and they answer you.

You post something and people comment, like it and so on.

And there is something else.

For the first time, social media created a medium that could be measured.

Before that, for example, you had a news story in a newspaper.

You knew approximately how many readers the newspaper had, but who could prove to you who had actually read your story on page nine, at the bottom right?

Now everything can be measured.

With absolute precision.

And that is extremely important.

Then, of course, artificial intelligence arrived, and it is going to completely change our business.

Recently, I sent an email to all my colleagues through our internal email system.

I told them: “Colleagues, relax. Artificial intelligence will not replace you.”

But people who know how to work with artificial intelligence can replace you.

We need to remain calm, but every one of us needs to develop, to change, to learn the latest technologies and the newest things.

Technology is extremely important.

We really cannot do without it anymore.

For example, I do not particularly care what kind of car I drive.

But I do care what kind of phone I have.

Because I use it to reply to emails, work with different software, post on TikTok and Instagram.

I drive a small electric car for two people.

A month or two ago, I was stopped at an intersection.

A large SUV pulled up next to me.

Inside were a beautiful woman and a young tattooed man.

He gestured for me to roll down the window.

I did.

He said: “My wife and I watched you on television yesterday.”

I said: “Thank you.”

And he said: “Why are you driving that car? Do you not have money for a bigger, nicer one?”

I replied: “Well, you see, that is how much they pay on television.”

Of course, it is a joke, although the story itself is true.

But the car is not important.

The phone and technology are important.

Host: If we were having this conversation in the early or mid-1990s, viewers would look at you very strangely.

“What phone? The big car is what matters.”

Maxim Behar: I was like that back then too.

But today this is part of my business.

If I have a fast phone with different functions, I can do my work anywhere, in beautiful surroundings, while drinking coffee, from home, without sitting behind a computer.

Technology has changed all of us, not just my business.

We are no longer simply Homo sapiens.

We have become something like Homo socionicus.

But the change happened gradually, and that is why we cannot fully realise how much we have changed.

Not to mention the people we call Gen Z.

Sometimes we do not understand each other at all.

We say one thing, they say another.

And there is nothing wrong with that.

But if we make an effort to learn the best and most useful things, to master the technologies and even the language of the new generation, to put ourselves in their shoes, that can change us a great deal.

In the office, we have lots of monitors, computers and lots of young people.

I often walk past a colleague and ask: “What do you see on the monitor?”

She says: “I am writing a press release and I see the text.”

I say: “Do not look at the text. Try to see the reader inside it.”

You need to see the reader in that monitor.

The text itself will not bring you anything.

That is the highest level of professionalism, being able to put yourself in the shoes of the person you are talking to.

To know whether they will understand you.

Whether our viewers will understand us.

Whether they will have an idea of what we are talking about.

I have always taken tremendous pleasure in putting myself in other people’s shoes and trying to understand the people I communicate with.

Host: Let us move on to “Viva Bulgaria.”

You already mentioned the idea behind it.

How did you make it happen?

Again in one day?

Maxim Behar: Absolutely in one day. We have never spent more than one day recording.

We record everything in the same studio in Ovcha Kupel.

A very nice studio.

When we were recording “PR We Are,” the owner of the studio was getting married that same day.

He said: “Guys, can I go and sign the marriage papers? You stay here and I will be back shortly.”

Two or three hours later, he came back, like something out of a Kusturica film.

With several bottles of rakia, the bride and another hundred people, and he walked into the studio.

And we were shooting a video.

We said: “Please, we are shooting a video, wait a minute.”

And he said: “But I got married!”

It was a fantastic story.

We recorded “Viva Bulgaria” in the same studio.

With that song, I really wanted to show Bulgaria as we would like to see it 50 years from now.

May we be alive and well.

Host: Why not?

Dear viewers, let us watch the video for “Viva Bulgaria” by Maxim Behar, Misho Shamara and Lil Sha.

Host: Dear viewers, you are watching “The Ku-Ku Band Night.” Today’s guest is Maxim Behar.

What message would you like to leave with people who are afraid to dream big?

Maxim Behar: I think it is more than clear.

I have said it a million times, and I have even written it in several places in my company:

If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.

Then they are not dreams.

They are simply wishes.

What does it mean to dream of building yourself a house?

Yes, that is wonderful.

It is very important to have a nice house.

But that is not a dream.

That is a wish.

A dream should scare you.

Last December, I was thinking: “What should I give myself for my birthday?”

I started looking at different things and said to myself: “Go and train to become a cosmonaut.”

My children said: “Are you crazy?”

My daughter Ralitsa said to me: “What astronaut?”

I said: “Wait a minute. I found a NASA facility. I have to apply.”

I immediately sat down at the computer and applied.

They looked at me and said: “This cannot be real. How are you going to train for that?”

Then my wife Veneta started telling me almost every evening: “I want to do it too. I want to do it too.”

I said: “No, please, this is not for women.”

She said: “No, I want to do it too.”

And so we went together.

Three, four, five years ago, we also walked the Camino.

She insisted that we go.

One day she said to me: “Look at the nice programme I have made. We will not walk more than 15 or 20 kilometres a day.”

I calculated it and thought: “When we are in London, we walk 15 kilometres anyway.”

But I did not calculate that we would be doing it for many days in a row.

I said: “All right, let us go.”

We walked the Camino.

We came back and wrote a book.

Now we are also writing a book about space and our training.

You need to have dreams that truly scare you.

Not terrify you, but make you say to yourself: “Can I do this? This is shocking. Can I?”

And then: “Let me try.”

Many of these things work out.

And really, if your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.

Host: Tonight, we are going to end our meeting with the great Beatles song “All You Need Is Love.”

Why did you choose this one?

Maxim Behar: This is the second story I have never told before.

Many years ago, I had quite a few meetings with Prince Charles.

He made a very good impression on me, and when he became King, I congratulated him.

After all those years, he sent me a personal letter to thank me.

One day, I was speaking with members of his team at St. James’s Palace, where his office was at the time.

We were talking and, half-jokingly, I said that their anthem at the time was “God Save the Queen,” and now it is “God Save the King.”

But perhaps one day you should change that anthem.

Everyone froze.

Ladies with big hats and handbags.

And they said: “What do you mean, Mr. Behar? Why are you saying that?”

I said: “There is a wonderful song which, in my opinion, could be the anthem of the United Kingdom, ‘All You Need Is Love.’”

All of us, when we listen to it, know that whatever we want in life, in the end it comes down to love.

There is nothing greater.

There is nothing more valuable.

They looked at me and said: “We do not know whether that will happen in our lifetime.”

But I am convinced that one day the United Kingdom may have a new anthem.

There will be a King, a Queen or whoever it may be, and that anthem will be “All You Need Is Love.”

Host: Thank you very much for being our guest.

On behalf of myself and my colleagues, we wish you good health and that you always remain this inspired.

We have enormous respect and admiration for you and for everything you have created over the years.

Our regards to your loved ones at home.

Maxim Behar: Thank you very much.

And thank you to the girls and boys from “The Ku-Ku Band.”

I also want to say something to your viewers.

Only a happy person is a successful person.

And to be happy, you need to have love.

Nothing more.

Successful people are not those who have wealth, money, cars, houses or anything else.

Successful people are happy people.

And what I want to tell you, dear viewers of 7/8 TV, is:

All you need is love.

Host: Thank you for being with us.

That is all from us for tonight.

Stay with the programme of 7/8 TV.

We leave you with the great Beatles song “All You Need Is Love.”

You can watch the whole interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/en/video/448/maxim-behar-on-the-ku-ku-band-night?-on-music-communications-and-big-dreams 

Maxim Behar, founder and CEO of M3 Communications Group, is here with me in the studio. Hello and welcome.

Maxim Behar: Good afternoon.

Host: Let us begin with what the strategy should be, purely from a communication perspective and in terms of positioning Bulgaria as a brand, when we are talking about an event on the scale of Eurovision and our hosting it next year.

Maxim Behar: From what I have seen in the first two, three or four weeks in terms of the approach taken by the government and various public organisations, I have started to worry that Eurovision, or the attention that will be generated around Bulgaria, will become yet another missed opportunity.

First, we make one mistake, namely that we always connect an event like this, whether it is Eurovision, Giro d’Italia or some international meeting, with tourism.

Tourism, tourism, tourism. Let them see the beaches, let them see the hotels, let them see the cocktails and whatever else.

But Bulgaria needs to be positioned as a country for doing business.

I am sorry to say it, but Bulgarian beaches are wonderful, they are beautiful, but in terms of positioning they cannot be better than the beaches of Spain, Italy or many other countries. Not to mention my beloved Seychelles.

The Bulgarian mountains, wonderful as they are, I love hiking in them and admiring them, cannot be positioned better than the Swiss, Austrian, Spanish or Portuguese mountains.

That is why Bulgaria must make maximum use of the fact that Eurovision will take place here.

It is wonderful news that it will be in Burgas, because the people who come, the television reports, social media, TikTok, Instagram, all of them will show the Black Sea coast, the hotels and the beaches.

The truth, however, is that we are constantly waiting for something to happen. For Eurovision to come. For some international meeting to come. For someone to arrive and start posting vlogs on TikTok. And over the past roughly 20 years, I say this with great regret, I have not seen Bulgaria conduct a proactive, successful, effective and results-oriented campaign to promote Bulgaria.

Not Eurovision. Not the sea. Not the hotels.

Bulgaria.

First of all, the people, we have young, ambitious, intelligent, motivated and capable Europeans. There can be no two opinions about that.

Second, the opportunities for doing business are still there. I would say that over the past year we have started to lose some of them.

Last week I had a conversation with some French friends of mine. I asked them what was happening with their business and they told me: “Oh, we have already forgotten Bulgaria.”

I asked why.

They replied: “Very high prices, very strong pressure for higher salaries without corresponding performance or results, and far fewer opportunities for doing business.” I do not believe that this is entirely the case. There may be a first, second, third, fifth or tenth project that does not happen, but there may be another thousand that do.

The most important thing is for Bulgaria to have a new, recognisable logo. That dear little, folded and shrivelled rose that appears at tourism exhibitions, presentations and forums needs to be replaced immediately.

Second, Bulgaria must finally, perhaps for the first time in its history, have a slogan.
Whether it is my favourite “Bulgaria, Dream Area,” which I came up with more than 20 years ago, or something else, does not matter.

For example, in 2004 I came up with “Easy to Find” when my company was working on an advertising campaign around the signing of Bulgaria’s EU accession treaty. At that time, Bulgaria did not have so many air connections and links with the rest of the world.
We can forget those proposals as well.

But there need to be people who say: “Let us come up with a logo for Bulgaria. Let us come up with a slogan.”

So that our country can become recognisable. What does a product do?
Let us take an ordinary wafer biscuit. You give it a name, you give it a recognisable logo, you give it a slogan so that when you hear it on television, you go and buy that wafer.
I am sorry for the simplistic metaphor with the wafers, but Bulgaria is far more important.

And that is my concern, if I have to make a long story short, we are wasting time.

Host: But what is Bulgaria currently recognised for? And is it recognised at all?
Apart from saying that we need a new logo and that we should move beyond the traditional Bulgarian rose, what would make Bulgaria recognisable?

And how can we stop being so reactive to events of this kind? Bulgaria became a host of the Giro d’Italia, it will host Eurovision next year, but how do we become proactive?

Maxim Behar: You say “traditional Bulgarian rose,” but what we currently have as a logo is not a traditional Bulgarian rose.

It is some kind of invention. Maybe 20 years ago it was good, but not now.

First, I do not know exactly who in Bulgaria can do this.

The Ministry of Tourism? But why only tourism? This is not only about tourism. The Ministry of Economy? But why only the economy? It is not only about business. The Ministry of Culture?

The moment it was announced that there would be some kind of interdepartmental council for organising Eurovision, I said to myself: when I hear the phrase “interdepartmental council,” it becomes clear to me that nothing will get done and responsibility will get lost somewhere.

You know that story about the sergeant. He came in and said: “Someone move this piano.” Nobody moved it. He came in again: “Someone move the piano.” Nothing. Finally, he came in and said: “Ivanov, move the piano.” And Ivanov moved it.

There has to be personal responsibility.

For a long time I have even suggested that there should be a Ministry of Image. Such a ministry does not need more than ten people. It does not need secretaries, cars or huge offices. It needs five or six people who understand this subject and can answer your question: what needs to be done and how can we be proactive?
The need for a logo and a slogan is clear.

But by Eurovision, by May 15, if I am not mistaken about the date, there needs to be a clear strategy, every week, who is doing what, what is being published, what is being sent out.

And again, this is not only about the fact that our good friend Dara and the people around her managed to bring this enormous joy to so many Bulgarians, to have them singing “Bangaranga” and hoping that Bulgaria will finally appear more significantly and visibly on the map of Europe.

The important thing is to say something interesting about Bulgaria every week.
So that when foreigners come here, whether for Eurovision, during the summer or to do business, they can see it.

It could be something interesting related to geography. It could be related to people.
One of my long-standing dreams is to have a large screen at Sofia Airport.

I recently spoke with the airport director about this as well.

While people are waiting for their luggage, the screen could show the faces of Bulgarians who are recognised around the world, but whom many people do not know are Bulgarian. We know Hristo Stoichkov. We know Dimitar Berbatov. Ralitsa Vassileva, Kristalina Georgieva, Sonya Yoncheva, John Atanasoff, who is recognised as one of the pioneers and inventors of what we today call the computer.

If we manage to show Bulgaria through the people we have, through the successful business projects, there are several, and you know them, EnduroSat and many others that are extremely successful, but show them professionally. The way a shoemaker makes shoes professionally.

Let us make a series of videos. Let us invite journalists. Let us tell Bulgaria’s story. We have so many things to talk about. This is a wonderful, fantastic country, in terms of location, people, nature and everything else. And we are sitting here talking about some rose.

I am sorry for being so direct, but over the past 20 years I have not seen anyone understand this and do it. Eurovision in Bulgaria and in Burgas is one of the opportunities. Of course, we should not exaggerate its importance either. We should use it to the maximum. But the most important thing is to know, if this country is a product, and from a marketing and advertising perspective it is a product, how are we going to “sell” it over the next ten years?

I put “sell” in big quotation marks, but that is the term we use. How are we going to dress it? How are we going to package it? What ribbon are we going to put on top? So that Germans, French people and everyone else become even more interested. There has been progress over the past 15 or 20 years, but I believe it has happened despite Bulgarian governments, not because of them.

Host: How do you explain the lack of communication when it comes to business opportunities?

Are we once again talking about the lack of an adequate communication strategy for Bulgaria and its positioning as an overall brand, including as a destination for attracting major investments?

Maxim Behar: Personally, I have no explanation.

If I were somehow involved in government, I never will be, but if I were, I would make this a priority. If I were Prime Minister, every Monday at 10 o’clock I would call the ten largest investors in Bulgaria and ask them:

“Good morning. How are you? Do you need anything? Can I help you with anything?”

And once every three months I would invite them to lunch or dinner and say:
“Tell me what you think about the investment environment in Bulgaria.”

I would not want to be the one giving the assessments.

I believe Bulgaria is one of the few countries in Europe where there are major opportunities for doing business, because there are many niches and many very good people who can work in companies that want to invest.

But this needs to be promoted. This story needs to be told and people in Europe need to know it. We are operating in a very competitive market. When a large company wants to open a factory or office and is choosing between Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, perhaps Serbia, we need to have strong arguments. The euro in Bulgaria, by the way, is a huge advantage.

A fantastic advantage. Bulgaria has completed the entire cycle of integration with the European Union, the euro, Schengen and everything else.

Whatever France, Germany, Austria and other countries can list as a European advantage, Bulgaria can also say: “Yes, we have it too.” But here we also have niches for doing business.

We have a fantastic location that serves as a bridge between Asia and Europe.
Many Asian companies can come here to manufacture, and European companies can also manufacture here and export to Asia.

We have enormous advantages. I believe people in big business know them, but we need to promote them and “sell” them. The only explanation I have for the absence of such a policy is the very frequent change of governments. We have had around ten caretaker governments. Someone comes in and thinks about what will happen in three months.

The last thing on their mind is promoting Bulgaria or making it more attractive. Now the government of Prime Minister Rumen Radev has a golden opportunity to think long term. I very much hope Eurovision will be one of the factors, one of the elements.

I hope there are intelligent and knowledgeable people who will sit down and say:
“How do we imagine Bulgaria from an investment perspective in 2035, nine years from now?”

Let us see what needs to happen. That is what we do in our company. What are we doing next year? In three years? In five? In ten? How can this not be done at state level as well? And this strategy should be public. However, I believe that excessively long public discussion of such strategies cripples them. Everyone, whether they understand the subject or not, starts throwing out opinions and insisting on their own view. There need to be experts who forecast results and take responsibility for them.

If those results do not happen, they resign and others who understand the subject come in.

Host: How important is it to move beyond the idea that only Burgas is hosting Eurovision and instead talk about a national strategy that covers Bulgaria’s overall image?

And where are we losing our competitive advantage, including when it comes to foreign investment?

Is it precisely in the lack of proactive communication at state level?

Maxim Behar: It is simply the lack of proactive communication. Bulgaria continues to have the lowest taxes in Europe and that fact seems to be the most carefully guarded secret. Nobody promotes it. It is true that there are other burdens. It is true that we have high social security contributions. It is true that there are various other hidden taxes and payments.

But ultimately, there is a 10% income tax. Everyone pays it, me, you, the people working at this television station. There is nothing like that in much of Europe. When you tell a French person this, they blink for 15 minutes because they cannot believe it, because there the rates are 40-45% and above. We have a 10% corporate tax, a 5% dividend tax, and there are countries with lower rates, for example, Slovakia is at 0%.

But if all of this is promoted together with the opportunities for doing business, together with successful young Bulgarians and successful business projects, including international companies that have successful projects in Bulgaria, the picture becomes completely different.

Yes, some investor has left. Well, they left. That is life. Someone’s business may not go well. The reason may have nothing to do with Bulgaria. But the good examples have to be shown, shown and shown. I will go back to the first question. Of course, this is not only about Burgas. Bulgaria is hosting Eurovision. When the contest was in Basel, was Basel the host or was Switzerland the host? When it was in Liverpool, was only Liverpool the host or was the United Kingdom the host?

Many years ago it was also in Brighton. I remember many British people asking at the time: “Why isn’t it in London? Why on earth is it in some Brighton?”

But after all these years, what I remember is precisely that it was in Brighton. The Eurovision final will be in Bulgaria. Burgas will be the host city. The venue in Burgas and the hotels around the city have a golden, even a diamond, opportunity, a unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be promoted in the best possible way. There could not be better news than that. Everyone knows Sofia.

We suffer a lot from the fact that Bulgaria does not have good branding abroad.
We go somewhere, people ask where we are from, we say “Bulgaria,” and then we start explaining where it is.

But a few months ago I was at a space training programme at a NASA facility in Huntsville, Alabama.

On the first day, while we were getting to know one another and being shown around the facility, we were walking down a corridor. One of the engineers heard my accent and asked me: “Where are you from?”

I said: “Bulgaria.”

In Alabama, I expected to start explaining, north of Greece and so on. He suddenly stopped, everyone in our American group stopped as well, and he said:
“Bulgaria? You have fantastic students in mathematics. You win Olympiads. You have such good engineers. Amazing things are happening in your country.”

I grew 15 centimetres taller. These things are already known. Of course, this engineer sees things through his own engineering perspective and follows these topics. But these facts, these moments and these stories need to be told. And I am not referring only to the government.

I am also referring to the two million Bulgarians living abroad, because they are our best ambassadors. They work at Microsoft. They work at CERN in Geneva, where there is a huge transparent room with “Bulgarian Team” written on it. It is almost at the entrance when you walk into CERN.

These Bulgarians abroad are extremely important. But the fact remains that there needs to be some kind of body in Bulgaria. That is why I talk about a Ministry of Branding, a Ministry of Image, a Ministry of Communications, call it whatever you want.

Someone who says: “Let us create a good product and promote Bulgaria successfully.”

Do you know how positively this would affect business, our self-confidence, the two million Bulgarians living abroad, and Bloomberg TV Bulgaria as a television channel?

I dream of having people in government who are a little more open-minded and for whom this is a genuine priority.

Host: And as we come to the end of our conversation, what exactly should the communication strategy be?

When we talk about branding, we increasingly talk about personalisation as well.
In other words, Bulgaria should be recognisable, whether through a specific product, historical figures, or our contemporaries and their achievements, including our students competing in Olympiads.

Maxim Behar: It is quite a complex mix. People should be included, of course, because they are recognisable. Let us take Grigor Dimitrov. Everyone watches him, although for some reason many people in the UK think Grigor Dimitrov is Russian.
There is nothing wrong with that,the surname Dimitrov is also widespread among Russians. The same sometimes happens with Berbatov because of his first name Dimitar. But that is not a problem.

These are our people, Bulgarians, successful individuals, and we need to tell their stories. We also need to tell the story of our history. I am not a great supporter of concentrating everything only on our local heroes such as Levski, Botev, Vazov and the others we are so proud of, writers, poets, revolutionaries. For foreigners, this is sometimes more like local folklore. But if someone is interested in them or in history, wonderful. There are people who are interested in nature.

There are many people who are interested in archaeology, because archaeology is an eternal subject, there is no new and old there.

All of these elements need to be placed into one mix. And in the end, this mix needs to be condensed into one sentence called a slogan for Bulgaria.

Years ago, Malaysia, a country that was not particularly famous for tourism, experienced a real boom thanks to a massive CNN campaign with the slogan “Malaysia, Truly Asia.”

In fact, it was precisely “Malaysia, Truly Asia” that inspired me at the time to come up with “Bulgaria, Dream Area.”

We organised seven international conferences in a row with my partner, former Nevada Governor Bob Miller. But in 2026, there could be something much better. The important thing is for someone to say: “We are announcing a competition.”

We do not have money? Fine.

We do not need to pay an enormous amount to whoever comes up with the best slogan. We announce a competition and see the proposals. We announce a competition for a logo. We have a budget of €50,000, €100,000, €5, whatever we have.

But let there be a competition and let us see what proposals come in. In short, we need to be proactive. Not wait for Eurovision to arrive. Not wait for someone to get on a bicycle and start riding along Bulgaria’s streets and roads.

But to say: “We have a wonderful country full of fantastic people. Let us see how we can make it much better known around the world.”

This will bring not only investment. It will bring self-confidence. It will also bring a different way of life in Bulgaria.

Host: God willing. Thank you very much for this conversation.

Maxim Behar: Thank you as well.

Host: My guest here in the studio was Maxim Behar, founder and CEO of M3 Communications Group.

You can watch the whole interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/en/video/447/maxim-behar-eurovision-is-a-chance-for-bulgaria-to-build-a-stronger-brand 

The official choice is still to come, but we will now discuss the main contenders that have captured the public’s attention together with our guests, namely PR expert Maxim Behar, who is here with us in the studio, and Assoc. Prof. Justine Toms, a specialist in online marketing and content, who will join us online.

Hello to both of you. I hope Assoc. Prof. Toms can hear us as well. Mr. Behar, let us start with you. Let us begin more generally with this campaign and the question of who should be the Eurovision mascot. We are seeing all kinds of proposals, but what should we mainly focus on in the Eurovision campaign and in the campaign for host city Burgas?

Maxim Behar: First of all, good morning.

We have a wonderful topic for discussion all the way until May next year. Eurovision will probably be discussed by five or six million Bulgarians, across all social media, at home, around the table, over a glass of rakia and a salad. Everywhere.

And from six million Bulgarians there will probably be around 40 million opinions, which is a good thing, by the way, because after all this is a positive topic.

These are not murders, these are not rapes, these are not the problems that we are all constantly overwhelmed with in the media. Finally, we have a positive topic, which, on top of everything else, is pan-European, not just Bulgarian.

I do not have a definite opinion about the mascot. I think the seagull is a very good option. Now, whether it should be this particular seagull, whether it should be 60+, because this seagull is the father or grandfather of the seagulls, and exactly how it should be designed, that is another question.

It seems to me that along the entire Black Sea coast, seagulls are something of a familiar symbol that we have known for many years.

Host: Let us just say, Mr. Behar, that there are already several proposals on social media.

We have a seagull, as you mentioned, a capybara, a seahorse, and a flamingo. A kuker has also appeared.

Should we have some kind of strategy? Should the mascot be one hundred percent Bulgarian, like the kuker, or should it be connected with the sea because of Burgas? Is there a right choice?

Maxim Behar: I would make it a little more Bulgarian. Personally, I really like the seagull because it creates a local, Bulgarian association with Burgas.

I have no idea who will choose it, just as no one still has a complete idea why Burgas was chosen in the first place, since the criteria remained unknown.

That no longer matters, by the way, because Burgas has been chosen and I think it is a very good choice. A genuinely very good choice.

The entire Black Sea coast will be on the map of Europe. The whole world will know about Burgas, not only Sofia. Sofia is recognizable. Wherever I travel around the world, when I say “Bulgaria,” people ask me: “Are you from Sofia?”

This is also a huge opportunity for the entire hotel industry around Burgas, whether it is Sveti Vlas, Sozopol, Primorsko and all the other resorts, which can be promoted very well across Europe.

Host: We are back in the studio with Mr. Behar.

Mr. Behar, are we clear about what messages we want to send not only to the people who will be here in Bulgaria for Eurovision, but to the whole world? Because all eyes will be on Bulgaria.

Maxim Behar: Here we return to one of my favourite topics. We are currently debating what the symbol of Eurovision should be, while at the same time Bulgaria does not have a good tourism logo.

Bulgaria itself does not have a slogan. It is not clear where Bulgaria is or what Bulgaria is. I will give “Malaysia, Truly Asia” as an example, a very famous and very well-promoted slogan that has probably been used for two decades already. There are many other countries with similarly clear messages. Bulgaria does not have one. That is why the debate over what the Eurovision mascot or emblem should be seems secondary to me.
Above all, Bulgaria must have several clear messages. One is that it is a stable country.

The second, and perhaps even the first, is that it is a country where a great deal of business can be done. That it is a country of great people. The visitors and participants in Eurovision will see all of this, and it needs to be packaged into something very attractive and interesting as quickly as possible.

Host: But what should Bulgaria be promoted as more, a country for business or a tourism destination?

You mentioned the Black Sea coast, Burgas and the entire coastline. Where should we focus, Bulgaria as a tourism destination or Bulgaria as a business destination?

Maxim Behar: They overlap to a large extent. In my opinion, both should be secondary to one primary message: Bulgaria is a stable country with wonderful people. Of course, I am saying it in a very straightforward way. It should be expressed in a completely different and creative way.

When you know that a country is full of young, intelligent, well-educated and ambitious people, when you know that a country is stable and safe, as Bulgaria truly is, then both tourism and business would be much more likely to show interest.

Host: Mr. Behar, how can we attract as many people as possible to come to Bulgaria for Eurovision, but beyond coming for the contest itself, to return to the country afterwards?

How do we leave them with such good impressions?

Maxim Behar: The project of branding Bulgaria is not a project for today. It is not a project for yesterday either. This project has been needed for at least ten years. Now we simply have a unique opportunity to use it.

It is not so much about whether 200,000, 300,000 or 400,000 people will come. Everyone is welcome. The point is that for a moment Bulgaria will become much more recognizable and much more talked about. It will be at the centre of attention.

This is completely different from other international events, because music captures people in a completely different way and is shared in a completely different way.

I do not know whether all of this should be done at government or state level.
Personally, based on my experience, I do not believe the state on its own can initiate a meaningful and intelligent campaign.

Host: Why, Mr. Behar?

Maxim Behar: Because it has not done so for the past 30 or 40 years. But if it happens, I will be very pleasantly surprised.

However, different groups of professional experts must be involved, whether from advertising, digital media, public relations or marketing consulting. This needs to happen very quickly.

A group of experts must be created. People from abroad who have organized Eurovision in different years should be invited. These are professionals with tremendous know-how.

Perhaps two or three major international PR companies should be invited and given a brief. Will there be a tender? We do not have time for tenders. But at the very least, 20 or 30 people can gather in one place for two days, brainstorm, discuss, drink N number of bottles of rakia so that the creative ideas come more easily. I am absolutely serious.

Host: What mistakes, Mr. Behar, could we make now in preparation and organization?

Maxim Behar: Doing nothing. That is the biggest mistake.

To say to ourselves: “Eurovision is coming, Burgas will be full, apartments will be expensive,” and start only with the negative things that we are already seeing.

The biggest mistake would be to wait for something to happen simply because Dara, our beloved Dara, won Eurovision.

Host: Can we leave Burgas to handle everything on its own as the host city?

Maxim Behar: If we leave Burgas to handle it on its own, I think it will do a wonderful job. From what I have seen in recent years, both the mayor and his team are doing very well.

The most important thing, however, is for Bulgaria as a destination and as a country to gain the maximum benefit from this. We really need to try to create a new logo, have a slogan, have a marketing strategy and start producing good videos that present Bulgaria.

Host: This should come from the Ministry of Tourism, right?

Maxim Behar: It has to come from somewhere.

The Ministry of Tourism, probably to some extent also the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Finance should provide the funding.

The National Board of Tourism is also a very strong factor in this strategy. Something simply has to be done. That is the most important thing, not to sit around and only argue about who the mascot should be.

We need to try to make sure that Bulgaria as a destination, whether we are talking about business, tourism, culture or anything else, gains the maximum possible benefits from the unique opportunity we have right now.

Host: How important is it, Mr. Behar, for us to truly have a slogan?

To be able to say “Eurovision is Bulgaria,” but also for Bulgaria itself to have its own motto.

You mentioned the logo. We have had so many discussions, whether it should be a rose, mountains, the sea. It seems that we cannot choose what Bulgaria’s greatest beauty is.

Maxim Behar: Let us see different proposals.

That rose we have been using for around 20 years, the yellow-and-red one, is, in my opinion, a very unsuccessful solution. It does not even look much like a rose.

Even if it was a good solution 20 years ago, life is changing so quickly, communications are changing so quickly, that we need to replace it.

Should it be a rose? I do not know. I do not believe it should be mountains. It could be a stylized letter “B.” It could be anything. You know that many years ago I organized a series of conferences called “Bulgaria, Dream Area.” They were extremely successful. People came from all over the world and they were focused mainly on tourism.

I continue to offer every government, starting with the governments of Boyko Borissov, to sell the Bulgarian state the slogan “Bulgaria, Dream Area” for one euro. It is registered by me as a trademark. “Bulgaria, Dream Area” rhymes, it is easy to remember, but it is only one of the many proposals that could exist.

A government simply needs to create a good working group of experts who can start exchanging ideas.

Host: But why, after so many years, as you yourself mentioned, has no one taken responsibility for doing this with Bulgaria’s brand so that we can be presented to the world in the best possible way?

Maxim Behar: I do not have an answer to that question. I really do not.

The most valuable thing right now is, in quotation marks, to successfully “sell” Bulgaria to the world.

Host: Do we not understand the benefits of that?

Maxim Behar: There are experts, but in my opinion no one considers this a sufficiently serious priority. And it is an absolute priority.

Host: Both you and Assoc. Prof. Toms are experts. Someone should ask you for your opinion as well.

You say that you send letters, but in the end there is no reaction?

Maxim Behar: I simply want to put into practice something that I came up with years ago, “Bulgaria, Dream Area”, because I think it works well as a rhyme and is easy to remember.

But there could be another hundred thousand different proposals. The important thing is to do it.

We simply sit down, work, set a deadline and do it.

Host: A question to both of you, where should we start?

If we are already at the stage where we absolutely have to take steps to promote Bulgaria and further promote the fact that Eurovision will be held in Bulgaria. Mr. Behar, first to you, then to Assoc. Prof. Toms.

Maxim Behar: Do you know where I first presented one of my latest songs, “Viva Bulgaria”?

Here, in this studio. Together with Big Sha, Misho Shamara and Lil Sha.

Of course, I am joking, but the song already has close to one million views on YouTube. “Viva Bulgaria” has always been something very valuable to me.

It is a metaphor. I am not saying that it should be a slogan. But if all of us somehow say to ourselves “Viva Bulgaria,” meaning that we try to do the very best for our country and our homeland, something good will come out of it.

We need to start immediately. In my opinion, we need to start by changing Bulgaria’s logo, creating a new slogan and developing a marketing programme that will gradually warm up all these television viewers and people on social media with “Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Bulgaria.”

So that when they see in May that Eurovision is in Bulgaria, their reaction will be: “Ah, we know Bulgaria.”

There needs to be a very good campaign. And not only about tourism. The videos about Bulgaria that I have seen in previous years were shockingly simplistic, not to use a stronger word.

Some young women are sweating in a sauna, others are riding scooters along the seaside, skiers are going down the slopes. We cannot have a better sea than Spain, Italy, the Adriatic or the Seychelles and advertise it in this way. We simply cannot.
Our sea is wonderful. Our mountains are wonderful. But we cannot claim that, in terms of tourism development, they are better than those in Austria or Switzerland. In terms of natural beauty, they are otherworldly, of course.

We need to show the people of Bulgaria. We need to show the people. Because both tourists and investors would be attracted if they saw the young, intelligent people in Bulgaria who are truly doing remarkable things.

Host: Thank you very much, Assoc. Prof. Toms. Thank you as well, Mr. Behar.

Maxim Behar: Keep this topic in your programme every week and you will see that you will be successful.

Host: We will continue to follow everything related to Eurovision and, of course, to the branding of Bulgaria.

Thank you, Mr. Behar, for this conversation.

You can watch the whole interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/en/video/446/maxim-behar-eurovision-is-an-opportunity-to-position-bulgaria-globally 

Host: This is definitely one of the more interesting topics, and I hope we will discuss it in greater detail. Mr. Behar?

Maxim Behar: I do not think it was such a hot political week, unless you are referring purely to the weather. These are normal things. We have had far, far hotter political weeks in previous years.

What is happening in this whole story, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, what happened in Kyiv and, before that, in Paris with his statements is actually a case of total miscommunication and a very poorly managed communication policy by the entire government.

I have been watching this for some time and I am surprised that this is the case, because these are very experienced people. Radev was in power for nine or ten years. He should have extremely experienced people around him who can manage this communication.

I do not know why anyone expects Rumen Radev suddenly to reverse everything he was saying during the election campaign and say: “We stand firmly on the side of the Coalition of the Willing; we stand on the side of Ukraine.”

We all know that Ukraine is the victim. We all know that Russia is the aggressor. We all know that Ukraine must emerge victorious from this war.

But Bulgaria has a foreign policy that the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and this government have decided to pursue, because it was with this concept and, to a large extent, with these messages that they won the elections.

The question is how to play this as smartly and intelligently as possible, so that when the war ends, and it will end, and in my opinion it will end with a Ukrainian victory, we still have the dignity, the face and the pride to look our European allies in the eye.
This is very important. We are part of the European Union and we have to take into account the policies of the major players. We are also part of NATO, in exactly the same way.

Host: Mr. Behar, I am asking the question in this way because you work with major businesses and know many of Bulgaria’s leading businessmen.

Business behaviour has, to a large extent, adopted principles from the art of warfare. There, tactics and strategy are distinguished from one another.

If we assume that the current government’s actions in foreign policy are tactics aimed at the Bulgarian public and at the European public, do you understand what the strategy is that leads to some ultimate objective? Is there an ultimate objective behind all this behaviour?

Maxim Behar: I think what Radev’s new government is doing is quite decent and quite precise.

Yes, they have their own position. We may not approve of that position. We may disagree with it. We may want the entire government to say: “We stand firmly behind Ukraine and we are signing absolutely every possible coalition, agreement and everything else.”

But they have their own vision, their own strategy, and it seems to me that they are implementing it quite precisely. There is miscommunication, but it is not dramatic.

First, Rumen Radev has met with Zelenskyy as many times in less than two months as all five prime ministers before him had not.

Second, Rumen Radev takes part in parliamentary question time. When was the last time we saw the prime minister of a regular government take part in parliamentary question time and report on his actions?

He has a position. We may disagree with it, and we probably do disagree with it, but the way the issues involving Ukraine, Russia, the coalitions, the formations and everything else are being handled seems quite fair to me.

By the way, I do not see such a major difference between the domestic and foreign messages. There is this mantra: he goes to the West, “kisses their hands” and tells them, “We are with you,” and then comes back to Bulgaria and says, “No, we are not with them.”

That is not the case. We have fully completed our process of integration into the European Union. We have the euro as our currency, we are in Schengen and everything else.

The point is that we do not know, first, what is going on in the minds of the people in the government and, second, what is happening behind the scenes of international politics. None of us sitting around this table, unless one of us is a fortune-teller, knows exactly what is happening.

It seems to me that these people are trying to play it in such a way that they are with one side and with the other side as well. And if one day one of the two sides wins, and this is where we are already talking about strategy, they can say: “We were with you. We were on the right side of history.”

Host: Many historical tragedies have begun in exactly this way.

Maxim Behar: We would very much like him to say: “We are with Ukraine at any cost.” But he said: “Look, we are a poor country. We cannot afford to allocate money to Ukraine.” At least he says it plainly.

Host: Mr. Behar, I want to return to your statement that there is a form of miscommunication. It seems to me that it is starting to become part of the architecture of the way not only Radev and his ministers communicate, but also Radev and his MPs. How can this be changed?

And perhaps the more important question is whether you see it as a communication mistake or, on the contrary, as a deliberate system designed to allow flexibility in the Prime Minister’s decisions?

Maxim Behar: No, I do not think this is a mistake. Of course, sometimes the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. Not to mention the pockets, you may not know what is in your left pocket or your right pocket. But Radev’s team are not amateurs, with very few exceptions. They have all been in politics for a long time.

They are simply adjusting to one another at the moment and beginning to work together. And it seems to me that after the first 100 days, I hope I am not wrong, they will come out with some kind of vision and say: “We have three and a half or four years left until the end of our term. We want to achieve this, this, this and this.”
The problem is that at the moment the whole world is such a mishmash, including in business, that nobody can predict what will happen.

We have three wars almost on our borders. One is in the Middle East, another is connected with Iran, and the third is in Ukraine. We are highly dependent on these wars, not only because of fuel and not only because of exports.

The whole world is extremely confused. There are highly conflicting messages, especially from Washington, but also from Moscow and from other countries on which we depend to some extent.

That is why it seems to me that once the first 100 days have passed, these people will sit down and say: “We want to do this under the best possible conditions.”

They can do it if they want to. But the most important thing is the economy. We are sitting here discussing Ukraine, Russia and all these things, but what is happening in Sofia, on Dondukov Boulevard, the economic thinking and the economic vision are the most important things.

There must be drastic changes in the economy. I am somewhat more market-oriented, even extremely market-oriented. Moni Passy sometimes tells me that I am a “market Taliban.”

Host: A fundamentalist.

Maxim Behar: But I believe that what happened with the retail chains — that they were going to lower prices, introduce some kind of baskets, whether they did or did not — was dust in the eyes of many people who ultimately ended up disappointed.
It seems to me that the market, to a very large extent, should determine prices, market relations and the development of businesses.

Maxim Behar: Since you are someone who hosts an economic programme and this topic is very close to you, I will tell you that things are extremely simple. Two things must be done by the government literally within a month or two.

First, a sharp reduction in all kinds of regulations and restrictions. A sharp reduction in all kinds of licensing regimes. Of course, where it makes sense for them to exist, they should remain.

And second, an extremely strong promotion of Bulgaria on the investment markets. There should be roadshows. People should go out there. Various ministers and deputy ministers have no reason to sit here. They have no work to do in Bulgaria.

They should go to Germany, go to France, go to America, go wherever they need to go and say: “Come to Bulgaria. You will have the best investment conditions.”

There are, and this is a fact, a huge number of niches here. There are businesses that you can start from scratch in Bulgaria, while in a country such as the Czech Republic this is almost impossible.

Host: All right, Mr. Behar, but we have been talking about this for a long time. Everyone knows what needs to be done in the economy.

At the same time, we are seeing almost the opposite actions. The budget of Rumen Radev’s government overlaps by around 85% with the budget of the Zhelyazkov government, which was brought down following the public dissatisfaction surrounding the budget presented at the end of last year.

How do you explain the lack of this kind of decisive courage?

Maxim Behar: The Zhelyazkov government was brought down, as Mira also said, more by the “yellow cobblestones” and by emotions.

There were accumulated emotions and a general feeling that: “Everyone is already fed up with seeing the same government for such a long time.”

Host: Mr. Behar, I will give you the floor for a final comment.

Maxim Behar: Look, Rumen Radev’s government has everything that governments have been dreaming of for the past 30 years. It has a full majority in Parliament.

It has a good, competent government, or at least people who have been through politics. They are not people entering politics for the first time. There are three legs on which this government stands: foreign policy, economic policy and social policy.

It seems to me that at the end of the first 100 days, 120 days or whatever period they choose, they should come out and state very clearly and precisely, in ten points, what they are going to do in these three policy areas.

They do not even need to address foreign policy in such detail, because to a large extent it does not depend solely on us. Tomorrow something could happen, God forbid, in Romania, Moldova, Cyprus or anywhere else, and we would have to react. But we need ten clear points on economic policy. And on social policy as well. What do we do with the non-productive parts of the population? These are pensioners, students and sick people. There needs to be a very clear ten-point concept.

Once we have that, we can meet again in this studio, with the same team, and discuss it point by point. But for now, we are somewhat blindfolded.

Host: Maxim Behar, Mina Hristova and Mira Radeva were our guests. We will be back in the studio after the commercials.

 You can watch the whole interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/en/video/445/maxim-behar-on-the-governments-foreign-policy-economy-and-communication 

Coming straight from the airport, I head to our traditional meeting—an elegant gourmet lunch with the Fellows of the British PR Association, the largest in the world and likely the only one with such lifetime positions, where I have been a member for several years. Our host, as per tradition, is another senior advisor, our colleague - Lord Black of Brentwood. Apart from the delicious and carefully selected food and engaging professional and sometimes personal conversations, we always have an interesting guest who tells us about things we don’t know. They call him “The guest speaker”, but he is usually much more than just a guest behind a podium,

he is someone with an impressive biography and a lot to share.

While waiting to pass through the series of security checks, I notice a man standing next to me. I see him for the first time, but he looks at me with a broad smile, flashing snow-white teeth, and raises his thumb in greeting.

"You definitely know me, but I don’t know you. It’s time to get acquainted," he says directly.

To my brief and clear "Max," he simply nods without even introducing himself.

"Well, well," I think to myself. "Was this guy a British Prime Minister at some point, and I missed it in the news? He definitely has that kind of confidence."

By the time dessert is served, my new acquaintance-turned-stranger takes the podium. In about ten minutes, he explains how important it is that when you fall - even badly - you find the strength to get up, dust yourself off, and move on.

We all know this from textbooks - it’s what should happen–

but very few actually experience it in real life.

Within his first few sentences, my table neighbours told me the name of the guest speaker - Dwain Chambers. By the time he finishes his first paragraph, thousands of search results about him pop up on the screen of my mobile phone.

From the small, high-quality speakers in the room, his speech doesn’t produce mere words - it carries sighs, exclamations, tears, both joyous and sorrowful, and short sentences behind which lie years of personal struggles.

In 1997, in the 100-meter sprint, the then-21-year-old London-born athlete became the youngest athlete in the world to win a medal. This was followed by stunning athletic achievements that even the most experienced would envy.

"I wanted to go from being fifth in the world to being first. As fast as possible, at any cost, and nothing could stop me. Absolutely nothing."

Except… for the doping test in 2003, which found the banned substance THG in his system - the first such case among athletes. That stopped him, and for a long time.

He had already became the number one

sprinter in the world, but the ruling of the committee stripped him of his world title in the 100 meters, won just a year earlier. He was banned from competition for two years and received a lifetime ban from the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games.

A practically fatal blow for any athlete.

"The world came crashing down on me. My whole life lost its meaning. My ambitions evaporated in seconds. Thoughts of suicide started haunting me, even in my worst nightmares; I couldn’t have imagined that something like this could happen so quickly, all because of my obsessive desire to be 'number one' at any cost,"  Dwain is telling me  me after lunch as we stand on the terrace of the House of Lords, overlooking the giant London Eye and the fast-flowing River Thames beneath our feet.

Dwain considered switching sports, trying even American football, and embarking on various projects, but the crushing weight of his loss left him nearly powerless.

"There were days when I was certain

I would never get out of the mess

I had, of course, created for myself; believing that no one would ever catch me. There’s hardly a bigger stupidity than that," adds Dwain, gazing into the river’s current—his tone now much calmer than it was in his speech, just half an hour earlier.

And after the "Dark Night" comes a bit of light. The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned his lifetime Olympic ban, and in 2012—nine years later—Dwain Chambers is once again part of Team Great Britain, competing in what would become a historic Olympic Games for the entire nation.

What follows is a series of victories, appearances, and prestigious trophies. And then, in 2023, at the age of 45, he set a world record in the 60-meter indoor sprint.

No one, except Dwain himself, believed he could make a triumphant comeback as a world champion. No one, except him…

His 2009 book, "Race Against Myself," became a bestseller within days, but even there, he does not predict the future that awaits him. And that future is

his return to the global sports stage in triumph.

"I had months, probably a year, of intense stress. And then I told myself—not just in sports but in life—you must stand up and keep going, no matter the cost. I left for Jamaica and began training relentlessly. The thought of turning to performance enhancers never even crossed my mind. My only stimulant, my only motivator, my only engine, and my goal was the race… against myself. I kept telling myself: ‘You got yourself into this mess. Only you can get yourself out.’ And I proved it. That gave meaning to my life. Every success gave me more and more strength to keep moving forward and upward. My victories, my records, my trophies, and medals became my new and very real, only dopamine boost," Dwain says, trying to stay calm.

But the slight twitch in his cheekbones and the sharpness of his gestures reveal more than just emotion.

"And remember this, Max - if I can do it, anyone can. All it takes is four fingers and a thumb. A strong hand that won’t let you fall and, when needed, will lift you up. Your own hand. No one else will do it for you."

As we stand on the terrace of Westminster, I involuntarily glance at his hand—strong and steady, like that of a winner.

Just like his thoughts and ambitions.

Now different. Pure. And victorious.

Host: By tomorrow, GERB’s party structures will decide whether or not they will have their own presidential candidate. We will now analyse the presidential race and the moves of the largest opposition party with my guests, PR expert Maxim Behar and sociologist Yuli Pavlov. Hello to both of you.

Maxim Behar: Good morning.

Host: We are waiting to hear what GERB will decide. Boyko Borissov said that he is against having their own candidate, but he is leaving the decision to the party structures. Mr. Behar, would it be a failure for GERB if they do not have their own candidate?

Maxim Behar: For around 20 years now, whatever Boyko Borissov says within GERB is what happens. I do not expect a different decision.

They do not have many useful moves left because the presidential race is already underway, and it has been for quite some time. If GERB decides tomorrow to have a candidate, which I believe they should do, given that this is a party with a significant presence in the Bulgarian Parliament and in society, they need to find an “alien” candidate. I am putting “alien” in very large quotation marks, of course.

It has to be someone who will genuinely fight tooth and nail to win and who can make it to the second round. If they put forward a candidate simply to take part in the race, for example some provincial mayor, with all due respect to all provincial mayors, whether affiliated with them or not, then it seems to me that this will simply be another loss.
GERB has had only one president so far, Rosen Plevneliev. Personally, I thought he was a very decent and successful president, but for some reason they decided not to promote him for a second term.
Let us see what happens, but I am more inclined to think that they will not have a candidate. Without attaching any political meaning to my opinion, I work in public communications, I am not a political analyst,I believe that this, however, will not have a positive effect.

Host: Mr. Behar, what is the right strategy? A moment ago, you said that at this stage GERB does not have many useful moves left.

Maxim Behar: How can I be the one to say what the right strategy is for a political party that governed Bulgaria for more than 15 years? There are political leaders in that party who have travelled the world and made both difficult and easy decisions. Regardless of whether we evaluated them positively or negatively, we used to say to ourselves, “These people are governing.”
In my opinion, they themselves are very confused at the moment. Otherwise, there would be much clearer messages and people who would clearly stand out as potential candidates.

Host: So they have no one to nominate?

Maxim Behar: They want to nominate a winning candidate, and apparently they do not have one at the moment. That is my interpretation, without having any substantial data.

I assume they are currently trying to persuade four or five people, and probably all of them are refusing. These are the candidates whom I will once again put in quotation marks, the “aliens”, who are assumed to have sufficiently broad popularity and some chance of making it to the second round. Or, if they lose, at least to lose with dignity and for it to be clearly known that they represented GERB.

But GERB is currently an opposition party, and over the past few months we have not heard many clear messages or specific proposals showing that they have a clear programme for how they intend to oppose the government. That is the role of an opposition party, including in purely economic terms, rather than simply making general statements and remarks along the lines of “you were wrong, we were right.”

It is 2026. The entire world is completely different. Not just Bulgaria. We are all different and we think differently. We have completely different types of communication, artificial intelligence, and many other tools. You can no longer use the old methods.
When I look at the communication strategies of some of the political candidates, they seem terribly outdated to me.

Host: Where do you see that?

Maxim Behar: I have no idea who is behind them or who advises them. I am sure there are people following them around, filming videos of them, and then publishing them.

Host: On social media, the ones we see most often are those of Andrey Gyurov.

Maxim Behar: Maybe because you follow him, but there are other candidates who are also quite active on social media.
With some candidates, they are trying to run American-style campaigns, even though we are not in America. In Poland, for example, Rafał Trzaskowski, of whom I am a big fan, lost elections twice with an American-style campaign.

We are talking about Poland, a modern Central European country that has developed remarkably well over nearly the past 40 years. His campaign featured huge crowds, videos of him shaving in front of a mirror, running, and other similar things. And despite all that, he lost the elections.

Bulgaria needs a completely different type of campaign. It is difficult for me to give an exact formula in five or ten minutes, but it needs to be much more human, much more focused on the middle class, and above all on specific political messages and specific proposals, both domestic and international.

Host: You say that everyone was very late in announcing their candidates, but Iliana Yotova also announced her vice-presidential candidate, Kiril Valchev, relatively late.

Maxim Behar: She has her own cards to play and her own advantage. Of course, when an incumbent president is running, that has both advantages and disadvantages. She has to assess every move very carefully because she is a much more public figure, constantly under the spotlight and currently making decisions.
In my opinion, Iliana Yotova did it correctly. The only thing I found strange was that she announced her vice-presidential candidate in a television studio, in that manner, almost as though she were walking onto a concert stage.

Host: What do you think she was trying to achieve with that? How does it affect the institutional nature of the presidency?

Maxim Behar: I have no idea. Maybe that is how she decided to do it. Iliana Yotova is a very experienced person who performs brilliantly in front of the camera, as we have all known for many years. She probably has her own reasons.
But to me, it seemed rather un-institutional for the incumbent president to announce her vice-presidential candidate by “walking onto a concert stage” and simply saying that the person next to her, Kiril Valchev, would be her candidate.
Then he himself says, “God is my witness, I had absolutely no intention of running, but I accepted.” Somehow, that did not fit with the institutional character that Iliana Yotova represents.
But that is how she chose to do it. And she genuinely does have more cards in her hand at the moment.

Host: They say she is several laps ahead of the other candidates.

Maxim Behar: I do not know whether it is exactly several laps, but unquestionably she can afford more.
The question for me is different: why is no one putting the economy on the table?
It is true that the president does not have direct responsibility for the economy; that is the job of the executive branch. But a president can have a position and a vision.

Bulgaria is in crisis. All of Europe is in crisis. Bulgaria is experiencing its wonderful entry into the eurozone, but it is experiencing it in its own way through prices, wages, inflation, and everything else we are seeing.
So, if a presidential candidate wants to gain points, votes, or an advantage, I believe they need to present at least one page setting out their economic position, strategy, or perspective on what needs to happen.

Host: One more point, Mr. Behar. The presidential ticket of Iliana Yotova and Kiril Valchev brings together two journalists. How would you comment on that?

Maxim Behar: We journalists, because we are colleagues, have a very broad perspective on many issues.

Host: Will that be an advantage for them?

Maxim Behar: Yes, because the camera loves them.

Host: On the other side is the Gyurov-Kandev presidential ticket. What kind of trust can they attract, Mr. Behar?

Maxim Behar: You are tempting me to comment, even though I would rather not. Colleagues are probably behind their communications, but perhaps those people should watch a few more campaigns on television, YouTube, or elsewhere.

You cannot spend an entire week circulating a video of two candidates doing a photoshoot to the sound of “Bad Boys.”
I know Mr. Gyurov. I have not met Mr. Kandev. But regardless of who the candidates are, you cannot have the media space filled for an entire week primarily with a video of them doing a photoshoot.
What are they trying to show us with that?

Host: What are they trying to show us with that?

Maxim Behar: Well, the human side, that they are ordinary people.

Maxim Behar: The economy. Bill Clinton once said, “It’s the economy, stupid.” Even in America, which is a presidential republic, the president does not have that much direct influence over the economy.
In 2026, you cannot simply go around doing photoshoots and make that your main message. The most important thing is what you think.

We have a party with an absolute majority in Parliament. As a candidate, you need somehow to represent an alternative position and state your own view, whether that means agreeing with it or disagreeing with it.

We have not yet entered the actual campaign, but I hope that all candidates will have two main priorities or messages.
The first is how Bulgaria looks abroad. This is my favourite subject: Bulgaria’s branding, the promotion of Bulgaria, and the way our country is perceived. This also includes our positions regarding the war in Ukraine, the Middle East, and international issues, but above all the question of how we can present Bulgaria as a good place for investment and business.
The second is what needs to happen with our economy domestically. 

Nothing else. All political messages such as “left,” “right,” “conservatives,” and “liberals” should remain in the background. We need to be pragmatic, pragmatic, pragmatic.

Host: Mr. Behar, does it matter where GERB’s support goes if the party does not have its own candidate? Is it possible that Borissov will simply tell his voters to vote as they see fit?

Maxim Behar: The support may not go to anyone at all. He could say, “Do whatever you want,” and from that point onward everything would depend on the other candidates.

I still think that there is time until tomorrow for some “alien” candidate to say, “All right, I’ll take the risk. Let’s see what happens.”
But otherwise, I do not believe it.

Bulgaria is so divided, the political confrontation is so intense, and these people dislike one another so much that the words “unity,” “unification,” and “together” seem to have been erased from their political vocabulary.

I do not believe that the leader of a party like GERB, which is extremely leader-driven, will say, “Support Yotova,” “Support Gyurov,” or support some other candidate. He is more likely to leave them to decide for themselves.

But if he does that, it will be a major negative for GERB. I am returning to the beginning of our conversation.
I do not believe there is another political party in Europe that has been this strong and governed for so many years, yet only a week before the deadline would suddenly back away and say, “Do whatever you want.”

In practice, that would sound like: “We are not particularly interested in the presidential election.”
And given that the “prime minister-president” game has been going on for 15 years, to suddenly say, “What is the big deal? President, let the others fight for it, and let our people vote for whoever they want,” is not serious.

Host: Mr. Behar, a final sentence from you.

Maxim Behar: I will simply return to one word used by the respected sociologist Yuli Pavlov: an “opposing” party.
There should not be opposing parties and people who hate one another. It is true that there are different concepts. It is true that there is competition.

But what I want to say in conclusion is that we have a very interesting month and a half ahead of us. There is a clear candidate who is currently the frontrunner, but we do not know how things will develop.

Let us see whether there will be any surprises in this campaign.

Host: We will continue with the commentary. Thank you very much for this conversation.

You can watch the whole interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/en/video/444/bulgaria-before-the-presidential-elections-maxim-behars-opinion

You can read the full interview and discover Dr. Maxim Behar’s insights on the future of communication here: https://globalleadersviews.com/dr-maxim-behar-building-the-future-of-communication/

In an official congratulatory message, Dr. Velislava Petrova-Chamova, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, emphasized:

"Bulgaria highly values the friendly relations and constructive cooperation that have developed between our two countries and reaffirms its commitment to strengthening these ties and expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including tourism, sustainable development, education, and multilateral relations."

In her address, H.E. Zakia El Midaoui, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Bulgaria, paid special tribute to Dr. Maxim Behar by presenting him with a commemorative statuette in recognition of his long-standing service as Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Seychelles.

"Dr. Maxim Behar is an outstanding example of how an honorary consul can build a genuine bridge between two nations. Thanks to his dedication, Seychelles has become much better known in Bulgaria, and the friendship between our peoples continues to grow stronger," said H.E. El Midaoui.

During the ceremony, Dr. Behar also received a Certificate of Recognition for his contribution to the honorary consular community from Borislav Boyanov, Chairman of the Association of Honorary Consuls in Bulgaria.

One of the most emotional highlights of the evening was the premiere of the original song We Are Seychelles, written and performed by Dr. Maxim Behar especially for the 50th anniversary of the Republic of Seychelles' independence. The song also features renowned Seychellois singer Rita Romain. The music was composed by Lil Sha with the participation of his father, Big Sha, as music consultant. The official music video was produced by M3 Communications Group, Inc. and directed by Kristian Nedelchev, Head of the company's Video Department.

"It is a tremendous honour for me to have represented the Republic of Seychelles in Bulgaria for more than two decades. Today we celebrate not only 50 years of independence, but also the friendship between our two countries. We Are Seychelles is my personal gift to the people of Seychelles and to everyone who loves these unique islands," said Dr. Maxim Behar.

Among the official guests were also Borislav Venkov, Desk Officer for Seychelles at the Middle East and Africa Directorate of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Irena Georgieva, former Deputy Minister of Tourism; Dr. Solomon Passy, President of the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria and former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Mircho Ivanov, Director of the Protocol Directorate at the Administration of the President of Bulgaria; and Dr. Polina Karastoyanova, Executive Director of the National Tourism Board.

For more than two decades, Dr. Maxim Behar has worked actively to strengthen relations between Bulgaria and the Republic of Seychelles. Among the initiatives implemented with his participation are the Seychelles Investment Forum, the establishment of the Seychelles News Agency—today one of Africa's leading news agencies—and the modernization of the digital platform of the national newspaper Seychelles NATION. He also serves as Chairman of the PR and Media Committee of the World Federation of Consuls (FICAC), as well as Vice President and Spokesperson of the Association of Honorary Consuls in Bulgaria.

The Consulate General of the Republic of Seychelles in Bulgaria was established in July 2004 by Decision No. 578 of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is headquartered in Sofia, and its consular district covers the entire territory of Bulgaria.

His professional journey began at the age of just thirteen, working as a carpenter in a dairy plant. He then went on to work in a machine-building factory, journalism, international correspondence across different parts of the world, diplomacy, and business before eventually discovering the profession of public relations and falling in love with it.

In return, the profession rewarded him not only with satisfied clients but also with a place in the PR Hall of Fame and the prestigious recognition of being named Europe's Best PR Professional in both 2020 and 2022.

In addition to his professional achievements, he is the proud father of two wonderful children and the fulfiller of countless dreams. And his dreams are so ambitious that they extend beyond the boundaries of Earth itself. That is why he recently completed astronaut training at NASA together with his wife.

There is much more I could say about him, but with great pleasure and anticipation, I now give the floor to the colorful, inspiring, and eternally positive Maxim Behar.

Maxim: Hello! Good evening! I'm very happy to be here.

Host: We're delighted to have you and grateful that you accepted our invitation.

Maxim: Of course. Anytime!

Host: Welcome. As I was listening to your introduction, it struck me that it sounds like three lifetimes' worth of experiences. Yet it's all contained within one life—yours. So I'd like to begin by asking: looking back, which chapter of your journey has been the most valuable to you so far?

Maxim: It depends on how you choose to live your life. Someone might think what you've described is enough for five lifetimes. To me, it's simply one ordinary life—one that has brought me tremendous joy. I continue to live it with the same passion, motivation, and curiosity that I have every single day. I don't have a favorite chapter. The most exciting chapter is probably still ahead of me. Every stage you mentioned was fascinating in its own way, and I've always tried to take the very best from each experience. For the past thirty-two years, I've been working exclusively in public relations. Of course, I do many other things alongside my profession. I constantly try to step outside my comfort zone. But I remain focused on my business because it gives me enormous satisfaction. PR is a unique profession—it moves at the speed of light, changes at the speed of light, and every day is different.

Every morning, when I drive my tiny two-seater electric car—a little red one that I affectionately call my "Trabant"—to the office, I'm filled with energy, excitement, and anticipation. I imagine the people I'll meet, the conversations we'll have, the strategies we'll create, and the clients we'll begin working with.

Host: So you're manifesting your day in advance?

Maxim: I don't know if I'd call it manifestation. It's more like mental training. Actually, it starts while I'm in the shower. I mentally go through the entire day ahead. The only reason it begins there is because there's no mobile phone in the shower. Otherwise, we all know what happens when we wake up in the morning. The first thing most of us do is look at our phones.

Host: I really liked hearing that you wake up at 7:01 a.m.

Maxim: Yes, 7:01 exactly. It's a little superstition of mine—I want to be number one. At the same time, seven o'clock is simply the right time for me to get up, take a shower, get ready, read the news, have one or two coffees, and head to work. That's why it's 7:01. Sometimes I hit snooze when I'm especially tired—we all do that. But the alarm is always set for 7:01.

Host: Do you have a strict bedtime routine as well?

Maxim: No. Absolutely none.

Host: So your evenings are open-ended?

Maxim: It depends. Sometimes we find a great movie to watch. We also watch a lot of rock concerts—that's how we recharge. In fact, traveling to rock concerts around the world has become one of our favorite ways to spend our vacations. But no, I don't have a bedtime routine. I honestly can't remember the last time I went to bed before one or two in the morning.

Host: And yet you still wake up at seven?

Maxim: Yes. And I'm always energized. I genuinely enjoy every moment of life. Even the problems, challenges, and obstacles are enjoyable to me because I always choose to see the glass as half full.

Host: How do you manage to fit everything into a day? Listening to you, it feels as though your days must have forty-eight hours instead of twenty-four.

Maxim: No, my day is probably eighteen or nineteen productive hours long. I write books. I currently have several unfinished manuscripts sitting on my computer waiting to be completed and published. Right now, my wife and I have started writing a book about our semi-space adventure—our astronaut training at NASA in the United States.

Host: So this one won't be focused on your profession. It'll be more about your personal experiences?

Maxim: It will be more about dreams. Because I often say that if your dreams don't scare you, they're not really dreams—they're merely wishes. Dreams should be frightening. When you're sitting here in Sofia and someone starts talking about astronaut training, a mission to Mars, weightlessness, walking on the Moon, and taking those first lunar steps, most people think it's impossible. What we want to show in this book is that it is possible. If we were able to do it and return successfully, then these things can be achieved. Anything is possible if you truly want it and are willing to pursue it. When we were flying back from America, somewhere between Washington and Munich—or perhaps Frankfurt—the plane was completely full. The seats were tiny and cramped. We sat down, and my wife Veneta looked around and said: "How are we supposed to spend ten hours sitting here?" I turned to her and said: "We just went to Mars. We piloted a spacecraft. And now you're worried about ten hours to Munich?" That's what this book will be about—dreams.

I've also written a book about Public Relations and the PR industry. It quickly became a bestseller. It was published in the United States by a major American publishing house and later released in Bulgaria and several other countries in different languages. I have a book on leadership and management called Five Minutes Until Tomorrow, which I wrote during the COVID pandemic. I also have a book about the Seychelles.

Host: As I understand it, one of your books was actually written on Facebook.

Maxim: That was my second book.

Host: How does someone write a book on Facebook?

Maxim: Very simply. In 2008, the financial crisis began. In business, one of the most important things is making decisions—making them quickly. That's one of my personal principles, something I've always believed in. I remember that everyone was shocked. For the first time in our business lives, we were facing a truly global financial crisis. One morning, I came out of the shower, wrapped in a bathrobe, sat down at my computer, and decided to motivate my Facebook followers to take action and make decisions.

So I wrote: "Even the worst decision is better than no decision at all."

In other words: make a decision. You can always adjust it later. Then I added: Rule No. 1 Almost immediately, someone commented: "Okay, but what's Rule No. 2?"

And I thought to myself: "Wait a minute... now I actually need a Rule No. 2."

Rule No. 2 became:"Never take yourself too seriously.". Because all of us know people who begin taking themselves very seriously, very quickly. They start believing they're exceptionally important, when in reality we're all simply human beings.

And that's how it started.

Host: And then you kept going every day?

Maxim: Every single day. I wrote a new rule every day. Eventually I reached ninety-nine.

Host: I'm sure you don't remember all of them anymore.

Maxim: Of course not. But I personally wrote every single one. Then a publisher called me and said: "Max, I've been following your posts on Facebook. Let's turn them into a book."

I laughed and said:"Come on. Who's going to read a book that was written on Facebook?". But he insisted. I agreed, under one condition: the book couldn't end at one hundred rules. I wanted it to have 111 rules instead. He was silent for twenty or thirty seconds and then asked: "Why 111?"

I said:"Because it's three number ones."

You might become Number One once by accident. Maybe even twice if circumstances are favorable. But three times? That doesn't happen by chance. And that's the story behind that book.

Host: And what about your very first book?

Maxim: My first book was published in 2000. It contained articles I had written while reporting from Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia during the collapse of communism in 1989 and the early 1990s. I wanted to preserve those articles as historical testimony—to document what was happening, what I had witnessed, and what I had written about. The book includes interviews with people such as Lech Wałęsa and Spain's legendary Prime Minister at the time, Felipe González, among many others. That was my first book. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of writing books.

Host: That's hard to believe when you've already written seven of them—and still have two more waiting to be finished.

Maxim: I think books are simply another way of delivering a message. Whether you write on Facebook, Instagram, or in a book, you're still communicating ideas. You know, I also rap with Misho Shamara.

Host: Yes, I've heard about that!

Maxim: One day Poli Genova called me and said: "Max, I love your latest song. It's fantastic."

And I replied: "Wait a second, Poli. I'm not a singer. You're the singer. You're the artist. I work in marketing.". But somehow it happened. Misho and I are friends. At one point he told me he owed me a favor. I said: "You don't owe me anything. Maybe one day we'll record a song together.". Then he started calling every few days: "I've booked the studio." Before I knew it, we had recorded one song. Then another. And another. We've already recorded seven songs together, and our next one is being released in a couple of weeks.

Host: At this point, you're ready for an album.

Maxim: Probably. But whether it's books, music, television appearances, or anything else I do, my goal is always the same: To send messages. To communicate ideas. To inspire people who are willing to listen.

Host: And it seems to be working. When people listen to you, they begin thinking: "Maybe I really can do it."

Maxim: I'm very happy to hear that. Because one of my biggest goals is to motivate people—especially young people. I work with colleagues who are between twenty-two and twenty-five years old. People call them „Generation Z“. I jokingly call them the easy generation. A generation that has never truly experienced hardship.

Host: Doesn't that make it harder for them to become real professionals?

Maxim: That depends entirely on the individual. It depends on their upbringing. It depends on what they want to achieve. I can turn an amateur into a professional within a few months. Someone can come into my company knowing absolutely nothing about PR, and after five or six months they can become a competent professional. But there is one thing I cannot do. I cannot turn a lazy person into a hardworking one.

Host: That's absolutely true.

Maxim: And I can't turn someone who enjoys gossip and office politics into a genuine team player. I can't teach someone not to envy others. So it all depends on character. Fortunately, I get along extremely well with my younger colleagues.

Host: Do you prefer working with younger people, or is that simply the way life and business have evolved?

Maxim: I don't think I can afford to have preferences in that regard. This is business. There are many talented young people graduating from universities in Sofia every year. They want to build careers, gain experience, and prove themselves. Most of them come to us as interns. Those who show genuine interest, ambition, and a desire to succeed usually stay with the company. At the same time, our two managing directors, Kristina and Miglena, have been working with me for over twenty years. Think about that for a moment. For a young person, twenty years is practically an entire lifetime. That kind of loyalty and continuity means a great deal to me.

Host: I think it's important to mention something for our viewers who may not know this. You're the founder, owner, and CEO of your company, yet you don't like being called an employer.

Host: Why is that?

Maxim: Because I don't see myself as an employer. Legally speaking, of course, employment contracts describe the relationship as employer and employee. But that's not how I view it. I'm a colleague. My team and I are colleagues. Sometimes they give me work. Sometimes I give them advice. Sometimes they correct me. And that's perfectly fine. In my book Five Minutes Until Tomorrow, I dedicate an entire chapter to what I call horizontal leadership. I believe the old model—with one director, two deputy directors, three department heads, layers of management, and endless bureaucracy—is becoming increasingly outdated. By the time a decision travels through all those levels, valuable opportunities may already be lost. That's why I try to create a much more horizontal structure within our company. When I need to make a managerial decision, especially regarding major clients or financial matters, I do so. But in our day-to-day work, I don't want to be "the employer." I simply want to be another PR professional working alongside my colleagues.

Host: What qualities do you look for when hiring someone? I remember hearing you say in an interview that you can evaluate a person within ten seconds.

Maxim: I have only one requirement. Just one. A sparkle in the eyes. Nothing more.

Host: Really? Surely many people can fake that during an interview.

Maxim: Not as easily as you'd think. The sparkle comes first. If someone looks half asleep, unmotivated, disconnected—you notice it immediately. For me, that sparkle represents motivation. It represents creativity. Ambition. Curiosity. The desire to achieve something meaningful. Of course, I've made mistakes. I've misjudged people before. But I can tell you a story. Not long ago, I walked into one of our conference rooms to grab something. There was a young woman sitting there waiting for an interview. I greeted her. She greeted me. I left the room and immediately asked my colleagues: "Who is that young woman?". They told me she was interviewing for an internship. I said to hire her immediately. Two years later, she became a department director. I saw the sparkle. I saw the way she looked at me. I saw her facial expression. Her energy. Her attitude. And I knew.

Host: That's incredible.

Maxim: One day, a former colleague who had started working for a fashion magazine that organized annual awards and rankings called me and asked whether I could recommend one of my managers or executives for the "Woman of the Year" competition. I recommended Vili. When she asked which Vili I meant, I explained that I was referring to Vili, our cleaning lady. At first, she thought I was joking.

But I wasn't. Vili had worked with us for twenty years. Every morning she arrived at five o'clock. The rest of us usually came in around eight or nine. She was always smiling. Always positive. Always making coffee for everyone. Always taking care of people. I happened to be abroad when the awards ceremony took place. But Vili won. She was named Woman of the Year.

Host: Bravo!

Maxim: I was incredibly proud. To this day, there's a framed copy of the magazine's front page hanging in our office kitchen. It's one of my favorite business stories. Vili is retired now. She still calls me on my birthday. And I always call her on hers. No matter what position someone holds, how much money they have, what car they drive, or how important they think they are, people deserve respect. We should appreciate those we work with. We should acknowledge their contributions. And we should treat them the way we treat our children or our families. That philosophy has helped me enormously throughout my career. It's also the way I try to treat my colleagues every day.

Host: Maybe that's one of the reasons you're so successful. You seem to have found the right formula. But I'd like to ask something else. You motivate so many people. What motivates you?

Maxim: The unknown. The unknown motivates me. My dreams motivate me. Challenges motivate me. People often say: "Learn from your mistakes.". I actually disagree with that. If you've made a mistake, you've already made it. What's there to learn? And if you repeat the same mistake, then you're simply being foolish. Instead, I believe we should learn from our successes. That's what inspires me. Let's say you're climbing mountains. You reach the summit of „Cherni Vrah“. What do most people do? They look down. But why look down? You've already been there. The important question is: What's the next mountain? Perhaps Musala. So let's go there. Of course, I'm speaking metaphorically. Although I have climbed both. The point is that when you're constantly pursuing new and exciting challenges, motivation comes naturally. Many people spend their evenings scrolling through television channels: "I don't like this movie.", "I don't like that one either." , "There's nothing good on." That's one way to pass the time. But it's a very flat way to live. And flatness makes me uncomfortable. I need obstacles. I need challenges. I need something to overcome.

Host: So, in a way, you enjoy things being difficult?

Maxim: I'm not sure "difficult" is the right word. What I enjoy is overcoming things. Sometimes it's easy. Sometimes it's hard. But I like the process of pushing beyond what I already know and what I've already achieved.

Host: What's the next big goal you've set for yourself—personally, I mean, after NASA?

Maxim: People ask me that all the time.

They say: "Okay, you've been to NASA. You've completed astronaut training. You've earned the certificates. What's next?"

By the way, we completed the full astronaut training program. From A to Z.

Host: Did you experience weightlessness?

Maxim: Of course. A few days after we returned, Bulgaria's first cosmonaut, Georgi Ivanov, called me. He said: "Maxim, I watched one of your interviews on television, and I'm very happy for you."

I told him I would love to meet him. Then he said something that meant a great deal to me: "Everything I experienced in space, you experienced on Earth."

For me, that was one of the most meaningful compliments I've ever received.

Host: Absolutely.

Maxim: And now that we've completed this journey, people naturally ask what comes next. We have a friend named Stefan Ivanov. Perhaps you've heard of him. Together with his son Maxim, he rowed across the Atlantic Ocean.

Host: Yes, I remember that story.

Maxim: Just the two of them. Ninety days. Rowing from Portugal to Trinidad. Through storms. Through difficult conditions. My wife and I were involved in that project from the very beginning. Stefan is a close friend and an excellent banker. One evening he called me and invited me to dinner. I had no idea what he wanted to discuss. When we sat down, he looked at me and said: "I'm going to row across the Atlantic Ocean."

At the time, his son Maxim was only fifteen and a half years old. He celebrated his sixteenth birthday in the middle of the Atlantic. Then Stefan asked: "Would you like to see the boat?"

I said yes. We went down to his garage. There, he was building the boat himself from epoxy resin. Piece by piece. But he wanted the expedition to have a purpose. A cause. The mission was to raise awareness about organ donation. There are people who suffer severe accidents and desperately need a kidney, a lung, or another life-saving transplant. In Bulgaria, organ donation has not traditionally been a widely discussed topic. Stefan wanted to change that. He wanted to encourage people to think differently and understand that, after death, their organs could potentially save other lives. He asked me if I would help promote the project. Then he asked how much it would cost.

I told him:"Projects related to culture, education, or meaningful social causes never receive an invoice from us."

We've supported hundreds of cultural and educational initiatives over the years. I told him we would help free of charge. But under one condition. The first evening after he returned from the expedition, he had to come to our house for dinner. And he did. Years later, when my wife and I returned from NASA, I called him from the United States and said: "We're arriving home on Sunday. Monday evening—dinner at our place." He came together with his wife, Zheni. We sat around the table, talking. At one point Stefan looked at me and asked:

"So what's next?". I told him: "I don't know exactly. But I know it has to be something bigger. Something like the North Pole."

Host: A person is only as big as their dreams. And you certainly prove that.

Maxim: Only if those dreams scare you. If they don't scare you, they aren't dreams. They're just wishes. I remember when I first told my children about the astronaut training. It was December.

I said:"I'm thinking about training to become an astronaut."

They looked at me and said: "Are you crazy? What space? Where are you going? Please don't do that!"

But that's exactly what motivates me. To answer your question— I need interesting things to overcome. I need opportunities to learn. I need challenges that push me beyond my comfort zone. Because all of us live inside a kind of cloud. Family. Friends. Work. Daily routines.

Host: Work—and that's about it.

Maxim: Exactly. But from time to time, I want to step outside that cloud. I want to see things more clearly. I want to challenge myself. And at the same time, make life more interesting.

Host: What was the first truly big dream that came true for you? The one that made you realize you could keep climbing higher?

Maxim: You mentioned earlier that I started working at a dairy factory when I was thirteen. One day, while I was building wooden crates, the director came over and asked: "Who's Behar?". I immediately thought I had done something wrong.

Then he asked:"Do you speak English?". At the time, I was studying English twice a week at a local community center. When I said yes, he asked me to help him with some work. And that's where the story of my first dream begins.рUsing a typewriter that stood on a desk near his office, I started publishing a small neighborhood newspaper.

Host: I bet you still have copies somewhere.

Maxim: Perhaps somebody does. That little newspaper was my first dream. Eventually, I began working for newspapers professionally. Later, I became involved in launching Standart, which still exists today. That original dream kept growing. But it all started there—with that tiny neighborhood publication. The stories were simple. Who was dating whom. Who had a crush on whom. Who was reading which books. Where people were spending their evenings. But even then, I wanted to communicate ideas. To send messages. That's all I've ever really wanted to do. And it's still what I do today.

Host: We sincerely wish you continued success. We hope you'll come back again because there are still so many topics we'd love to discuss with you.But before we finish, we have a traditional question that we ask all our guests.What is the one thing that annoys you most about your profession?

Maxim:In my profession?A lack of ideas.A lack of creativity.When someone has to do something for a client—or when one of my colleagues has to do something for a client—and they do it simply to check a box.Just to get it over with.When there is no passion behind the work.When there is no sparkle in the eyes.That bothers me.You see, we don't sell PR.We don't sell services.We don't sell marketing.We sell trust.In fact, one of my most recent books is called The Power of Trust.The book explores topics such as artificial intelligence, online hate, misinformation, and fake news.Trust has become one of the most valuable currencies in the modern world.And when someone doesn't trust me, it can genuinely hurt.Of course, I do everything possible to make sure that doesn't happen.Because trust must be earned every single day.

Host: That's a very powerful message.And perhaps that's why people respond so strongly to what you do.Whether it's your books, your business, your talks, your music, or even your adventures, everything seems to revolve around inspiring people and building trust.

Maxim:I hope so.At the end of the day, everything I do is really about communication.It's about sharing experiences.Sharing lessons.Sharing opportunities.And hopefully helping someone realize that they can do more than they thought they could.Because most limits exist only in our minds.The moment we decide to challenge them, remarkable things begin to happen.

Host: What would you say to a young person who is watching this interview right now and wondering whether they can achieve their dreams?

Maxim:I would tell them not to wait.Don't wait for perfect circumstances.Don't wait for permission.Don't wait for someone else to tell you that you're ready.Start now.Make mistakes.Learn.Move forward.And most importantly—dream big.Dream so big that your dreams scare you.Because if they don't scare you, they're probably not dreams.They're just wishes.The people who achieve extraordinary things are not necessarily the smartest or the most talented.Very often, they're simply the ones who keep moving forward while everyone else is hesitating.They take action.They remain curious.They continue learning.And they refuse to give up.That's what makes the difference.

Host: That's a wonderful message to end onThank you very much for this conversation. It was truly inspiring and incredibly interesting.

Maxim:Thank you.And thank you for creating such a positive atmosphere.Stay optimistic.Stay creative.Stay curious.Keep smiling.And I hope your audience continues to grow because you're doing something valuable.

Host: Thank you very much.And thank you for being with us.

You can watch the whole interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/en/video/443/maxim-behar-on-7-8-tv-if-your-dreams-dont-scare-you-they-are-not-big-enough? 

Hosts: Dara’s “Bangaranga” dance was so memorable and magnetic that it traveled all around the world. Behind the impressive choreography stands the Swedish Eurovision veteran Fredrik Rydman. However, the first choreography of “Bangaranga” began during the Bulgarian national competition, and the most memorable movement also came from Bulgarian choreographer Kevin Kolev. Let’s see how dance conquered the world.

…..

Host: Joining us in the studio are PR expert Maksim Behar and Associate Professor Justine Toms, who is an expert in the world of social media. Hello and welcome!

Justine: Bangaranga to you too!

 Host: So, this is how we’ll greet each other from now on! Mr. Behar, how did Dara manage to conquer Eurovision? Such a landslide victory. Both the jury and the audience said: this is the winner; this is number one. This is Europe’s Bangaranga.

Maksim: My Facebook profile is very public, and everyone can read what I wrote on Saturday morning congratulating Dara on winning Eurovision. Maybe twenty hours before the voting, because from the very first moment it was clear that this was a very winning project. She didn’t make a single mistake either in her musical performance or in the presentation itself. Even after the victory, she was incredibly warm and genuine; everything was done perfectly. I simply had to watch the other contestants to understand where everyone stood. And after the first round, once I saw them all, I said to myself: of course it’s this one. What makes me happy is that, in the end, this is Bulgaria’s last step toward full membership in the European Union. After NATO, the European Union, Schengen, and the Eurozone, we also have Eurovision. And with this, our process of joining Europe is finished. A particularly good project. It shows that foreign experts and specialists should be used, that we should learn from the pleasant experience various people have already gained in Eurovision. And of course, she managed it brilliantly. Not only from a marketing point of view. Again, the moment I heard the song a few months ago, I said to myself: this belongs to Eurovision. We just didn’t know what the other competitors would be like and this year they were extremely weak.

 Host: Associate Professor Toms, we saw two extremes on social media if I may put it that way. The wave of criticism against Dara after the national selection and the choice of “Bangaranga.” And now she has completely taken over social media worldwide. Everyone is talking about Bulgaria, about Dara, about Bangaranga, about Eurovision, about what she achieved. How did this girl, even though the force of her personality alone, manage to turn things around so dramatically?

Justine: Yes, social media algorithms polarize society. We know this; we see it with every topic. And clearly, they could polarize Bulgarian society over this topic as well. Of course, the more someone stays inside their own bubble, the more that bubble confirms their opinions. But with her incredible energy she has amazing energy to answer every journalist, to comment under posts, to smile at everyone, to grab the microphone and speak, to communicate even when she needs to protect her voice for singing, that contributed enormously. Of course, her charisma is also huge, and we’ve all witnessed how it developed over time. But now, with this international success, where literally the entire world is singing “Bangaranga,” the local haters, so to speak, have gone quiet and been drowned out. Very, very strongly drowned out since yesterday since the night before.

Host: Mr. Behar, you said Dara didn’t make a single mistake. Where did they see their strongest advantage? Was it in the catchy chorus, the way “Bangaranga” sticks in your head? From what Associate Professor Toms said, every chance she had with the media, she kept repeating “Bangaranga,” and people were saying: “I don’t even know what it means, but I like it and it makes me smile.”

Maksim: I just want to make one remark about the previous topic. We shouldn’t be worried at all that there’s hate. We shouldn’t be worried that someone doesn’t like the song. This is art, after all. We can’t expect millions of Bulgarians and millions more abroad all to say: “Ah yes, this is wonderful.” Of course, modern communication allows for stronger emotions than what we call hate. It allows someone who’s had two rakias to sit behind a keyboard and say things they wouldn’t say if they hadn’t drunk those two rakias.

 Host: But you know, Mr. Behar, Dara was on the edge back then and was saying there was a possibility she might withdraw from Eurovision.

Maksim: Yes, everyone has been on the edge I’ve been there many times too. Dara embodied my personal motto, which I’ve mentioned in this studio before: if your dreams don’t scare you, then they’re not big enough. Or they’re not really dreams at all. If your dreams don’t scare you, then they’re just wishes or vague thoughts about achieving something. When you face such a huge problem, that’s when you mobilize yourself and want to overcome it. And it’s good that there was I don’t even know if I should call it hate. It’s good there were other opinions. Of course, the way the entire composition was created was the easy name, the rhythm, the people around her, the dancers. And the choreography was wow. It was perfect. That Swede who has worked on Eurovision several times I think he’s even won once or twice.

Host: Yes, as you said, you collaborated with people who know what Eurovision requires.

Maksim: Everything was done in an extremely modern way. It wasn’t archaic. In principle, Eurovision is often a contest of sad pop songs with people melting emotionally on stage. And whenever there’s some real dynamism, those acts usually win starting from ABBA and many other groups that brought energy to the stage and stood out. And of course, when you see Dara with this entire project, with the amazing choreography, the superb performance, the dynamism, and energy, you naturally say: of course this is going to win. It’s wonderful, and it’s wonderful that she fulfilled her dream. A good example of how dreams should come true for all of us, and how you should never become discouraged. There are many people who think that if everyone likes your song, then you should worry. And perspective helped her cross that barrier, just as she wrote in an interview that she slept for seven hours, woke up, and her husband told her: “You have to go.” And yes, there are moments like that. But those moments bring true success. They make a person strong, and they build character.

 Host: Associate Professor Toms, how do we expect this wave to continue after Eurovision, because we shouldn’t forget that Bulgaria will now host Eurovision which is also a major success thanks to Dara. How do we expect this momentum to continue? We see children dancing the choreography, so motivated and enthusiastic. How can this continue from here?

Justine: Actually, with winning Eurovision I read this somewhere, and I completely agree the transition is over. An exceptionally long and painful Bulgarian transition. Now we can honestly say we are an equal, modern European country. I hope Bulgaria presents itself next year when we host. Several mayors have already expressed readiness. There’s already a battle over where Eurovision Bulgaria should take place. But I also think this huge wave we’re about to witness won’t stop today. Social media will continue amplifying the effect. Dara’s song will become even more globally famous. I believe this will reflect very positively on Bulgaria. The tourist season is coming; other major events are coming. And perhaps I should also mention that the Booker prizes will be announced this week. That’s also something important. Overall, I see good days ahead for Bulgaria.

Host: Mr. Behar, do we realize what a huge opportunity Eurovision is for promoting our country globally? So many countries will come to Bulgaria. Maybe even Sofia still doesn’t know the location. Literally all eyes will be on Bulgaria next year.

Maksim: One friendly correction. The transition is not over. What ended was Bulgaria’s full membership in the European sphere. There will always be transitions. There will be crises. God willing, there won’t be wars like the ones happening now. Bulgaria will always be in transition. America is in transition right now. The United Kingdom too. What lies ahead of us is because many people compare this to 1994. Yes, we can compare the day Bulgaria finished fourth in football with the day Dara won Eurovision. But after 1994, everything ended there. Now, what lies ahead is much bigger. And this isn’t a challenge. It’s a huge opportunity. We will manage it brilliantly there’s no doubt about that. My only concern is that we might fall back into our small-minded local mentality and say: “Bulgaria, Bulgaria, we have to do everything ourselves and prove ourselves.” There are countless experts in Europe and beyond who have organized events like this before. In my opinion, the first thing is that they should be consulted and involved. Because now they’ll probably create committees, commissions, working groups… I’ve seen this for many years in Bulgarian reality they create working groups and everything sinks and disappears. This must be treated as a business project. Nothing else. There should be Excel spreadsheets with investments and profits. Investments and profits. How those profits will be formed, who the consultants will be. A pure business project. Then it will be hugely successful.

 Host: Associate Professor Toms, would you like to add something?

Justine: We saw the state trying to act quickly on many levels. The mayors themselves reacted immediately yesterday. The mayor of Sofia welcomed Dara at the airport. All around Sofia yesterday, bus stop displays read “Bangaranga.” The state is learning to move away from slow decision-making. I hope we’ll have the capacity to rise to Dara’s level.

Host: How important is it to act quickly? As you said, we need to move fast and advertise Bulgaria. Not wait until the last moment with promotional campaigns. Starting now, even for this summer tourist season come to Bulgaria.

Maksim: I don’t know whether someone will come to the seaside or to Bansko for skiing because we won Eurovision. But Bulgaria now has much stronger branding and far greater recognition. Many more people will know about Bulgaria. Again, I only hope we don’t create working groups and drown in bureaucracy.

Host: But the Minister of Culture said such a group is expected to be formed this very week.

Maksim: I’m responding directly to my friend Miloshev with this we must look at it differently. In my business projects, I don’t create working groups. I sit down, make strategies and visions, know who will execute them, and in the end it all comes down to revenue and expenses.

 Host: But you saw that Dara wished for a “House of Artists,” and Mr. Miloshev promised action toward creating one. She said she has dreamed for many years of having a space where artists could gather. We’ll still see how this idea develops, but tell us how wide open is the door now for all Bulgarian performers, since Eurovision is coming to Bulgaria?

Justine: This is truly a huge opportunity for Bulgarian music and Bulgarian art. I hear people listening to “Bangaranga” all day and then moving on to other Bulgarian artists.

We really do have exceptionally talented people trying to break through via social media. This is a huge chance for them, and maybe now it’s finally time to hear them on real stages, not just online.

Host: Mr. Behar, did an ordinary girl win Eurovision and I use the full weight of that word an ordinary 27-year-old girl with a song that didn’t carry heavy political messages, as you said? It wasn’t about showing off vocal power, nor a song about war or differences, but simply about young people who apparently want to live in their own world of Bangaranga, be happy, and dance.

Maksim: Dara is not an ordinary girl. She’s an artist we’ve worked with many times in our company and have followed for years. She is a complete performer and artist.

Host: I meant ordinary in the sense of a modest girl from a small country.

Maksim: It’s a huge opportunity that Europe and the world are paying attention to Bulgaria. Producers, directors, music professionals will come here. They’ll probably hire Bulgarian performers and give many of them a big start. As for a “House of Artists,” I don’t know exactly what that means. We’ll first have to hear from Dara herself what she envisions. There’s no “House of Journalists” or “House of Metallurgists” though maybe there is. Sofia is full of venues where artists and singers can gather whenever they want, and they already do. If there’s a Eurovision House, that would be great a place where amateurs can gather, rehearse, train, and perform. But that’s more of a construction topic: building a place and opening it. What’s more important is that we intelligently use every single moment when Bulgaria is being discussed in the world media and all these people are coming here. No unnecessary pompousness. Yes, we won Eurovision. A huge event, of course. But let’s show what Bulgaria truly has. What’s the most important thing in Bulgaria, Maria? The sea? Not the sea. The mountains? Not the mountains. I had this exact conversation with King Charles. The people. The people, yes. Let’s show the people. Let’s show the young people. I’ve told you many times nowhere in the world have I seen such a vast number of young, intelligent, capable, educated, motivated people as in Bulgaria. And when this whole caravan of foreigners comes here and says: “What kind of people are you in Sofia? We’d barely heard of you we thought it was the capital of Romania or Croatia,” then they’ll see the Bulgarian people. And I’m sure the positive effects will be mind-blowing.

 Host: How kind and hospitable are we, Associate Professor Toms your thoughts on that?

Justine: We will show our hospitality, which I also have no doubt about, and which is famous in Bulgaria. I want to say that right now there isn’t a global media outlet that hasn’t reported on Dara’s song. The New York Times, The Guardian, even The Economist. BBC and CNN. Even Al Jazeera. We are truly in all the world media. It’s an incredible moment and for something positive. And I hope this song really unites us, and that even those who were skeptical will see what happened after the victory.

 Host: And that’s exactly what Dara wished for as well for music to continue uniting us.

Maksim: First, let’s sober up a little.

Host: Ten seconds, quickly.

Maksim: Let’s calm the emotions and start thinking with a business mindset about how to “sell” Bulgaria to the world in the best possible sense of the word and show what we have. It will happen, guaranteed. The work ahead is serious, and we’ll see what we manage to achieve.

Host: We hope, as you say, Mr. Behar, that we will give our absolute best. Bulgaria will host Eurovision 2027. Thank you very much for this conversation.

 You can watch the whole interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/bg/video/442/bangaranga-fenomenat-kak-dara-prevze-evroviziya-i-promeni-obshtestvenata-naglasa 

Host: A huge victory. What is next now? First, how did this miracle happen? Because we know that Eurovision is not just a song contest, not just a singing competition, not just a contest for stage performance. It is very geopolitical.

Maxim: It seems that geopolitics did not play a role this time, because only those who vaguely understand what Eurovision is can realize that Dara was the winner from the very beginning. There was not a single marketing mistake. The song is, of course, a particularly good song. It is a very Eurovision-style song. Compared to many previous, I would say rather strange winners, it was clear that Dara was doing the best thing possible. And she achieved her success. We all witnessed how many circles of hell this girl went through.

Host: Yes, unfortunately. She showed remarkable mental strength because she was heavily shaken by all the criticism she endured.

Maxim: Yes, but that is normal. Such discussions happen in every country. Literally every single one. Usually, the groups or singers representing their countries have something different from the local folklore. They sing for the world. Just imagine everyone says things like: “Why isn’t she wearing a traditional costume? Why is she singing in English?” and all those things. Well, she sings for the world, she is not singing for the Golden Orpheus festival. Or for the center of Sofia, or the center of Gabrovo, or wherever. The song was wonderful. From a purely geopolitical perspective, this is the last step toward Bulgaria’s full integration into the European Union. Because we went through all the stages accession, before that NATO, then full EU integration, then Schengen, the Euro, and now we have Eurovision. This is the final dot, as they say, the last step. It is particularly good news. I don’t think we can compare it to the 1994 World Cup.

Host: The comparison with Bulgaria in 1994 in the United States fourth place keeps coming up.

Maxim: There is a comparison in the sense that none of us slept all night because of the emotions. But now that the emotions are fading, I realize that back in 1994 we were all incredibly happy. I have never seen a happier nation than Bulgaria back then. We all remember it, of course. You don’t understand you weren’t even born yet.

Host: I remember it, of course. For better or worse, I was alive. But that’s not the point. The point is that we remembered it again when the volleyball team also finished second at the European Championship. However, there was an enormous amount of criticism on social media over the past few days. You know very well that there were even people offended by the lyrics, by the messages, by claims that there were satanic elements or whatever. And did you watch Croatia’s performance afterward? Those beautiful girls who were singing. If that had been our entry, people here would probably have called them witches.

Maxim: But look, this is art. In the end, there will always be people who do not like it and others who do.

Host: The question is: how did everyone else like it while we tore it apart?

Maxim: No, that’s not true. There were many people in Bulgaria who liked it. But there was also a lot of criticism. Naturally, thank God. Because we cannot expect a work of art, or even just a song, even if it’s not some great masterpiece, to be liked by everyone. That’s not normal. The most important thing is this: why do I compare it to 1994? In 1994, our wonderful football team finished fourth, came home, received an incredible welcome and that was almost the end of it. Now something is happening in Bulgaria. And that something will be Eurovision 2027.

Host: I’m very curious how this will happen. But hold that thought, because Dara called on Sofia’s mayor, Vasil Terziev, to prepare a huge red carpet. Let’s watch more of her emotions.

DARA Statement

Maxim: So, the first important thing is that we will have Eurovision 2027 in Bulgaria. This is an exceptionally huge event. It means that for an entire year people in the media, in art circles, among performers, traders, and businessmen will talk only about this. About Bulgaria. For an entire year.

Host: Do we even have a venue where we can host it?

Maxim: Ah, I can’t judge that. Will it be in Arena Sofia? Probably. But still, in one year a wonderful venue can also be built. It’s possible if someone finds the funding. The second point is that the song itself was extremely well-crafted. From a marketing perspective which I can best judge as well as in the performance, the composition, the choreography, there was not a single mistake. The third thing that makes me incredibly happy personally is that Dara herself did not make a single mistake. Look at the way she reacted. She reacted super professionally. There were no emotional outbursts, no exaggerated “ohs” and “has,” no empty words. This girl was prepared to win Eurovision. And that is fantastic news. For me personally, this is also a personal victory, because in 2001 or 2002 three of us got together Martin Zahariev, who is a music producer, Toni Georgiev, our particularly good friend, an excellent journalist and photographer, and myself. We wrote an open letter to Bulgarian National Television. And while I was driving to the studio today, I remembered this detail. We sent that open letter insisting that Bulgaria should begin participating in Eurovision. Of course, from a purely marketing perspective so Bulgaria could have representation and people would talk about the country. And here we are. We achieved it.

Host: But now we see footage from this magnificent arena. The stage for the first time was 360 degrees and so on. Where are we going to host such a show?

Maxim: Well, Vasil Terziev has the floor on that one, of course. But on average, a country earns between 500 and 700 million euros in revenue from hosting Eurovision. I emphasize revenue, not pure profit. But for someone to come and generate five hundred million euros in revenue in Bulgaria no investor here would do something like that. That’s why, starting today, everyone at the Ministry of Culture must get involved. The Minister of Culture is an excellent producer and understands these things. He’s not just some political appointment. Secondly, we have a young and intelligent mayor, and I assume he will immediately become interested. But honestly, that is the smallest issue. I’m not saying it’s not a problem, but it’s the smallest one. The important thing is that we achieved enormous success. Dara carried this great victory for Bulgaria on her back. And now, for an entire year, everyone will be talking about it. People will come here. This is an unbelievable success.

Host: Alongside all the criticism we already talked about, there were also many people who supported Dara. And not only after seeing how well she performed in the semifinal, or now after the victory when everyone will praise her even those who criticized her before. Some people supported her from the very beginning. One of them was Lili Ivanova. Just five hours ago she wrote on Facebook: “A historic success for Bulgaria. Congratulations to the winner, the young and incredibly talented Bulgarian singer Dara. Dear Dara, I sincerely wish you many, many more successes. With all my respect, Lili Ivanova.”

Maxim: But don’t you know that Lili is the ultimate professional? Ruthless when it comes to quality. And she has such a big heart that there’s no way she wouldn’t support Dara. This was a highly professional product that was successfully sold abroad. Last night I was communicating with many of my friends around the world and telling them to vote. Especially in Malta, which gave the highest score. And we gave them twelve points in return. One of my friends is a very influential person in Malta. There are three major families there. I told him jokingly: “If all three families vote for Bulgaria, I promise many people will vote for Malta too.” Of course, it was a joke. Then he texted me saying: “Everything is arranged, don’t worry, we will vote.” So, there were tens, even hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians around the world convincing their friends. This means that Bulgaria has its place, its image, its influence among so many people worldwide, because there are around two million Bulgarians living abroad.

Host: Maybe they really did vote because there were many calls to support her. I also have many friends who have lived abroad for years.

Maxim: Of course. But those are two million ambassadors of Bulgaria. They have their own circles, offices, friends, and people who love them.

Host: And the song itself, compared to all the others, flowed so naturally.

Maxim: From the very first round it was clear that we were the best. I’m really happy everything worked out. But now the challenging work begins. Now we must prove that, as a country, we can organize a global event.

Host: Hopefully. Do we have specialists for all this? Because everyone will be watching us under a microscope. The standards there are incredibly high.

Maxim: If we’re talking about event organization, marketing, PR, advertising we have top specialists who compete with the best in Europe. And if we don’t have them, we will bring the best specialists.

Host: What awaits Dara in the next year? Because I personally cannot remember another year where both the jury vote and the public vote aligned so completely and so decisively in favor of one performer.

Maxim: I haven’t followed the differences between the two votes over the years, but in my opinion, Dara is about to become a global superstar. Think of Dua Lipa. A Dua Lipa who came from a relatively small Balkan country and became a worldwide phenomenon. I believe many major international producers will now focus on Dara. They will begin developing their career globally. And Dara will be known as Dara from Bulgaria.

Host: Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully this will be the breakthrough. It is already a breakthrough. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. But the fact is that Dua Lipa was born and raised in the West and only has Balkan roots. While Dara is truly from Varna, Bulgaria. She studied folk singing and grew up entirely in Bulgaria. Could that hold her back? Or after Eurovision does everything change?

Maxim: Hold her back from what? A world career? She already has a world career. First. Second why would it hold her back? This is a wonderful opportunity for her. And it is particularly good for Bulgaria too. But now all of us need to forget our differences. Take a big marker and cross them all out. And tell us let’s make the best presentation possible. Bulgaria has never in its history had such a chance to present itself to the world. Especially now, when social media exists and there are incredible opportunities for the entire world to see that Bulgaria is full of young, intelligent, well-educated people.

Host: Something we also saw during the Giro d’Italia. Just a week ago they were in Sofia, before that on the seaside, then in Veliko Tarnovo. Another major event, a fantastic one. But this is much bigger.

Maxim: Exactly. Those events come and go. But here we have at least an entire year during which everyone will talk only about Bulgaria. And it depends on us-on-us Bulgarians how we present ourselves, how much we support Dara, how much we support everything happening in Bulgaria. Not only because of the money, which is significant, but because for the first time in our history we will have the opportunity to present our entire country. Everyone knows about the beaches, the mountains, Bansko, Pamporovo, and everything else. But few people know what Bulgarians are like. What kind of people are we? Because people are our greatest value. And I’m keeping my fingers crossed so that we will do well. I’m sure we will do well because usually, when we face great challenges, that’s when we are strong.

Host: Dara said earlier in the interview that now all eyes will be on Bulgaria, and that this is a chance for all artists and creators to show themselves to the world. Is that true?

Maxim: Absolutely true. Interest in Bulgarian culture will become much greater, especially in pop culture. Producers will come and probably search for other talented people singing here in Bulgaria. We know them, and there are many of them. They are incredibly talented. But when they meet global producers, when those producers prepare them and promote them on a world stage, naturally they have a much greater chance to succeed.

Host: What should Bulgaria do first now? The first three things to present ourselves well? I’m asking you as a marketing specialist and an expert in organizing major events.

Maxim: Just one thing. Bulgaria must clearly declare to the world that it is ready for Eurovision 2027.

Host: That became obvious from the very first second Dara stepped onto the stage. I don’t know where she found such strong yet stable confidence.

Maxim: She was prepared both to lose and to win. But now the Bulgarian government, Sofia Municipality, and all the institutions responsible must seriously declare that we are going to organize the best Eurovision ever held.

Host: Do we have the money for such a thing in a time of crisis? Prices are rising everywhere.

Maxim: We will earn ten times more than we invest. This is not an expense it is an investment. Of course, the money will be found. It simply must be done smartly and intelligently. And I would recommend involving more international experts and specialists who have organized similar events in other countries.

Host: Dara’s song involved many famous choreographers. And she was criticized for that?

Host: No, exactly the opposite. She absolutely should not be criticized. She should be encouraged to find the best people to help bring her this victory. Because this is teamwork. Yes, the whole team obviously did tremendous work. Dara is on the front line where she sings; she performs, she is an incredible artist. But there is a huge team behind her. And naturally there was major involvement from international experts. Such people should continue coming to Bulgaria. And once again, last night was a huge night. Today, because we didn’t sleep. We achieved remarkable success. We finally entered Europe completely and went through the grand entrance.

Host: Thank you very much for this first commentary on the topic, in the early morning hours after the Eurovision final and Dara’s victory, from Maxim Behar. Thank you very much for coming so early.

Maxim: We all love Dara just as much as we all love Bulgaria.

You can watch the whole interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/bg/video/441/balgariya-triumfira-kak-pobedata-na-dara-promenya-vsichko 

Expectations toward the new members of parliament are extremely high. Citizens want not only a unique style of governance, but also actual results — a better economic environment, functioning institutions, reforms, and greater trust in the political system. Although there are serious challenges, however. The new majority will have to prove that it can turn promises into concrete actions and respond to public expectations in a complicated domestic and international environment.

Host: Hello and welcome to “Intersection Point.” On this last day of April, our focus is on the first working day of the deputies who entered the 52nd National Assembly. What should we expect after the political puzzle has been arranged? To discuss the new and old faces who will now work together, PR expert Maxim Behar joins us. Welcome!

Maxim: Good afternoon!

Host: Mr. Behar, we elected the new 240 deputies for the eighth time in the last five years, just to remind our viewers. But what is your first assessment? What was different this time?

Maxim: Well, everything is different. Compared to the previous seven times, of course. We wanted this to happen, and it happened. And now there are many people trembling and saying: “Oh my God, what happened? This is now a dictatorship. They now have a majority.” At the same time, throughout all these years you mentioned, and maybe even 10–15 years before that, we kept saying: “Parliament doesn’t work, the language is at an extremely low level, insults are flying around, MPs behave terribly.” There are people I know who forbade their children from watching television news. God forbid they hear some stupidity coming from the screen.

Host: Not from outside, but from Parliament itself. Specifically, from the parliamentary podium.

Maxim: There are positives, of course. One thing is certainly clear — the “Progressive Bulgaria” party has a majority. It will govern on its own. It will occasionally look for partners in the plenary hall, but it will not always need them. On the other hand, there is an extremely significant risk, and they are certainly aware of it. The people around Rumen Radev, and he himself, are quite experienced and know that there are enormous expectations. You know that in Bulgaria people generally want to become rich quickly, to have lunch, as my friend Sasho Morfov says, and do nothing. Well, maybe they will do something, but they want to get rich quickly. And now, probably according to that logic, many people will want changes very quickly. They expect to see people in prison practically tomorrow, they expect increased pensions, higher salaries, and serious reforms. This can happen; it is possible. Bulgaria is a European country. Extremely good and useful things can be done. We hope all of them will be accomplished. I am speaking here only about domestic politics. But there simply need to be capable economists who, with charisma and arguments, can convince the people in Bulgaria — those who voted for them — that besides everything else, people also need to work better. If you want to have more money, you need to work better. You need a better business environment, something the parliamentary majority, the future Council of Ministers, the government, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Economy are already working on. For us, it is especially important to have a calm and predictable business environment. In my opinion, now, with a majority that everyone hopes will last four years without instability or shocks, it is much easier to work, especially with foreign companies and investors, because there is now predictability. However, I repeat — the risk of excessive expectations remains. I hope that the colleagues and the people who will be part of the parliamentary majority understand this and will stay extremely focused, not talking too much, as I see happening so far my compliments for that — but instead sitting down and doing the work.

Host: What kind of people did you see at first glance? More engineers, more lawyers now, more economists. Does this give you the feeling that perhaps we will hear a more educated tone, a higher style of discourse, as you mentioned at the very beginning?

Maxim: There is a good mix. Such a good mix has always existed over the years. Lawyers, businesspeople, journalists — there are quite a lot of them in Parliament this time. The mix is particularly good. Most importantly, in my opinion, unless I am mistaken, only three deputies from “Progressive Bulgaria” have previous parliamentary experience. If my memory serves me correctly, maybe there are four or five.

Host: Yes, and more than 50% of all MPs are entering Parliament for the first time... Wait, let me not mislead you with the percentages so I don’t sound uncertain. But in any case, 54 percent have never been MPs before.

Maxim: That means these people are not familiar with backstage games, they are not familiar with whispers in corridors and little rooms — they are there to work. I read many enthusiastic promises from the new MPs on social media: “We are here so Bulgaria can become...” and so on. God willing, of course. I truly wish it. But this requires enormous discipline and a particularly good intellect. These people must stay focused from morning until evening, working well in Parliament, and afterward continue monitoring social media so they can understand what people — or most people — want and explain in the best viable way how it can happen. There must be very pragmatic approaches in Bulgaria. I will leave aside the judiciary. That is a topic that has been chewed over for 20 years. But there must be very pragmatic economic measures. There must be extraordinarily strong signals toward Western Europe and the rest of the world that Bulgaria is a wonderful place for investment. We have the lowest taxes in Europe. That is Bulgaria’s great secret — nobody outside Bulgaria knows it. It is our trademark. When you go to Germany or the United Kingdom and say, “Bulgaria has the lowest taxes in Europe,” people look at you and say, “Really?” And something especially important for the new government and the new majority is the promotion and presentation of Bulgaria abroad. This is the Bulgaria brand. The most important brand of all brands is the Bulgaria brand, and it must be presented in the best viable way.

Host: What kind of tone do you expect regarding foreign policy, and I mean also regarding the country’s image? Because as soon as it became clear that “Progressive Bulgaria” and Rumen Radev were leading and winning overwhelming support, foreign media also began saying that we had elected a pro-Russian leader and similar characterizations.

Maxim: I read everything, of course. I cannot judge whether it is pleasant or unpleasant. That is the opinion of journalists and media outlets. It is their right. I do not think there should now be such a dramatic turn in politics, nor should we start explaining ourselves and trying to prove that the opposite is true. But in my opinion, we should stand together within the EU and NATO and share the common position regarding the conflict in Ukraine. Regarding the war in Ukraine. Because this is an especially important dividing line. And if we remain somewhere in the middle or hesitate, that is not the most appropriate position. From the perspective of the future, it is not the right position either. We should have the same position as the major countries since we have followed them for so many years. Russia attacked Ukraine, violating absolutely all international legal norms. This is a highly unjust war. And I think that... another question is how this war should end. Whether it should stop now, whether negotiations should begin — that is already a matter of diplomacy and politics.

Host: Because of the geopolitical turmoil during the elections, did we elect more men?

Maxim: Ah, I cannot say that.

Host: How do you assess this retreat of women? A kingdom of men?

Maxim: God forbid something happens — men go to the army. Parliament will become empty. I hope nothing happens. We elected a chairperson of the Bulgarian Parliament. And she is a woman. So apparently there is a good balance. I am not entirely sure. Honestly, I have not even looked at the ratio of men to women. That never interested me. It is like looking at how many people are short, how many are tall, how many are thin, how many are overweight. But what matters is that I honestly think it is a particularly good outcome that we have a majority. We wanted this. In how many TV studios did a whole wagon of analysts — in big quotation marks — keep saying: “Oh, now there will be elections again, now all parties will have around 20 percent, now the bargaining will begin.”

Host: Now we are talking about avoiding two elections in one this autumn.

Maxim: Why should there be two elections in one? There is absolutely no logic in having elections in the autumn. There will be presidential elections.

Host: Will the trust place in them be justified?

Maxim: We cannot expect miracles to happen in five or six months. These people were elected with a four-year mandate of trust. This does not happen overnight, as I told you. It does not happen with a magic wand. Once again, Bulgaria is facing a new political landscape. And we must support those people who want to bring positive changes to the economic environment. To give confidential business the opportunity to gain experience and profit. Of course, there is probably still a lot of work to be done in the legal sphere. Some laws may need to be amended. But I think that without a highly intelligent and large-scale campaign promoting Bulgaria outside Bulgaria, forget politics — pro-Soviet, anti-Soviet, Russophobes — that does not matter so much if there are good taxes, predictability, and opportunities for foreign investors to come to Bulgaria. It seems strange to me that there is an institution called the Investment Agency. To me, this is the most important ministry. Yet it is tucked away somewhere outside Sofia, in some buildings, in some offices. If the Investment Agency becomes the center of things, Bulgaria’s economic situation can improve significantly. There are great opportunities.

Host: Will we be launched into space? I allow myself such a question because you recently attended training in the United States and returned.

Maxim: Yes, and when we returned, my wife and I became the first Bulgarians to graduate from this NASA training academy where twenty-one astronauts began their careers. Real astronauts. And Christina Koch, who was recently on Artemis II, the only woman on the mission — yesterday she was at the White House with President Trump. She started from our academy, from our course, and her newest photo is displayed there. However, since we are on this topic, it is especially important for Bulgaria to have its own astronaut. It is especially important to have a space program. Of all European countries, Bulgaria is the only one that is not a member of the European Space Association. We are an associate member, but not a full member. The only country. There is absolutely no reason for that.

When we went to the base in Huntsville, Alabama, the Bulgarian flag was waiting for us there. The flags of all space nations were displayed there. Proudly and alphabetically, our flag was among the first. Maybe it was even first. Bulgaria must have its own astronaut because — you probably do not remember, you were not born in 1994.

Host: Thank you for compliment.

Maxim: But in 1994, Bulgaria was united because of our football successes. In the same way, we should unite if we have a tremendously successful astronaut. And I hope this happens during the mandate of this government.

Host: Thank you, Mr. Behar. This is where we conclude. We need to land now, otherwise the commercials will be angry with us. Thank you to you and to our viewers. We will see each other again next week. Goodbye!

You can watch the whole interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/en/video/440/maksim-behar-noviyat-parlament-e-po-razlichen-no-ochakvaniyata-kam-upravlenieto-sa-ogromni 

Today, space is no longer only the domain of state agencies and science fiction, but a complex ecosystem of technologies, business models, and innovations that directly affect our daily lives – from communications and navigation to the data used by industries and governments. It is in this context that the question becomes increasingly relevant: where does Bulgaria stand in the new space race, and what potential can it develop in the future?

Host: BNT Podcast Good afternoon, ladies, and gentlemen. You are watching another edition of Business BG. I am Nikolay Minkov. In the next minutes, you will be in the company of my colleague and friend Svetlyo Kostadinov. Today’s topic is “Footprint in Space. Bulgarian Technologies in Research Missions along the Path of the Stars and Space Tourism.”

Svetlyo: A topic in which Bulgaria has decades of history and tradition. Afterwards, we will talk with Dinko Manov, founder of Coding Space, and Maxim Behar, owner of a PR agency. Hello, gentlemen, and welcome.

Host: Good afternoon, thank you for accepting the invitation to participate in today’s edition of Business BG. It is a fact, as Svetlyo said, that Bulgaria has left a lasting footprint in space exploration. If we go back in time, the country actively participated in the Soviet space program, and currently also in the European space program and NASA programs. But where does Bulgaria stand today, Mr. Behar? You have the freshest impressions – you recently attended training with your wife at NASA. You will tell us in a moment about all the steps a person must go through to reach a spacecraft launch site and, possibly, eventually orbit. Hello, let’s begin.

Maxim: Bulgaria still has a lot to do, because our old glory of the two cosmonauts before 1989, which we had, was an internal glory within the former USSR and Bulgaria. The fact that we had two worthy representatives who were engaged in space and went into outer space is important. However, in recent years, this topic seems to have faded. Bulgaria is still not a member of the European Space Association, which is a major concern. I felt this when we were at the NASA base in Huntsville, Alabama. When we arrived with my wife, we were greeted by the Bulgarian flag, and we were extremely excited that our flag stood alongside many other flags of spacefaring nations. And we are a space nation. You know we even participate in the latest Artemis mission with cameras invented and operated by a fellow Bulgarian living in the United States.

It seems to me that now is the time for this topic to be widely told. We discussed this during our meeting with Vice President Iliana Yotova last week, who received us. We had more than one hour of conversation. The idea was to talk more about it. When we left the base, I told my wife – the only goal of our trip, apart from the incredible experiences, is to return to Bulgaria and say: if we managed to do it, anyone could do it. Anyone really can. Sitting here in central Sofia and talking about space training, centrifuges, and life in zero gravity – all of this sounds very frightening and unreachable. But at the same time, we have a government that we hope will be stable, and one of the important topics is for Bulgaria to become a member of the European Space Association and to start preparing a Bulgarian astronaut.

Host: Mr. Manov, your opinion?

Dinko: Space is no longer a dream; we see that it is becoming an increasingly practical part of our lives. It is critical infrastructure, just like electricity and the internet. What is happening – we wake up in the morning, turn on the TV, and information comes from satellites. We go to work, navigation – again satellites. Payments via phone – also satellites. The entire infrastructure is already going through space. Let me give another example. Space is becoming increasingly congested, with more objects in low Earth orbit. We are developing a system that monitors and provides space awareness. Imagine space as a huge road network without rules, signs, or traffic lights, where hundreds of thousands of objects move at speeds above 25,000 km/h. Our system analyzes this “road network” and provides information about dangers, risks, and deviations.

Host: Since you have already gone into specifics, let’s go even deeper. Few people in Bulgaria and in our audience, which is by no means below average and is rather elite due to the nature of our program, know that a space cluster has been operating in Bulgaria for years. What is it?

Dinko: We created the space cluster to build up this ecosystem that is only now starting to develop in Bulgaria. We have a good foundation with scientists and equipment that we must continue to develop and upgrade, but the foundation is there. We have talents and people who want to work in this field, and the space cluster is the bridge that will bring talents into successful realization in space. I would like to see more young people not leaving Bulgaria to work in space companies abroad but staying here and making these things happen in Bulgaria.

Host: Mr. Behar, in the past, especially with our first two astronauts, there was great interest among children in becoming astronauts. What is the perception of today’s youth about space and the opportunities it offers?

Maxim: This year, with the Atlantic Club, we are holding the fifth edition of the Hello Space Festival. We believe this is one of the most successful events, which generates great interest among children. These are school students, not even university students. Nearly one thousand children come to Sofia every year. We always have a real astronaut who talks to them, they take photos, ask questions, and he answers them. In addition, we always have a live connection with space provided by NASA, so children can ask astronauts questions in real time. This is an extremely important event that makes the space “fantasy” we see in movies and think is fiction much closer and real for Bulgarian children. We also have a wonderful planetarium, as everyone knows, in South Park.

Host: Few people know that, though.

Maxim: We took photos there two weeks ago, and it turned out that the planetarium is fully booked until the end of the year. This means there is a long waiting list, even for children from the town of Tran. Two or three buses came from there. There are plans to build new planetariums. In any case, this topic in Bulgaria is about to become even more popular, developed, and promoted. Because space has two sides. One is the so-called space cluster, where many scientists work – the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, many specialists, and practitioners. On the other side are the young people and children who have enormous interest in the topic. Who among us, when we were children, did not say we wanted to become astronauts? Everyone did. Perhaps because it represents something peak. We must talk about this a lot. Only after we completed our training at NASA’s Huntsville base did I realize how valuable it is to return and tell everyone that this is fully accessible. On the last day, we were even ready to leave. We had gone through so many trainings that we said – what are fifteen minutes from Earth to the space station? Those are fifteen minutes in which, if you are well trained, you can reach it. Of course, life there is completely different, but we went through everything – executing commands, watching the Artemis II launch live on tablets. I was shocked that those people were doing exactly what we were doing in the NASA base – the same commands, the same sequence, the same task distribution. The ground station we spent several days in, and the space station itself – everything is the same. So, all of this is already accessible and can be experienced. On the first day, one of the engineers asked where we were from. We said Bulgaria. And just as we were preparing to explain where Bulgaria is – after all, we were in Alabama, no one is required to know. He immediately said: Bulgaria – you have excellent scientists, particularly good engineers, children who win math Olympiads. That surprised us a lot. This image of Bulgaria among experts already exists, and we must develop it. Even during lectures on space food, we were told Bulgaria is among the major producers. At the same time, space is science, space is knowledge – not just emotion or challenge. There are many people working in this science. One successful Bulgarian company has a vast number of satellites. It is well recognized in America – EnduroSat. Many other people are engaged in this business. It seems to me that if the Bulgarian state has a more focused program to develop space science and send at least one astronaut, even just to begin training at NASA and later apply for a mission, it would be a huge promotion for Bulgaria and for this topic in the country.

Host: How should this happen? What is the path?

Maxim: Last year we had an astronaut at the Hello Space Festival, and when we asked him what qualities an astronaut must have, he said – to be a good storyteller. Nothing more. Anyone can become an astronaut if they pass physical training. But when they return, they must be able to tell their story so well that people are inspired. That is why it is important for all of us who have in some way touched this topic – we as amateurs, and here the gentlemen as professionals – to tell the story well. Bulgaria likely needs funding for a space program and a selection process. It is unlikely to happen through a private company – it must go through the state so that several astronaut candidates can be sent to NASA. I am sure – we were at the American ambassador last week, and we talked a lot about this topic. He received us in our astronaut suits. I am sure the United States and others can help us greatly to have our own astronauts. This could be like 1994, when all Bulgarians were united and enthusiastic about the World Cup in the USA – to unite around this wonderful topic again.

Svetlyo: There was such an idea in 2024, when former Innovation Minister Milena Stoycheva said that preparation for a third Bulgarian astronaut was underway. But where did that preparation go?

Maxim: I have no information. I know her well and we have spoken to each other many times, but I have not seen this happening publicly.

Host: Next time you meet her, you can ask her what happened to this idea and whether it was passed on to her successors, since the governments were short-lived.

Maxim: She is no longer a minister and probably wanted to do the best she could.

Host: But the question is whether this can become state policy, and whether you, Mr. Behar, as a communication expert, and you, Mr. Manov, as a business representative, are ready to meet the new authorities.

Maxim: I will meet Mr. Radev if he becomes Prime Minister. I would tell him about what we experienced at NASA, the training process, the attitude toward Bulgaria, and the desire for this topic to become a focus of a ministry, for example the Ministry of Innovation.

Dinko: I had the opportunity to speak with him at an event. I was part of the Bulgarian delegation at the Three Seas Forum. He has a strong interest in space and its connection to defense because space has dual use – both civilian and military. In addition to Artemis II, we observed it from Earth with our telescopes. We monitored the mission for about half an hour and analyzed its trajectory.

Host: Let me ask you – apart from food, where we are a leading producer of space food, and apart from commercial satellites and EnduroSat, where is the strength of Bulgarian business and scientific potential?

Dinko: Business is starting to move in that direction, but space is still not fully commercialized. Infrastructure is developing quickly but is not yet at a level for mass use. Entering space business requires a clear strategy and connection with space agencies. Bulgaria is part of the PECS program but is still not an associate member of the European Space Agency. Many projects happen through ESA collaboration. This is what we are working on in the Bulgarian Space Cluster – helping startups overcome the first barrier and enter consortia and collaborations for space programs.

Maxim: So, space itself is still not really commercialized. However, in the preparation of space missions and in the development of all the accompanying technologies, there is a huge amount of business for Bulgarian companies, because our engineers are extraordinarily strong and innovative. We all know about the substantial number of young people working in Redmond at Microsoft headquarters. And when Bulgaria is mentioned, it is already known everywhere that these are some of the best engineers. I have been several times to CERN in Switzerland, where the Bulgarian group of scientists is placed in a large hall labeled “Bulgaria” or “Bulgarian Team,” and the name of our country is pronounced with profound respect. This shows that in Bulgaria there could be clusters and businesses that develop and promote real value creation and profit from things that one day turn into science. Together with the Atlantic Club and Mr. Pasi, we would like to create something like a mini camp or training camp, like what we saw at the NASA center in Alabama. We already have such an idea at Sofia Tech Park. I met with the management of the NASA center, and they are ready to provide knowledge. They also have one similar practice outside the USA – in Izmir, Turkey, where there is a NASA-licensed center, and many Bulgarian children go there. This is an extremely strong program. The idea of the center at Sofia Tech Park is not to be just a place with simulators, but a real training environment for children and young people. We have even had a few hours of training on an F-16 simulator, which could easily be developed in Bulgaria as well. After the Hello Space festival on July 26, we plan to sit down and start discussions both with the government and the private sector. The project requires funding, but there is interest and it can become a business. We have also discussed Sofia Tech Park. There are preliminary talks and enough space that can be used. If not there, the center could be built between Sofia and Plovdiv. The location is not decisive. What matters is partnership, access to know-how, and the involvement of Bulgarian scientific organizations and experts. Funding can be found, and the project could even be profitable. The state would likely also participate. When we returned from training at NASA, I spoke with the Bulgarian cosmonaut Georgi Ivanov. He told me that we had done everything he had done in space, but on Earth. This was the highest evaluation of the program. That an astronaut who had done it in orbit saw that we had replicated it on Earth. Everyone can do it since Maxim and Veneta managed to do it. Every single person in Bulgaria can go through such training. It is enough to have interest and to join. I encourage anyone interested to visit our website, just as I did. I was thinking about what birthday gift to have. I did not want thirty bottles of wine, or fifteen paintings, or sixty whiskey sets, or similar gifts. I thought where, what, what, what, what. One of my children said, “So now you even want to go to space?” And I said, “Wait, wait, that’s not a bad idea.” From my mobile phone, I found the NASA base, we applied, filled out all questionnaires, sent all our medical examinations and everything else. And in the end, they told us: come.

Host: You are opening the topic of space tourism. Let’s talk about this commercial niche. Yes, we are not leaders in this area. The Americans are the huge force with their three projects. But can Bulgaria still participate in space tourism?

Dinko: In technology, the size of the country does not matter. There are many companies that have succeeded from small countries: Israel, Luxembourg, Norway. These are small countries that worked consistently with a developed space strategy and achieved successful results. And in general, not only in space. We have a path and a place in every area and every sphere of space. Bulgaria can also be part of space tourism and other directions. While observing space and what people in the cluster discuss, there are different directions. Space is made up of technologies, companies, and engineering sectors that deal mostly with infrastructure. But increasingly, the software side of space is emerging, and how software is adapted and applied to real space tasks. One example is satellite images of Earth. These images provide extremely valuable information for agriculture, urban infrastructure, ports, transport, and many different scenarios. The analysis and information collected from satellites toward Earth is now an advanced field. Bulgaria already has several companies working in this area, analyzing data and adding significant information.

Svetlyo: You mentioned Luxembourg, which reminds me that they are focused on extracting rare metals from space objects. Should Bulgaria have a similar strategic goal when it comes to developing space technologies, science, and industry?

Dinko: It is important to have directions because working in space requires collaboration. In space, you cannot operate alone as a single unit. It is a connected chain. If you launch satellites or develop equipment for satellites in orbit, it is a lengthy process of development, testing, and trial missions. Only after time does it become operational. Collaboration and national-level support are extremely important.

Host: You said that with your telescopes you observe satellite positions, trajectories, and manage traffic. However, space pollution is becoming an increasingly critical issue. With hundreds and thousands of launches, near-orbit space is becoming increasingly polluted with debris. Do you see a niche here where Bulgarian companies, including yours, could participate in identifying the most polluted areas? Can you offer solutions?

Dinko: It is a fact that only 4% of all objects in space are well identified. The remaining 96% are not clearly defined. There is a lot of room for activity in this field. In addition to telescopes, we use from Earth, which observe and analyze data, telescopes can be optical, radar, and other technologies also apply. We have seen that Bulgarian scientists and talents develop interesting low-level solutions. The Bulgarian company with cameras placed on Artemis-2 is a particularly good example. In our field of space observation, there is a lot of room for development. Besides ground equipment and telescopes, software must analyze all information, recognize objects, and provide key data to ensure a safe environment. We plan to expand this network. We currently have around twenty telescopes in various locations worldwide. Bulgaria does not yet have such a telescope, and our vision is to equip Bulgaria with such infrastructure so we can join the European observation system. Our path to Europe is open, and the programs are open.

Maxim: Bulgaria’s participation in such projects does not have to happen only through cooperation with other countries. The core idea of space science is that no country can do it alone not the USA, Japan, China, Israel, or any other major space nation. There are currently two Russian astronauts on the American space station who have been there for 2–3 months. On Earth we sometimes cannot get along, unfortunately due to wars, but in space there is cooperation, partnership, and exchange of knowledge. It is important that Bulgaria joins European or global projects instead of trying to develop everything alone. This can significantly advance Bulgarian space science. It is not necessary to invest one hundred million euros immediately; this can happen gradually through partnerships. There are no small or big countries in this science. At CES in Las Vegas, startup halls are 50% Israeli companies, 30% Swiss companies, and 20% others. These small countries are extremely agile and innovative. Bulgaria has all the conditions to be among them young, intelligent, well-educated, ambitious people. I have never seen so many capable and driven people anywhere else in Europe.

Host: You constantly say that Bulgarian science and education are already beyond our borders. You mentioned CERN. But is Bulgarian education lagging in high-tech fields?

Maxim: Education is no longer only in universities. People learn from digital products, social media, podcasts, and everywhere. Theory moves at 20 km/h, practice at 100 km/h. The solution is stronger connection between business and education, including high schools and universities, so young people understand their goals early and are motivated to achieve them.

Host: Finally, how will the space industry develop given global geopolitical tensions?

Dinko: Europe is at a crossroads whether to rely on external systems or build internal sovereignty. The UK is increasingly looking toward Europe. Europe is moving toward developing its own systems and reducing external dependence. Even our space observation solution is used by the UK Ministry of Defense. This shows there is opportunity for Bulgaria within European collaboration.

Maxim: Space science has always had a military aspect since the 1950s. But cooperation must continue despite geopolitical tensions. Scientists and engineers should maintain and expand their relations.

Host: Thank you for this conversation.

Maxim: We expect an interview with the first Bulgarian astronaut.

Host: If we are still on air, we will gladly do it. Thank you for being with us. Goodbye.

 You can watch the whole podcast here: https://www.maximbehar.com/en/video/439/sleda-v-kosmosa-balgarski-tehnologii-v-izsledovatelskite-misii 

Host: We now continue with a conversation in the studio. We will talk about communications, specifically the Communications Forum in Davos. With me in the studio is Maxim Behar, founder and CEO of M3 Communications Group, as well as President of the World Communication Forum in Davos. Hello, thank you for being with us.

Maxim: Good afternoon.

Host: Let’s begin like this   the forum took place last week. What was the main point? What was the theme that could summarize the entire forum?

Maxim: I believe that what we did in Davos last week, the latest summit   we rebranded a few years ago from a forum to a summit to emphasize the exclusivity of this meeting   was the most successful event we have organized since 2010. This shows the ever-growing interest in modern communication. At the same time, it shows the desire for CEOs to communicate with other CEOs, and for colleagues from our company to communicate with colleagues from other companies. Of course, we focused most on artificial intelligence. Right now, if we step out of this wonderful Bloomberg studio onto the street and ask even a kitten on the street what the most important thing in modern communication business is, it will meow something like “AI.” That was the main theme. We had several… First, we had excellent keynote speakers   outstanding people who opened the forum. One of them is Lord Evans of Sealand. Lord Evans was, until recently, the General Secretary of the British Labour Party, which is currently in power. After a major setback in 2019 and the revival when the party won the elections in 2024, the entire recovery is attributed to Lord Evans, who, as General Secretary, was responsible for the communication policy and for nothing else within the party. He delivered a remarkably interesting presentation on how modern images must be built but also maintained. Because many of our clients, including local and international ones, often say: “Oh, I have 350,000 likes on Facebook or Instagram, that’s enough.” And then we, as experts in this field, often reply: “Well, everyone knows Coca-Cola, but it still continues its marketing campaigns.” And Lord Evans emphasized exactly this. The other important speaker at the beginning of the event was Johnna Burke, who is the CEO of AMEC, the Global Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication and PR activities. This is extremely important for us, because all of us know that clients   including in my company and many others worldwide   come and say: “We want your service, but how will it be measured?” Today we have much greater opportunities to measure because we have social media. Statistics can now provide a picture of the results of our work that has never been possible in history. No newspaper could say how many people read your small article on page 9, bottom left. No television station could say how many people watched your appearance or your event at a specific time, whereas now we have exact data. In this sense, AMEC is a profoundly serious institution that is continuously applying new methodologies, increasingly using artificial intelligence, to show with high precision what the results of communication professionals’ work are in PR, advertising, or digital media. And this was our very beginning. Everyone was waiting for the “cherry on top” Paul Holmes, founder of The Holmes Report, rebranded a few years ago. Paul Holmes himself is an institution, and for maybe 25 years he has been a welcome guest at every major international event, and usually it takes months or years to convince him to attend an event. Since 2010, Paul Holmes has always been our guest in Davos. It was remarkably interesting because he had two main theses, which are truly relevant to 2026. The first is that the advertising business is gradually starting to separate itself from the PR business, mainly referring to the announced moves by WPP, the world’s largest communications company. According to Paul Holmes, the acquisition of large advertising conglomerates buying PR businesses has led to the stagnation of PR itself, because it has been placed within certain boundaries. And PR is an infinitely creative business. His second message was: be careful with artificial intelligence. Put it on the back seat, if possible. You drive the car yourself. And he cited an Edelman to study at a large communications company, and I know Richard Edelman very well; he has been a guest at our forum. This study shows that in a moment of crisis, nine out of 10 PR professionals would trust their own natural intelligence, experience, and reaction rather than a few sentences generated by any artificial intelligence platform. In addition, we had participants. I was extremely surprised, really. For the first time we had participants from Singapore, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbado. Traveling from Barbados to Davos, or from Australia to Davos, is an exceptionally long journey. The colleague from Singapore, who had traveled   there was a flight issue   traveled for four days to reach Switzerland. This shows the enormous value of the event. All colleagues from the Congress Center, whom we have known for years, were unanimous that, after the World Economic Forum, our Communication Summit is the most significant event held in Davos. I am especially proud that this was done with my Bulgarian team, with colleagues who were with us. The Executive Director Jessica Krasteva is Bulgarian, from our communication association. And this adds another big plus for Bulgaria on the global business stage. As you know, my big personal mission is for Bulgaria to be presented as well as possible. This brought great benefits to a communication community which I, at the opening of the summit, called a family. Because this is not a group of people, not professionals, not just an association that meets from time to time   we are truly one big family. The so-called takeaways, or conclusions, or what everyone takes home with them, will become available over the next few months. We conducted more than forty interviews with participants, asking what they had learned. I often tell a story: at one of these forums, your colleagues from the American business TV CNBC interviewed me, and a genuinely nice American journalist asked me a standard question: “What do you expect from the Davos forum?” I looked her straight in the eyes and said one sentence. “One sentence.” And she asked: “Which sentence?” I said: “I don’t know.” For me, it is important just to be here. Bulgaria is close to Davos, but many other countries are not. We had more than 20 Americans this year, which is also a challenge   traveling from America to Switzerland, changing two trains from Zurich to reach Davos. This has always been our goal: for each participant to leave with one sentence or one word. Sometimes it can change your entire life. It can give your business direction. Sometimes you can think: “Wow, what did Paul Holmes say?” or Johnna Burke, or Katherine Bates. Katherine is on my executive committee as President for America. She was the Chief PR Manager of Lockheed Martin, a global company well known in Bulgaria, especially through the Graf Ignatievo base. We have known each other for more than 20 years. Mary Beth West, an excellent professional from Tennessee, also spoke about ethics. She is President of PR Ethics. Ethics, transparency, professionalism, speed of response, education, development   all of this is what we already know. Because, as someone who has been in this business for many years, I love it increasingly, because it moves at the speed of light and evolves at the speed of light. Everything that was relevant on December 15, 2025, is almost not relevant today, April 29, 2026. We have new AI platforms, new ways of reaching clients, and even more diverse ways of reaching their clients. And all of this was discussed in Davos, and I am extremely happy and proud that we delivered a wonderful event, to which I am already inviting a representative from Bloomberg Bulgaria next year, and I will personally ensure a special invitation is sent.

Host: With pleasure, we will attend such a forum. Let me ask you in more detail about artificial intelligence   how companies are positioning themselves around it. You said that in crisis situations experts always rely on natural intelligence. But we see AI everywhere. It has inevitably entered the PR sector as well. To what extent is it used, and are there concerns among experts about its involvement?

Maxim: There can be concerns about everything that is online and in real time, of course. We are all witnesses to hate speech and fake news, and to the use of artificial intelligence in a highly intelligent and realistic way, which can mislead both clients and especially the consumers of those clients’ products or services. But in the end, that is why we are professionals. Ethics is also an especially important part of this. We are the people who have access to millions, often billions of other people. We know how to manage communication so that they believe us. And if we are not ethical, honest, transparent, and professional in our mindset and approach, we will very soon be out of this business. Yes, we use it very often. I do not know a communications company in the world that does not increasingly use artificial intelligence platforms. But ultimately, our business is an extraordinarily complex chemistry of our own intelligence and the technologies we use. Because I believe that artificial intelligence will not take jobs away from my colleagues. But the people who know how to use artificial intelligence well will take those jobs. And nowadays, someone who cannot properly work with AI   especially in the communications business   someone who uses AI only as a support tool, as a crutch, or just as a search machine or for analysis, would fail immediately. Artificial intelligence must be our partner. We sit on the same level as it. If we use it only as a source of information, that is meaningless. Information is already everywhere. But if we know how to properly discuss it   and obviously, we must use good prompts   this is the number one task of communication experts. We discussed this a lot in Davos during those three days. Many presentations were often interrupted; we have an incredibly open format of the summit, where everyone can interrupt, everyone can give ideas, and we discussed how to use prompts and how to guide AI platforms, so they become our partner, not just a source of information. This requires an extremely elevated level of professionalism, and this is part of what we and our colleagues around the world do. Another trend we observed in Davos is that boundaries are increasingly disappearing. What is done in crisis management in Zimbabwe, Mexico, Canada, or Bulgaria is becoming increasingly similar, because we use the same tools. Yes, there are cultural differences, emotional differences, and differences in reaction speed. In Latin America they may say “mañana.” In Bulgaria there is no “mañana.” In Turkey they may say “slowly, slowly,” but for us that doesn’t exist   we must react immediately on the spot. However, the tools are remarkably similar, and the approaches to solving crises are remarkably similar. I participated in a panel on crisis management and strongly emphasized that only 10 years ago we had 8–10 hours to resolve a crisis. Today we do not even have 8 minutes   sometimes not even one minute. We must react immediately. To do this, we must be extremely well prepared, highly educated, and top-level professionals, no matter if we are in Bulgaria, Paris, London, or New York   where America remains the birthplace of our industry. The exchange of opinions, sentences, and words we take from Davos   these takeaways   will bring excellent value to our business.

Host: And finally, perhaps just a few sentences   since we have about two minutes left. You have interacted with all these global experts at the forum. Where do you think Bulgaria and the Bulgarian PR and advertising community stand in this context?

Maxim: We believe it is in a particularly good and competitive position. In our local Bulgarian PR organization, BAPRA, the jury consists entirely of international experts. When I was President of BAPRA in 2010, 2011, and 2012, my only condition when creating the awards was that the jury must consist only of foreigners. Because we are a small country   everyone knows everyone, likes or dislikes each other   it is a very Balkan situation. These international experts evaluating Bulgarian projects say, and I am convinced of this, that Bulgarian campaigns, products, and the approach to this business are at a particularly good European level. In addition, my role as President of ICO, the global PR organization, as well as my role in Davos, has helped brand Bulgaria very well internationally. I know thousands of people in the global business world, and they know me. When they hear “Bulgaria,” they associate it with what we do in international projects and positions. This is a small contribution of mine toward making Bulgaria more recognizable in global business   not only in PR. And I am sure your television, Bloomberg, which I enjoy watching immensely, is also part of this mission   to present Bulgaria better and make it more recognizable, not by discussing whether it is good or bad, whether there are broken roads or corruption, but by showing what mountains and seas it has. Bulgaria simply needs to be more recognizable. Let me add something   we recently attended a space training program at a NASA base with my wife. It was fantastic, and we received certificates that we can continue our space preparation. On the first day, there were 13 Americans and two Bulgarians. This group happens only once a year. During the first day, an engineer asked us where we were from. We said Bulgaria. He was expecting to explain where Bulgaria is   near Turkey, Greece, and so on, formerly part of the USSR, etc. But he immediately said: “Bulgaria   you have amazing engineers. You win mathematics Olympiads. You are geniuses. I am extremely glad you are here.” This is how image is built. This is how Bulgaria becomes recognizable.

Host: Thank you very much for this comment, and I am glad we ended on such a positive note.

Maxim: Thank you.

You can watch the whole interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/bg/video/438/ai-v-komunikaciite-osnovniyat-akcent-ot-vtoriya-po-vajnost-forum-v-davos 

Petya: Hello again, and after the break you are watching the special election edition of COOLt. In the studio we welcome protocol experts Milena Hlebarova and Maxim Behar. Welcome. We also live on TikTok, as we are evaluating this format on election day, so viewers won’t be surprised. Let’s start there  have you voted? How did your voting go? Quick, slow?

Maxim: I’m about to vote. I’ve had several meetings since this morning. I’m here in my astronaut suit because right after this I’m going to the National Palace of Culture to speak at a major educational forum for students. I also want to show that there are no dreams that cannot be achieved. I hope that applies to today’s elections as well  everyone with their own platform, program, and ambition.

Petya: We’ll get back to the suit in a moment. Ms. Hlebarova, did you manage to cast your vote?

Milena: Yes, I voted at 8 a.m. this morning and I’m proud I did. There was already a rush of people so early, all eager to express their opinion about today.

Petya: And we’re seeing noticeably higher voter turnout. How would you assess the campaign from a professional PR perspective?

Maxim: I see three major differences compared to the previous seven elections in the last five years. First, there were no smear campaigns  at least not the kind we’re used to seeing. No scandals about who did what behind the scenes.

Milena: A Hungarian-style scenario?

Maxim: I wouldn’t compare it to Hungary; the differences are big. But in Bulgaria we’ve had strong smear campaigns before. Second, this was the campaign of podcasts. Politicians appeared everywhere  some shows extremely popular, others less so  but they relied more on podcasts than on TV studios. And there was no real clash.

The third difference is that there is suspense. We now have new players  some stronger, some less significant. Let’s see after the results come in whether that intrigue will materialize. It’s more interesting this time.

Petya: Yes, let’s be patient. Ms. Hlebarova, what are the most common PR mistakes politicians make?

Milena: The mismatch between verbal and nonverbal communication  between what is projected and what is inside the politician or the organization. Unfortunately, the same mistakes repeat every time. Either they are not corrected, or sometimes they are even repeated deliberately to expose weaknesses.

Petya: Can you give an example?

Milena: The use of inappropriate or offensive language. It has become almost normal to label others with insults, even though these are experienced figures in politics. And sadly, this is not pleasant to see.

Petya: Let’s look at some images illustrating such missteps…

Maxim: That photo was taken Friday afternoon. The acting U.S. ambassador, Martin McDowell, and colleagues hosted us officially. My wife and I presented a gift  a photo from NASA’s space center with the Bulgarian flag, which we carried with us everywhere.

Petya: What do Bulgarians need metaphorically to “launch into space”?

Maxim: Just desire  nothing more. When you’re in Sofia, it sounds impossible. But when you go to NASA, train, simulate missions to Mars and the Moon, you realize it’s achievable. If we could do it, anyone in Bulgaria can.

Petya: Let’s move on  Justin Trudeau and his iconic socks. Is that a breach of protocol?

Milena: There have always been politicians who are more revolutionary. They don’t want to conform. Even though the standard is the suit, they express individuality  like Trudeau with his socks.

Petya: Meghan Markle and the absence of tights during her engagement photos caused controversy as well.

Milena: Yes, it was seen as breaking a basic rule.

Petya: And Joe Biden’s protocol missteps  keeping sunglasses on in front of Queen Elizabeth II and hugging King Charles III.

Maxim: These aren’t real mistakes, like moments captured by photographers. The biggest mistake in politics is when you promise and don’t deliver. That’s the greatest failure  both in politics and in life.

Petya: Isn’t that more about values than PR?

Maxim: It is, but also about outdated systems. The way elections are organized, and politicians present themselves is not modern enough.

Petya: Did politicians use social media effectively?

Maxim: No. They used it one-way  like an old newspaper front page: “Today I did this, today I met that person.” Social media should be interactive. There were no real conversations with voters. Technology should play a much bigger role.

Imagine this: three months after being elected, you enter your office and a screen says, “You failed to deliver your promises  you are no longer a minister.” That would change things.

Interestingly, there were very few promises this time. Politicians were cautious.

Milena: The geopolitical situation is different. No one wants to step beyond certain limits.

Petya: Ms. Hlebarova, how long does it take to form a first impression?

Milena: Up to 10 seconds  you immediately known whether you accept someone or not.

Petya: And charisma?

Milena: It’s something innate, but it can be developed and adapted to the needs of the time.

Petya: You say hands are a tool of trust. Did politicians use them well?

Milena: Sometimes, but often not. We’re not Italians  we use fewer gestures, but they still matter.

Maxim: Many kept their hands in their pockets or behind their backs. But these are minor details. Charisma matters more. We lack the kind of charismatic politicians seen in established democracies.

What I really missed was public engagement. Remember the large protest on December 10? Those people were absent during the campaign  not debating, not expressing positions. That energy could have driven change.

Petya: Final words?

Milena: There was no real campaign  it felt weak, without strong messages.

Petya: Thank you very much, and good luck with your lecture at the National Palace of Culture. Thanks for being with us.

You can watch the interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/bg/video/437/mejdu-protokola-i-populizma-kak-premina-izbornata-kampaniya 

Host: We continue with our guests, as you are communication specialists. How did the participants in these elections perform those competing for voters’ trust in the eighth election in five years?

Prof. Mavrodieva: It is impossible to give a single, clear-cut evaluation, even with some kind of numerical measure, for all of them. Some performed reasonably well by building a personal brand or presenting themselves as leaders. Others, I would use the term “nostalgic populism,” tried to revitalize themselves. In simpler terms, by referring to their past successes, they aimed to motivate voters by showing how good they had been in their respective professions be it show business, science, politics, business, or other fields.

Another aspect is that social media were actively used to present themselves, attract voters, and engage micro-target audiences. There was humor, self-irony, even communication in cafés or virtual environments. A certain kind of irony, a touch of artistic self-confidence artificial intelligence was sometimes used as an argument against личности, but overall, it felt slippery. There was neither a real debate nor even a structured monologue to present ideas, concepts, or visions. It was very fluid and elusive.

Host: How do you assess it?

Maxim: I respect traditions very much. You’ve been asking me this question for the eighth time in the last five years, not even five. And for the eighth time I will say: this was not the kind of campaign we all expected. On the one hand, it was very majoritarian everyone stood up and said, “I will do this, I will do that.” And that’s how people will vote today. It will be largely majoritarian because about 90% of the promises overlap. There are a few exceptions, but generally the promises, to the extent that they were specific, were almost identical across political forces. The word “oligarchs” dominated the media space without a single name being mentioned. You could meet someone on the street and call them an “oligarch,” and they probably couldn’t refute it since, in theory, it refers to the merging of business and politics. What struck me, however, is that there were no smear campaigns. In previous years, we’ve seen much stronger negative campaigning. Now there seems to be distance between candidates, perhaps even respect, as there are new players.

But what was missing, for the eighth time, was direct debate. We all want to see one candidate face another. Because elections are about ideas, not people.

Host: But this year, silence seems to have become very fashionable. What kind of debate can we even talk about?

Prof. Mavrodieva: Silence is a communication technique, but it depends on the degree. It wasn’t exactly silence; it was more like running along the touchline if we use a football metaphor. There was strong personal PR, even some reverse PR trying to present oneself in a more favorable light, to reposition oneself: “I am now in a different role, a different status.”

There were also attempts to engage voters through direct meetings, though not dominantly, as well as specially organized PR events. Dr. Behar is an expert in this field, everything from unity and leadership to dress code and message delivery.

Host: What about the dress code?

Maxim: As in all campaigns, there wasn’t much difference. I don’t want to single out individuals.

Host: It seemed a bit more informal this time.

Prof. Mavrodieva: Informal, but not entirely casual just without the obligatory tie. It might be in the pocket of the jacket, if needed. Or no jacket at all. This kind of look suggests activity and readiness to work. There were also displays of sports activities, a kind of populism, attempts to connect with voters sometimes even playful, but not always well executed. Authenticity is key here. People immediately sense falseness or overacting.

Maxim: You know, dress code doesn’t matter at all. You could walk down the street naked or dress extravagantly the important thing is what you actually do and whether you deliver for voters. Over all these elections not just the last eight, but even earlier the gap between promises and reality has always been huge.

We need people who keep their word if they say they’ll be somewhere at 2:00, they arrive at 2:00. If they promise higher pensions, salaries, economic reforms, support for young people, education changes, or startup investments, those things should happen.

If I imagine an ideal government, it will announce a competition for 10,000 new ideas or business plans and give each one €100,000. Half would fail; some wouldn’t be implemented but a quarter would succeed, creating jobs and bringing recognition to Bulgaria. This is hypothetical, of course. But the key is concrete promises with real results.

And I return to my idea a round table. Enough of constant elections. Sit down and agree. We have priorities. There are conflicts near our borders.

Prof. Mavrodieva: When I watched the candidates’ appearances on TV, in lifestyle formats, and podcasts it was clear they were trying to position themselves. Did it work? Not always. It remained a “pluralism of monologues” everyone repeating similar points.

However, there is some value. If we revisit these discussions, we’ll see many ideas. Even if subjective or adapted, they represent a kind of social capital. These people, voters and leaders alike could be brought together, perhaps in a round table format, to turn ideas into practical governance. That would be a positive outcome. Perhaps it sounds idealistic, but it’s also pragmatic.

Host: Do you see grounds for a common path to governance after these elections? Will there be a stable majority?

Maxim: There are plenty of reasons for agreement. In this complex economic and political situation, there are shared priorities. Everyone talks about fighting oligarchs, ensuring peace, stability, economic growth, and higher wages. So, sit down and agree. Leave everything else aside.

One notable feature of this campaign was the rise of podcasts. I’ve never seen so many politicians appear on so many podcasts. They used to ignore them and focus on TV but now they were eager to participate.

Host: Will you vote?

Maxim: Yes, we’re going now. I urge everyone to vote for whoever they choose. High turnout matters.

Prof. Mavrodieva: We are citizens and voters, not just an electorate. Awareness that your vote matters make you active, not passive.

Host: Prof. Ivanka Mavrodieva, Dr. Maxim Behar thank you.

 Watch the whole interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/bg/video/436/mnogo-poslaniya-malko-debat-kak-premina-predizbornata-kampaniya-mnenieto-na-specialistite 

Hosts: We have prepared an experiment for you, conducted by our reporter Krasimira Parusheva. In just a few minutes, artificial intelligence created a vision for a new party. How ChatGPT performed will be evaluated by PR expert Maxim Behar. See more in the report.

Krasimira: Now we will try, with the help of artificial intelligence, to produce a campaign for our fictional party by creating the basic elements required – such as a slogan and a party name. We assign ChatGPT its first task: the party name. It offers several options, and we choose “New Bulgaria.” It quickly creates a slogan. We decide to win voters with the message: “The freedom to work and the security to live.” Of course, the logo chosen by the AI includes a lion as our symbol. PR expert Maxim Behar will evaluate our campaign preparation, created in just 15 minutes by artificial intelligence.

Maxim: It would never have occurred to me to go into ChatGPT to generate a campaign proposal, a name, and all these other details. But on the other hand, I must admit that when I compare the names, visuals, and parts of current election campaigns, some of them really do seem like they were made by ChatGPT.

Krasimira: His first remark about our party concerns the name.

Maxim: Overall, it works. But “New Bulgaria” sounds a bit overly patriotic to me. Bulgaria as it is doesn’t need to be made “new.” It’s already full of wonderful, young, intelligent, well-educated, motivated people. It already has all these natural advantages. What we really need is a Bulgaria with politicians who know how to govern and keep their promises. ChatGPT can’t give us that.

Krasimira: The logo proposed by the AI features a lion. Why exactly this symbol?

Maxim: Bulgaria has always had a lion in its coat of arms. Even during the dull, colorless communist years, we had a lion. It symbolizes courage, strength. Bulgaria has many brave and strong people. We can use the lion. Every country uses symbols that are part of its history. The lion is part of our history – as a symbol, as a metaphor. It’s no longer part of our currency, although the “lev” comes from “lion.” And now we are part of Europe.

We could also consider other animals. A panther, something more agile. I would really like to see politicians who are agile and able to make quick decisions. As I’ve said for years in my books: the worst decision is better than no decision. I want to tell people—make decisions. If you make a mistake, the world doesn’t end. You move on and continue.

Krasimira: There were also criticisms of our campaign poster. According to him, it’s not the packaging that matters, but the content and the people in the party.

Maxim: Bulgaria is in a very unusual situation right now. We practically have three wars near our borders. We need very brave people who can make decisions and justify them. That requires serious preparation and a bit of charisma.

Krasimira: According to the PR expert, with advancing technology, the results can indeed be good. But there is something technology cannot give people – charisma, the ability of a candidate to speak convincingly and clearly, and to maintain control over their promises to voters. However, the expert well received the priorities of our party.

Maxim: The economy is the most important thing. But there are also many other areas like culture and education. Education is increasingly connected to the economy. It gives us more freedom and the opportunity to live better. At the same time, there are many non-productive groups in Bulgaria – pensioners, students, though many university students already work. They also need special attention. So, it’s not that simple.

Krasimira: With the help of artificial intelligence, we even managed to create an anthem for our party:

New Bulgaria moves forward!
With a brave people and clear order.
With work, with will and a great purpose.
We will restore strength to our home.

Overall, we managed to create the vision of a political campaign, but in those 15 minutes with artificial intelligence, we could not win people’s trust. What’s missing are face-to-face meetings, the candidate’s personal charisma, and a real understanding of people’s problems.

You can watch the full interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/en/video/435/moje-li-ai-da-pravi-politika-maksim-behar-s-kategorichen-otgovor 

Host: Dear viewers, my guests tonight are the first Bulgarians to graduate with distinction from an astronaut training program at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center of NASA in Huntsville, Alabama. They were selected from only sixteen people from around the world for this extremely demanding and fascinating program. We’ll learn more directly from them. Let me introduce Maxim and Veneta Behar. Good evening.

Maxim and Veneta: Good evening.

Host: I’m shocked that only sixteen people worldwide were admitted to this program and two of them are you.

Maxim: Not forever just for one year. We were fifteen of us, because one person didn’t show up. So, there were fifteen of us: the two of us, two foreigners, and 13 Americans.

Host: And why are you dressed like that?

Maxim: Because these were our outfits during the training in Huntsville. We lived in them for ten days. We also had others big space suits like the ones you’ve seen in movies, which we used for the Mars simulations.

Host: Our team, our television, and our viewers know you in quite a different light. Why did you even decide to take on such an adventure? Whose idea was it? How did you contact them?

Maxim: It came to both of us. I had a birthday in December, gathered our kids for lunch, and told them I wanted an unusual gift. Not 120 bottles of wine, not paintings, not a cigar cutter or a whiskey set. When my daughter Ralitsa suggested a round-the-world experience, Veneta reminded me of the “Hello Space” program we run with the Atlantic Club and Solomon Passy where once a year we connect children with a real astronaut. And then the idea came: why not sponsor someone to attend such training? And I said, “why not me? Veneta and I are used to stepping out of our comfort zone. We’ve worked 12–14 hours a day for years. I’ve been in business for 32 years. When you step outside your comfort zone, you discover new and exciting things.

Host: Let’s hear from Veneta, because they say the man is the head of the family, but the woman is the neck that turns the head. What exactly does this program involve?

Veneta: I don’t know if that’s entirely true, but we function in perfect sync. Usually, one of us produces an idea, and the other picks it up and we make it happen together. Let’s leave the “head and neck” discussion aside. The program in Huntsville is very intense a full ten-day schedule from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., packed with activities.

Host: Do they give you these suits immediately upon arrival?

Veneta: Yes, right away. You check in, drop your luggage, and within half an hour you start. Every 30 minutes there’s something new building rockets, simulations, debates, competitions on whose rocket flies farther.

Host: Do they subject you to physical strain like actual astronauts?

Veneta: Yes. The toughest part was underwater building structures or even playing basketball to simulate weightlessness. The closest feeling to zero gravity is at about 7–8 meters underwater.

Host: I suppose that tests how your senses react and how you move in such an environment.

Veneta: It’s more about coordination and teamwork like building something together underwater.

Maxim: For us, it was important to understand what real astronauts do. They told us we would go through the same program as actual astronauts except they continue for three more years. We only experienced ten days. And our astronaut Georgi Ivanov told me: “You saw exactly what I saw in space only you did it on Earth.”

Host: Were there any confidentiality rules things you weren’t allowed to share?

Maxim: No. They initially said no phones or tablets, but when I explained we run businesses and want to author a book, they allowed it. Still, we couldn’t film constantly we had tasks and had to stay focused. In a spacecraft, everyone has a role. If someone fails, the mission fails.

Host: So, it’s all about teamwork.

Maxim: Exactly. But we took plenty of photos, and they had official photographers too. The program runs once a year with 15–16 participants. Their goal is for you to enjoy it. They told us: “Have fun.” But we completed everything.

Host: Based on who you are as public figures, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say accept it, it’s not a compliment, just a fact that you are visionaries by nature in what you do professionally. Regarding space, how do you view the fact that more and more confidently not just by us, but by space science on planet Earth it’s being said that humanity will indeed carry out such a mission, that we will reach there, step on that red planet, just as we did on the Moon? After everything you went through, are these claims credible that soon humans will head toward Mars? Because there are many debates. Some say such a mission is impossible.

Maxim: Veni.

Veneta: It’s already happening. It’s already underway. When you’re there, something just clicks you feel like, yes, now you’re going to snap your fingers and go.

Host: Did they simulate real situations like that? For example, journeys to the Moon or Mars?

Maxim: Not just that that’s what we did every day. We spent entire days on Mars, at the station. We launched with the station; everyone had their own role. And it’s real, because…

Host: That sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie.

Maxim: No, no. We see it on the screen we see the station lifting off, with the booster’s underneath, like we’ve seen on TV or in films. We launch; we land on Mars. We were in different suits, much heavier ones. Then we go outside the station, it’s quite a distance we must crawl in all that gear. I had an action camera on I haven’t watched it yet, but I recorded all four hours we spent on Mars. Then we went back inside. Everyone had their role. Veneta and I were responsible for communications with Earth. Others handled oxygen and electricity. After installing the station, we even planted lettuce, for example.

Host: Let me ask a deliberately provocative question. I’m sure some of our more conspiracy-minded viewers are secretly wondering: could it be that Maxim and Veneta are part of a secret project? That what we’re seeing on TV is just a soft presentation, while the world is preparing certain groups of people like in Hollywood plots to leave our dying planet and go to Mars? Is it possible that, without knowing, you’re part of such conspiracy groups of sixteen people per year being prepared for something like this?

Maxim: No, because we applied ourselves. When I submitted our application that Sunday at noon, I got a reply saying we were on the waiting list because it was full. Then I sent an essay explaining who we are, what we want to do, we wanted to author a book, bring the idea to Bulgaria, tell the story. Later, when we met their marketing director, he said: “I’m the one who responded to you. I checked who you are and thought you’re valuable people.” The real idea became clear after we returned to show people that if Max and Veni can do this, so can they. Because when you talk about it here in Sofia Mars missions, training, building rockets, testing materials, discussions on space law it sounds impossible. But it’s not.

Host: It sounds distant from real life, yet it’s completely possible.

Maxim: We did it, anyone can do it. And they should experience incredible things. For example, we lived in tiny windowless rooms, on two levels, sharing space. When I told friends in Sofia, they said: “The showers alone would make me quit.”

Host: That’s a bit much.

Maxim: That’s the least of it! In space, astronauts live in extremely limited space. Four people, tiny quarters you wonder how they shower, live, exercise. In Huntsville, where the largest space museum is located, Veneta and I visited during breaks or evenings. We had 24-hour access. There we saw in real time what astronauts are doing training, shaving, cycling, and conducting experiments. I did chemical experiments for 3–4 hours a day; Veneta handled communications. It’s incredibly inspiring. One evening, a professor told us: “These will be the most interesting days of your life.” She was right.

Host: Let me open a side note we are one of the few countries, the only one now, that is not part of the European space program. Which is ironic, considering our history as a space nation. Did you try “space food”?

Veneta: We produce such food in Bulgaria.

Maxim: We have plenty at home. Our friends Stefan and Maxim Ivanov who rowed across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans brought us space food. So yes, we’ve tried it.

Host: What is it like?

Veneta: It’s freeze-dried food.

Maxim: It tastes like normal food simply different texture, like edamame.

Host: What kind of people did you meet?

Veneta: Yes, it really was an adventure. We were lucky to end up in a phenomenal group with remarkably interesting people. There were aeronautical engineers, doctors in biology and genetics. There was a girl who was graduating in Space Operations meaning this is already a university major. She studies how such missions and operations are organized. We also had doctors, young doctors, who were thinking about the future and how they could integrate this profession into university education. But going back to the earlier question, I want to say that this type of training gave me, at least, the clarity that anyone can become an astronaut and any person can become an astronaut. You just must want it, apply, and get into some kind of training program, because they do this constantly. We simply went through these ten days, which all astronauts except professional American pilots go through, and it’s very achievable. You just need to push yourself and apply. Anyone can be accepted.

Host: Would it be too grand of an assumption, before we continue the conversation, if I suggest that the two of you are fully ready and willing to do what is still rare to become space tourists? There have already been several cases of people who are not astronauts visiting outer space, of course by paying massive amounts of money. I should say it’s an extremely expensive endeavor.

Maxim: That’s exactly what I was going to say is extremely expensive and would require at least a year of preparation, which at this stage we can’t afford, because we’re involved in business, collaborating with many people, clients, and projects. But let me tell you what qualities an astronaut should have. At Hello Space, every year there are astronauts, and last year a real astronaut from America came to Allegra, which was his last name who had been through our course. This year there will be one again. Twenty-one real astronauts have completed our course, and that’s when they got inspired. That astronaut was here. Last night we were visiting Moni and Geri Pasi, close friends of ours, and Gergana told us a story. She asked that astronaut what qualities an astronaut should have. He looked and said: “They need to be able to tell stories well.”

Host: A very unusual answer, right?

Maxim: Yes, because in the end you’ve been up there, you’ve seen it, you’ve experienced it. You must pass it on. You must motivate others, to tell them what it’s like so they can say: “Aha, I can do that too.” And then I realized that’s it. We need to tell our friends in Bulgaria, all people who hasn’t dreamed of being an astronaut as a child. Especially boys, all of them. Godzhi, you dreamed of being an astronaut as a child, right?

Godzhi: I have such a memory.

Maxim: You’re still young, so you should mention it. Everyone has dreamed of being an astronaut. And then at some point you see wait a second, one or two Bulgarians applied, passed the checks, went there, saw it it’s possible. And we’re trying to tell it Well.

Veneta: And we’ll tell it on June 26 at Hello Space to all the children around a thousand across Bulgaria. The festival is gaining momentum. This year it’s even two days. There are many children from all over Bulgaria interested in this type of event. We’ll tell it on both the 26th and 27th at Hello Space.

Host: We mentioned Moni and Geri Pasi several times. I’m sure and I want to repeat that since I used the word “visionaries” for you, they are truly real visionaries in a scientific and technical sense. Thanks to them, we now have these so-called universal chargers, the connector that fits all phones.

Maxim: They were a great support to us, although when I first shared our idea with them two or three months ago, Gergana told me: “Max, you’re the one who raps with Misho Shamara we accepted that. But this space thing is a bit too much. Are you sure you want it?” I told her: “Don’t even say that we’re going to do it.” And they’ve been a big support ever since.

Veneta: Yes, absolutely. Usually when you say “space,” people immediately imagine some kind of intense physical training something superhuman. But the whole training is completely achievable.

Host: You don’t have to be Superman physically to do it.

Veneta: No if we managed to do it.

Maxim: During those ten days, I didn’t think about anything else except how to complete my mission. Nothing else mattered. How to complete it so that in the end they would call us on stage and say we were an outstanding team. We received special awards for best team and NASA certificates. That was my goal. You go there, and nothing else matters. I remembered everyone’s names in the group. For half of them, I didn’t even understand who they were, only the guys I shared a cabin with. When you focus, when you have the energy to achieve something, when you’re consistent that applies to everything. It applies to your show as well.

Host: I hope our viewers listen carefully to your wise words because when a person puts in the necessary effort toward a goal, it is completely achievable. Even space is achievable.

Maxim: Of course. You show it in your program. I watched your show twenty years ago regardless of the TV channel you’re the same professionals. You host it the same way, play music the same way, the ballet is the same. Once a professional, always a professional.

I gave an example earlier Elton John was here ten years ago. He performed at Lokomotiv Stadium, which was half-ruined. The stands were in terrible condition. But Elton John didn’t perform worse. He came out at eight and performed at full level. You can’t tell him: “This is Lokomotiv Stadium, sing worse.”

Host: I understand whether you’re at Wembley or Lokomotiv Stadium, if you’re a professional, you deliver.

Maxim: Exactly. Same with your show. Respect. And the same applies to life if you want to achieve something, you must be professional and consistent. You can reach space if you really want it. We are proof of that.

Veneta: One thing you realize during the training is that everyone has a key role. If you don’t do your part properly, others depend on you, and the mission can fail. That’s vital.

Maxim: We flew an F-16 simulator. We saw the entire American air fleet since the Vietnam War. I’ve been on an F-16 before at Graf Ignatievo, but the simulator was something else and not easy.

Veneta: It was the hardest exercise.

Host: Does the simulator closely resemble real flight?

Veneta: Oh yes you enter the cockpit like in a real plane.

Maxim: And we didn’t have much time for training. We had about 15–20 minutes in which they instructed us, and it was some kind of screen, some PowerPoint presentations. After that, when we entered the cabin, everyone had their own separate cabin. You take off. You must pass overpopulated areas, not crash into them. You drop bombs. You must drop them over specific targets.

Host: In fact, a real mission is being simulated.

Veneta: For me, that was the most difficult exercise out of all ten days.

Host: Please allow me one slightly more philosophical question. It is related to space. Why do the USA, Russia, China in space not only cooperate, not only work as a team the International Space Station is proof of that but up there it’s as if all these inter-political conflicts that are earthly and some of them very intense, as you know, don’t exist? The world right now is in great trouble, unfortunately, because of the conflict in Iran. And up there is peace, there is friendship, there is love, there is understanding. What could be the explanation?

Maxim: Right now, there are two Russian cosmonauts on the station. The explanation is that this is science. This is science. How can you have different opinions, how can you have contradictions? This is a question of science.

Host: Can science be useful to the civilization that is currently on this planet, so that it stops doing the foolish things it is doing on an exceptionally large scale?

Veneta: All the time, since we had a lot of contact with people either currently working at NASA or former NASA engineers who worked on previous missions the leitmotif all the time was that these space missions are human missions. Because one nation, one state, can hardly afford at this stage, in terms of funds and resources, to make such progress as everyone could if they combine their efforts. And they do it. That was one of the leitmotifs throughout all the presentations and training sessions it kept coming up.

Maxim: By the way, this was one of the most interesting parts of our training. Every morning, we had breakfast with people they call “docents.” Their terminology is specific. All of them were aged 85+ and were former NASA employees’ engineers, software specialists, people from the technological “kitchen” who worked on missions like Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. While we were enjoying simple breakfasts bread, butter, jam they told us unique stories about how they worked with Russians, Chinese, and others, and they always introduced political elements. They also mentioned John F. Kennedy and the first space flights, discussed relations with Nikita Khrushchev. The Soviet Union launched a human, and immediately the panic at NASA was great and everyone was trying to reach the Moon. You are right in space, because everything is science, people live together, and we too can and must live together. Unfortunately, on Earth it is not always like that.

Host: I watched a film dedicated to NASA where an aerospace engineer noted that Neil Armstrong said, “a small step for man, a giant leap for mankind,” not for Americans. That is a strong message regardless of nationality, he represents the entire Homo sapiens species.

Maxim: In the film and in our exercises, we tried to imitate the Moon landing, dealing with weightlessness and powerful springs we struggled with them to stay on the ground. That was one of the most exciting experiences.

Host: We managed to meet at our team’s office and briefly discuss the media. Television has a time limit, but outside the mission related to NASA we can talk about communication. Communication is key as we will see in future missions to Mars or the Moon when nations like Japan or Bulgaria may have conflicts over resources. I told you then that we would also open the topic of media and communication a bit. There was no time. Television has this huge drawback of being limited in time. You are welcome in the future, outside this specific NASA-related mission we talked about tonight, to discuss this topic as well. But since you mentioned Kennedy, there are short answers please. Is it possible that what is happening up in space when Kennedy said that famous line “Ich bin ein Berliner” but said in a way in German that sounds like “I am a doughnut”?

Maxim: Yes. But it had an extremely significant impact on the entire world, that phrase. Because actually it shows…

Host: Is it possible that communication can confuse things for us?

Maxim: You know, the moment missions to Mars or the Moon start but ones where Israelis send someone, Japanese send someone then conflicts may arise. We had half a day of debates on space law. But there were no lectures, we were in separate teams and discussed different topics. And the whole idea was: whose is this territory when you land on Mars? Whose is it actually? How is it American? It may not be American. People from NASA said it is American because in the 17th–18th century, when settlers from Europe settled in America, they built their houses in Arizona, Texas wherever and said, “this land is mine, which is yours,” and that’s how it stayed. But now it is the 21st century we have communications, we have transparency. Back then no one might have known you took two acres of land and built a house. Now everyone knows. And maybe when more nations step on the Moon or Mars more likely Mars, I think conflicts may arise. Because there are a lot of resources there. And they may say, wait a second how so? The Japanese, for example. The Bulgarians. Bulgarians sent a rocket wait, how is this yours? But communication is one of the reasons why there is such chaos in the world right now. The other reason is, of course, the tremendous greed for power, money, influence of something we haven’t seen before. In the early nineties communism fell. And I thought communism was falling so we would enter the European Union in a year. That’s what we all thought. And the euro would come three months later. And we would all become rich and happy. And rich because we would work, because there is competition, confidential business, and everything else. Things, at least in Bulgaria, diverged a bit from our dreams and expectations. But I still think hopefully reason will prevail. Hopefully, people will think and say: war brings us nothing. Okay, we will lower oil prices. Okay, we will seize some territories. But we will kill people. And we will ruin the whole way the planet works. How can people fight people? How can they shoot, kill each other? Communication in a sense also helps us see all these evils. Because when the Chernobyl disaster happened in 1986, we all know when we learned about it, how we learned it and that in the end nothing was clear. If, God forbid, something similar happens now a war or conflict like the current one we will know in the second. We will be able to react. We will be able to have our opinion. Whether on television or social media. You know in social media there are experts on everything.

Host: Bigger than the real experts themselves.

Veneta: Now I think, to bring the topic back to space, I keep thinking that space is such a place that a person cannot function alone. That is, at this stage at least, you cannot be alone there. You need a team, you need people, you need humanity. And you are like a representative of humanity in this universe, in this space. So, I think space can be the thing that will bring us closer and make it so that there is humanity, not separate people craving power.

Host: Thank you very much for this conversation. You have touched space, and the way you think even though your way was already wise, calm, analytical before hopefully John Lennon was right with that song Imagine. And like that Russian rock group that sang they still long for the Earth that is in space to love our planet, to take care of one another, to look after each other and be brave, like you, even in endeavors that seem impossible and beyond human power.

Maxim: Filipe, thank you very much to you and your colleagues, the guys from the band, of course. I noticed that when Veneta and I watch your show in the evening because your show is at the time we come home from work and can watch something the guests don’t bring any gifts. That’s true. Is this a crisis? Global stinginess has hit us.

Host: So, I understand you have a gift.

Maxim: Yes, of course. In the past you couldn’t even think of entering The Slavi Show without a gift. We brought you the following gift. This is our photo with the Bulgarian flag. We carried the Bulgarian flag with us. We have a photo with the Bulgarian flag at the rocket center, and we wrote to you because in Bulgaria there is a big debate: who is the highest? Whether Pirin, Vitosha, whether Boyko Borisov is the highest, or whether Slavi. I wrote to Slavi and the team: Space is of us, no one else…

Host: I accept this gift with pleasure. I greet Slavi especially.Thank you very much for this visit. Dear viewers, space is of us, and our guests are above everything petty and human in our experiences. It was a pleasure for me to talk with Maxim and Veneta Behar.

You can watch the whole interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/bg/video/434/ot-mechta-do-misiya-kosmicheskoto-priklyuchenie-na-maksim-i-veneta-behar 

Mityo: As our eyes are fixed on the sky and NASA’s new mission to the Moon—the first in more than half a century—we introduce you to a Bulgarian family that completed astronaut training at NASA.

Vanina: Communications expert Maxim Behar and his wife Veneta told Elica Kancheva about this incredible experience—what it feels like to be real astronaut. A story about dreams coming true.

Elica: Today is Holy Saturday, the day before Easter—and you often travel during these holidays. I am extremely glad you are with us.

Maxim: It is good to have days like this once a year, like Easter, when you reflect on renewal and feel the desire to start again.

Elica: Beautifully said. Every day is indeed a chance to start over. And tomorrow we celebrate Cosmonautics and Aviation Day—April 12—marking 65 years since Yuri Gagarin’s first orbit of Earth. Do you remember that day?

Maxim: I was in first grade. I remember what a celebration it was, and when Yuri Gagarin came to Bulgaria, even to my hometown Shumen. When we were kids and people asked what we wanted to be, we all said “astronaut.” I did not even know why—everyone just said it.

Veneta: I have always loved traveling and flying. Space is a place that lets you dream.

Elica: And here we are now in the Sofia Planetarium—a magical place where we can feel as if we are in space. A dream that you have recently made real with your trip to the United States, where you completed astronaut training.

Maxim: I have always said—if your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough. At the end of November last year, we decided to do this, without knowing how or what to expect until we arrived in Huntsville at the NASA base.

Elica: This incredible experience was a gift for your 70th birthday.

Maxim: Yes, a gift from friends—and we decided to do something unusual.

Elica: You were the only Bulgarians there—and the only non-Americans. What was the environment like?

Veneta: Unfortunately, Bulgaria is not part of the European Space Agency. We were the only foreigners. One of the instructors heard our accent and asked where we were from. When I said Bulgaria, I expected to explain—but he said: “You’re amazing—you have great mathematicians and physicists, and your children win Olympiads.” I was speechless.

Elica: That is a great recognition.

Maxim: We completed the full 10-day program astronauts go through—though they continue for three more years. When I returned, Bulgarian cosmonaut Georgi Ivanov called me and said we had done what he had done in space—but on Earth.

Elica: The program is very exclusively fifteen participants each year. What did you discover?

Veneta: From the first moment, you are thrown into simulations and exercises. There is a constant live stream from the space station—you see everything happening there.

Maxim: One day we were in mission control giving instructions; the next day we were in the station. Everyone has a task; if one fails, the mission can fail. We even simulated a mission to Mars.

Veneta: It is incredibly realistic—you maintain constant communication with Earth. Without it, something could go wrong.

Maxim: They put us in extreme situations too. At one point, I had to simulate an injury. The team reacted immediately—just like in a real mission.

Veneta: We also drove a rover and explored the surface.

Maxim: One key lesson—there are no mistakes in space. A mistake means the end. That is something we can all learn from.

Elica: What were the living conditions like?

Veneta: Remarkably close to real space conditions, small rooms, no windows, artificial light, little time to eat.

Maxim: After that, even a cramped airplane felt easy—we joked, “We’ve been to Mars!”

Veneta: We even had access to rockets, museums, telescopes, we observed Jupiter one night.

Elica: And you even saw a Moon boot?

Veneta: Yes, huge, and heavy.

Maxim: We even simulated moonwalking, like Neil Armstrong.

Elica: What about the role of astronauts?

Maxim: It is all science. If Bulgaria invests in science, we could have another astronaut.

Veneta: That’s why initiatives like Hello Space aim to inspire young people.

Maxim: Today, information is everywhere, there are no limits. If you focus 100%, you can achieve incredible things. I hope that by 2030, we will be interviewing a new Bulgarian astronaut.

Elica: Hopefully! Thank you for this inspiring conversation.

Maxim: Happy holidays—and may we all find the strength to start anew.

Veneta: And to dream big.

Elica: Thank you.

You can find the full interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/bg/video/433/maksim-i-veneta-behar-preminaha-kurs-na-nasa-za-kosmonavti

At the height of yet another election campaign, the question of the relationship between politicians and voters once again comes to the forefront. In an interview for the program Your Day on NOVA News, PR expert Maxim Behar questions whether today’s political leaders can communicate effectively with the public at all. Together with Associate Professor Alexander Hristov, he outlines a picture of repetitive messaging, lack of creativity, and an increasingly limited real dialogue with voters.

Lora: Your Day continues, dear viewers, on the political field. Today PR experts Maxim Behar and Associate Professor Alexander Hristov joined us. Hello, gentlemen, and welcome. Thank you for being here.

Maxim: Good afternoon.

Lora: We might need PR guidance and more communication expertise in this campaign. What do you think?

Maxim: Who are “we” that need it? Bulgaria.

Lora: Actually, I meant the political parties.

Maxim: From what I see, they do not need any PR advice at all.

Lora: Why?

Maxim: They say the same things. They behave on social media the same way they did 10 years ago. They speak in vague terms.

Lora: That sounds quite sad, Mr. Behar.

Maxim: That is the situation. I do not know whether it is sad or amusing, because we have already had eight elections.

Lora: Exactly, in five years.

Maxim: Five years, eighth in a row. We are so trained now to go vote and to listen to promises, especially the latter—that I have no idea whether any political formation even wants to change or bring something new to the table. Here we have a new player with old messages and the same old way of communication. There is not even a small spark of creativity or anything interesting. To return to your question, Lora—no, they do not need PR consultants. And even if they did, someone would just write their press releases and make boring social media posts. That is how we will live—we will vote on April 19, and on April 20 we will wake up and see what happens.

Lora: Do politicians devalue this field—the science you teach, Associate Professor Hristov—before your students? You are preparing young people who see meaning, necessity, and importance in this profession.

Alexander: Since teaching was mentioned, I am reminded of Paul Watzlawick—a brilliant communication theorist. He says: “One cannot not communicate.” In other words, even the absence of communication conveys meaning. And I think one of the key things we see in this campaign is exactly that. To answer your question directly—students are much more drawn to corporate communications, influencer marketing, show business, and so on. I am not sure how many of them want to work in political PR—those cases are rare. One reason is the toxic environment in politics, which takes a long time to clear. It could happen faster—within a year or two—but there are still layers built up over time. Another issue is what we see in practice—strong and significant limitations during election campaigns, while for the rest of the time the discussion is conducted in a low-level, almost street-like language. So, do politicians need PR specialists? If they do, they must listen to them. We would never advise politicians to insult each other in parliament, regardless of their political differences. Simply because attacking your opponent does not make you more positive, it only shifts the focus onto others. And I suspect that most of the current political communication is based precisely on this—negative profiling of the opponent.

Maxim: There is something else—our business is secondary. To build a successful political project or make a politician look good, speak meaningfully, have charisma and appeal, they need to possess those qualities themselves.

Lora: Charisma cannot be created—you must have it.

Maxim: Exactly. If you want to be a leader, you must carry leadership within you. If you want to speak meaningfully, no matter what the best PR expert writes for you, you will still sound unconvincing if it is not genuine. The people we work with are the real carriers of what should be presented during elections. And when we have a series of dull individuals repeating the same things, sometimes with slightly more colorful language about their opponents, our work becomes meaningless. Still, we operate in a professional field recognized as both science and practice, and we would like to apply creative approaches to people who deserve it. But many of today’s politicians are in politics just to appear on TV, gain visibility, or secure some advantage. And what we are seeing in Bulgaria is a global trend.

Lora: Gentlemen, please stay with us—we will briefly interrupt a traffic police briefing related to Easter travel.

Lora: We will continue our conversation.

Maxim: Watching that, with all due respect to the police—I wish there were an “election police.” Someone standing there and saying: “This candidate is lying.” Because we could check—through ChatGPT or other AI tools—and see whether they kept their promises.

Lora: Can journalists take on that role?

Maxim: Yes, why not? Just like there used to be “fashion police,” we could have “election police” reminding us of what was promised and what was delivered.

Lora: I wonder if any politicians would remain.

Maxim: Well, however many—others will come.

Lora: Back to the campaign—there seems to be no leader debates again. Instead, we see clips from street encounters shared on social media. Is that a better PR strategy?

Maxim: It helps voters see where candidates stand, but I am not sure how useful it is for the politicians themselves.

Alexander: Social media turns dialogue into monologue. Politicians prefer posting clips rather than engaging in real debates because it is easier and more controlled. But what follows? Nothing.

Lora: In Hungary, for example, candidates present concrete programs and take responsibility publicly—this does not happen here.

Maxim: Hungary is different—there are two dominant political forces. In Bulgaria, the landscape is fragmented. It is unlikely any party will get more than 20–25% of the vote.

Alexander: That fragmentation creates a desire for stability, which can lead to dangerous ideas like a “strong hand” or presidential rule. PR specialists should not just shape public image but also influence policymaking by anticipating public reaction. This should happen continuously, not only during elections. What people need most is a sense of directional horizon. Without it, they drift from one “messiah” to another.

Lora: Final words, Mr. Behar.

Maxim: Years ago, we could imagine a roundtable of the leading parties agreeing on national priorities. Today, that seems impossible—especially due to divisions over global conflicts like the war in Ukraine. Despite this, we will end up with a political picture like the current one—and we will see who stands where.

Lora: Thank you for this analysis. We will revisit this discussion after the campaign. Happy holidays!

Maxim: Happy holidays—peace.

Lora: Amen to that. Stay with us.

You can find the full interview here: https://www.maximbehar.com/bg/video/432/maksim-behar-dali-politicite-znayat-kak-da-obshtuvat-s-izbiratelite-si 

“This is an achievement Bulgaria can be proud of. Being first means paving the way and, in your case, it is a path that inspires young people to think boldly, take an interest in science, and see space as a real opportunity,” His Majesty said during the meeting.

During the visit, they discussed the role of such initiatives in promoting not only science, but also astronautics (the science of space travel), space technologies, and engineering – fields that are fundamental to future technological development and the competitiveness of any modern economy. The importance of strong role models was also emphasized, as a way to encourage young people in Bulgaria to pursue education and careers in space exploration and high-tech industries.

“The most important thing for us is that this experience proves there are no limits. If you can imagine something, you can achieve it. We hope more young Bulgarians will dare to follow this path,” commented Maxim Behar, CEO of M3 Communications Group, Inc.

Maxim and Veneta Behar completed the intensive program as part of the “Hello, Space! Bulgaria Calling” initiative, organized by the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria. This is an international program with limited access, held once a year for a small number of participants from around the world. During the training, they took part in realistic space mission simulations, including working in zero-gravity conditions, EVA (Extravehicular Activity) training (simulated spacewalks), operating spacecraft systems, and executing a full mission scenario to Mars. The program is designed to replicate conditions as close as possible to real spaceflight.

The “Hello, Space! Bulgaria Calling” Festival will take place on June 26–27, 2026, at Sofia Tech Park. For the sixth consecutive year, it will bring together scientists, engineers, and thousands of young people inspired by science, technology, and space exploration.

Veneta: Hello, Gala!

Gala: I’m very happy. Welcome. It’s such a pleasure. Welcome.

Maxim: I’m very happy to see you again.

Gala: Wait a second. Are these the clothes you wore there, or did you just take them as a souvenir?

Maxim: No, no, no. This was our uniform the entire time.

Veneta: These are the astronaut suits that all astronauts in Alabama train in.

Gala: Seriously?

Veneta: Yes, absolutely seriously. These are real astronaut suits. If you look at NASA photos online, all astronauts are wearing these suits.

Gala: Sit down so I can offer you some coffee. Did you drink coffee there?

Maxim: No. (laughs) American coffee.

Gala: Don’t say such a thing.

Veneta: It really was American coffee.

Gala: Ah yes, so it’s not really drinkable, I understand. I was wondering if there were any restrictions.

Veneta: No, no.

Gala: I have to admit something—Maxim, I’ll turn to you here because I know all the cool and meaningful things you’ve done and we’ve talked about them, but you also do some pretty crazy things. This one honestly surprised me.

Maxim: It’s not that crazy. You’re right, Gala. Veneta and I walked the Camino, we wrote a book, I sang with Misho Shamara, and we made several wonderful songs.

Gala: Cool, but still crazy.

Maxim: This is what I call stepping outside the comfort zone. When you leave that comfort zone—the everyday office life, communication with clients and colleagues—you start feeling different. You see life from the outside. In December I had a birthday, and on Sunday we gathered at home with the kids to think about what challenge we could create for the birthday. In the invitation I sent to my guests, I wrote: “Please don’t bring me gifts.” Because we all know that after every birthday we usually end up with 50 bottles of wine and four whiskey sets.

Gala: And you have so many friends that there’s always someone to drink those 50 bottles of wine with.

Maxim: Exactly. So I simply said, “Please don’t bring me gifts. Here’s a QR code—if you want, you can support my next challenge. Veneta and I are going to space training.”

Gala: Had you talked about something like that before? And are you even a fan of things like that, Veneta?

Veneta: I’m a huge fan of things like that. In fact, sometimes I’m the one who provokes them. No, we hadn’t talked about it before. The idea came up one Sunday at home with the kids while we were thinking about what to do for Maxim’s birthday this time. The idea came absolutely spontaneously.

Gala: You embraced it immediately, with no resistance.

Maxim: Veneta suggested that we collect money to sponsor a young person from Bulgaria through the Hello Space project that we run with the Atlantic Club, so they could potentially go to training in the United States. Then I picked up the space topic and said, “Wait a minute—why don’t we go ourselves? We can easily send a young person later.” While we were talking, I started searching on my phone. I discovered the Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, a small town in the state of Alabama. We applied immediately, and they told us there were no available spots. This training happens only once a year.

Gala: And as far as I understand, very few people are accepted, so that makes sense.

Veneta: It’s a program that takes place once a year. It’s the longest program the center offers and it’s only for adults.

Maxim: So I found them, but there were no free spots. I wrote something like an essay where I told them how important it was that I had a birthday.

Gala: You can make them find space.

Maxim: I told them this was very important for us, and since it only happens once a year—and there was no other similar training in the program. Otherwise they have children there every day for one-day visits. Then they replied and said, “Okay, in that case we’ll open two additional spots.” And that’s how Veneta and I ended up in Alabama.

Gala: What is this center like?

Veneta: This center is an enormous complex with museums, rockets, ground stations where you can see what is happening in space in real time. There is a simulation of a station where lettuce, vegetables, and food are grown in space. There are real rocket engines, models of rockets that have flown in space, and actual rockets that have been built. There’s even the entire control panel of one of the first Apollo missions, built by IBM. Its memory is only 64 GB, and you wonder how something like that even flew into space.

Maxim: What’s very important is that this is actually the place where astronauts flying on American spacecraft are trained and prepared—including Russians. Right now there are two Russians on the American station. Twenty-one graduates of our course have become astronauts, and their photos are displayed there with a big sign that says: “You can be one of them.” It’s something unique, because in about ten days we went through the same training that real astronauts go through—with the difference that we took a plane back to Sofia afterward.

Gala: And the others take the rocket and go…

Maxim: They continue doing it for years. Every morning we had breakfast with interesting people they called “docents.” It’s their own terminology. These are people over 80 years old who worked at NASA—engineers, software specialists—now retired, and they’ve given them this role. When visitors come for training, they have breakfast with them and share fascinating stories. One of these docents, Charlie, told us about mistakes and said: “Here you can make mistakes. Up there in space you cannot, because in space there is no gray area—only black and white.”

Gala: Where were the people from? I know the center is international.

Maxim: Mostly Americans, and two Bulgarians.

Veneta: No, there was a boy from the Netherlands.

Maxim: From the Netherlands.

Veneta: Yes, and a girl from Thailand.

Maxim: But they were in neighboring groups.

Veneta: They were in neighboring groups, but the interesting thing was that the girl from Thailand and another girl from America were studying Space Management Operations. There is already such a specialty. People study how to operate ground stations, manage spacecraft logistics, and organize the entire mission.

Gala: Veneta, since we women are living in a very good time now when the world has opened its doors much more to women—what was it like there? How many men and how many women were there?

Veneta: I would say almost equal.

Maxim: Yes, almost equal. Maybe five women and ten men, or six women and nine men.

Veneta: The numbers were slightly different in the two groups.

Gala: So there wasn’t a male dominance—roughly balanced. Ten days—how was the program structured? Was it divided into modules?

Maxim: We went through all kinds of training: working inside a space station, operating mission control to command the station. On the last day we went to Mars. That was the most exhausting mission for me personally, because the day before we trained for four or five hours for that mission, and then we spent the entire day on Mars.

Gala: Wait—what do you mean you trained and then you were there? What exactly does that mean?

Maxim: We enter the spacecraft and start operating it. Each person has a specific role. There were five of us.

Veneta: Five people in the spacecraft team. There were seven people at the ground station and two people whose mission was to repair the spacecraft because something had malfunctioned in space.

Gala: Real situations. So do you actually have to land the spacecraft and understand when to do it?

Veneta: You have to take off, land on Mars—that was our mission—install the station there, establish communication, install power, provide oxygen, build the whole system. We even had an emergency situation because the station leader had to simulate fainting.

Gala: And you had to give first aid?

Veneta: Yes, we had to give him first aid.

Maxim: My role was that I had to fall to the ground with a broken arm.

Veneta: And we had to save him.

Maxim: My colleagues had to ask the medical team on Earth what to do—should we give him a painkiller injection, should we restrain him? They came and restrained me. Everything is exactly like in a real mission.

Gala: What made the spacewalk part so exhausting?

Maxim: Because we exit through a very small hatch. Everything is built one-to-one. You have to crawl through that opening.

Veneta: And you’re wearing a spacesuit.

Maxim: We had big helmets and additional white protective clothing that made movement even more difficult.

Veneta: And you sit inside the capsule the same way astronauts do during launch. The space is extremely small. I honestly wondered how four people will spend ten days there during future missions.

Gala: Tell me about the feeling of zero gravity. Do you feel light like a feather? Is it pleasant?

Veneta: To simulate zero gravity they took us underwater. At about seven or eight meters underwater you reach a state similar to weightlessness. They put us underwater in special suits and we had to play basketball and build a hexagonal structure. Everything moves very slowly—you have to coordinate carefully with the others.

Maxim: What Veneta demonstrated earlier is also a simulation of weightlessness. Those are special springs that pull you upward, and that’s called “walking on the Moon.” You feel almost weightless while trying to walk.

Veneta: It’s not that easy actually. The springs pull you in all directions, and you have to use a lot of effort to move forward.

Maxim: Another challenge was the way we lived. We stayed in very small rooms with several people per room—men separately, women separately.

Gala: Really? You weren’t together?

Maxim: No. Men were on the second floor, women on the third. The rooms had no windows.

Gala: Maybe to create the feeling that you’re in space.

Maxim: Exactly. The beds were simple bunk beds. We brought sleeping bags from Sofia, so you get into the sleeping bag and sleep.

Veneta: Compared to this, the Camino was a luxury version.

Maxim: But the most important thing about this challenge is that we wanted to truly experience it and show young people in Bulgaria that it is possible. If Maxim and Veneta can do it, Elena or Ivan can do it too. Through the Hello Space project we bring together 500–700 children every year. They have a direct connection with astronauts in real time for 30–40 minutes. They are extremely motivated to learn what space is like.

Gala: It would be wonderful if something like this existed here in Bulgaria.

Veneta: Two things impressed me the most. First, when you’re there everything suddenly feels possible—like you could jump into a spacecraft right away. From here it feels like something from another life. Second, when the instructors heard our accent and asked where we were from and we said Bulgaria, they immediately said: “You are very good at mathematics and physics. You have some of the best schools in the world.”

Gala: That gives me goosebumps.

Maxim: One of the courses we had was about the legal framework of space.

Veneta: We even had a debate.

Maxim: Who owns what in space? If Americans land on the Moon—but Russians, Israelis, or Japanese land there too—whose territory is it? Who decides? It’s a complex question.

Veneta: But NASA repeated a very strong message several times: they are open to cooperation and to integrating technologies from all countries.

Gala: Although the romantic view of space is beautiful, future conflicts might also happen there.

Maxim: Maybe we should first solve the conflicts on Earth.

Gala: Did you have exams?

Veneta: No formal exam, but you have simulations. If you haven’t learned the theory properly, your spacecraft will crash in the simulation.

Maxim: We also flew an F-16 simulator.

Veneta: Yes, we piloted an F-16 in a simulator.

Maxim: We learned about the history of American aviation and then each of us had a real cockpit simulator. You had to take off, land, and fire missiles.

Gala: Did you receive a certificate?

Veneta: Yes, we received certificates.

Maxim: And our team was awarded “Outstanding Team.”

Gala: Bravo!

Maxim: Today we’re presenting our experience at the Atlantic Club and encouraging young people to try this. I returned with 4,000 photos and hours of video.

Gala: Last question—did you have time to enjoy yourselves a little? A nice dinner, a glass of wine?

Maxim: Alcohol and cigarettes were forbidden there. On the last evening after we received our diplomas, Veneta and I went into Huntsville, had a glass of Italian wine, and shared a pizza.

Gala: That was it?

Maxim: That was it. But before that we spent two days in Nashville.

Veneta: We arrived two days earlier to adjust to the time zone and ended up in the middle of a huge celebration on February 14. There were concerts everywhere. We danced country music—it was phenomenal.

Gala: You’re wonderful. Thank you for sharing all this.

Maxim: Thank you. I want to tell everyone watching: it’s not that difficult. Try it. Space is worth it. It’s science, not just a physical challenge. The more we learn and explore, the better we become. We came back with three times more energy than we had before. And no one asked how old we were or why we were there.

Maxim: We brought you a gift, Gala. This is our photo with the Bulgarian flag at the base.

Gala: Wow!

Maxim: And the message says: “Space is closer than many people think.”

Veneta: Which is absolutely true.

Maxim: We respect you and we love you.

Gala: Thank you very much. I’ll place it there and enjoy looking at it.

Maxim: Good morning, and happy holiday to you and to everyone!

Diana: Happy holiday!

Veneta: Happy Baba Marta!

Diana: All morning we have been so busy that we forget to congratulate each other on this beautiful spring holiday. You can already feel that spring is coming.

Maxim: We are very happy to be in our favorite television studio exactly on this holiday.

Diana: And I thank you for being here. Actually, this adventure was a birthday gift for you, right, Mr. Behar? How did you start this space mission?

Maxim: I gave it to myself as a birthday gift because I wanted it to be something interesting and unique that I would remember, and I am very happy that I came up with the idea. Actually, Veneta first suggested that it would be good to collect money and sponsor a young person to attend such training. At one point I said, “It would be much better if we went ourselves, because then we could tell all of Bulgaria that if Maxim and Veneta can do it, anyone can do it.”
It seems very unusual and strange when you sit here in Sofia and think, “Space training in Huntsville, Alabama—how do you even get there? What kind of camp is that?” We sleep several people in one room, men separately, women separately, in very uncomfortable beds, like wooden bunks, in two levels. When you imagine all these things from Sofia, you say, “This is something big.” At the same time, it is something extremely interesting, something that filled us with energy and showed us that we can achieve it and overcome this challenge as well.

Diana: What are we seeing in the footage now?

Maxim: This is called walking on the Moon—moon walking. This is Veneta, and this is actually a simulation of weightlessness.

Diana: It looks easy. Maybe it is not as easy as it looks.

Maxim: For me it was easy. Veni claims it was not.

Veneta: No, it’s not that easy. These springs that hold you from different directions are designed to place you almost in a state of weightlessness, and you have to fight against that in order to walk. That’s why on the ground there are the footprints of Armstrong, who stepped on the Moon and left those prints. You can see how big the steps are—they are not normal human steps, simply because it is very difficult to walk that way. You cannot take normal steps; instead you push yourself forward. That’s why we were having fun here, trying to move forward, backward, and sideways.

Maxim: There were more difficult challenges, but in the end, when we were already at the airport in Huntsville and about to return, we realized that nothing had actually been difficult. On the contrary, it was very interesting and very inspiring. We met fascinating people. In fact, during this week or ten days we went through everything that real astronauts do.

Diana: What do they do that we don’t know?

Maxim: We have watched so many videos, and YouTube is full of all kinds of information. There is nothing that surprised us that much, but you have to go there and actually do it. The first two or three days, with a bit of jet lag as well, were a little tiring.

Diana: Did you eat space food?

Veneta: It’s very minimalistic and concentrated.

Maxim: We actually have space food at home because Bulgaria is a major producer.

Diana: That’s right.

Maxim: But no, we didn’t try it there. We ate very simple American food—bread, butter, jam, scrambled eggs, burgers of course—but food was not something that occupied our minds at all, even though we had breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The breakfasts were the most interesting because we met retired NASA veterans who sat with us at the table while we were eating and told us stories about Apollo, stories about Challenger—stories we would never have been able to read anywhere. Those were very interesting meetings. In addition, the largest space museum in the world is located in that center.

Diana: What does this museum contain?

Maxim: Every free minute Veneta and I spent in the museum.

Diana: Yes, I imagine there are many fascinating exhibits. What impressed you the most?

Veneta: It is an enormous space. Inside there is everything you can imagine related to space, including models of rockets, even real rockets, real engines, and launch systems. The control panels are there as well, and there is a constant streaming connection with space.

Maxim: Screens where you can see live what is happening at the space station.

Diana: Do you know what keeps going through my mind the whole time? Why humanity, world leaders, and all of us are not moving in the direction of developing initiatives like these—where we build and create—instead of fighting wars and hating each other. Do you have an answer to that question, especially when you go to a place like this where you can dream without limits and then return to reality?

Maxim: First, it is very expensive. Second, the United States is a country that invests enormously in this field. It’s true that they postponed the mission to the Moon for two years. First, it’s expensive; second, it requires an enormous concentration of scientific knowledge. And third, since the beginning of the world, people have fought wars. Of course, people should not die, but there are also dictatorial regimes where freedoms and development are severely restricted. I personally do not have the answer whether people themselves can free those societies or whether wars become inevitable. I don’t have the answer, although both of us are quite pacifist.

Veneta: Very pacifist. When you are there, everything seems so achievable that you simply say, “Okay, I’ll do another training and I’ll fly.” That’s really how it feels there.

Diana: Can these trainings actually lead to becoming a space tourist?

Veneta: Yes. This is the training that all astronauts go through. It is the initial stage. After that you apply and can continue depending on your physical preparation and knowledge. The training can last from several months to several years.

Maxim: Everything is one-to-one with the real thing. We were on a space mission in a spacecraft. I conducted chemical experiments on the station. Veneta operated the station. There were three of us in the crew. After that we spent one day on Mars.

Diana: One day on Mars? What is it like on Mars?

Maxim: We did exactly what real astronauts do. We launched the station, followed the trajectory, and arrived at Mars. We were responsible for landing the station on Mars. Then we exited through narrow tunnels where you have to crawl, wearing additional space suits and large helmets. It was very heavy. Then we stayed in the station based on Mars, where we had various exercises. I personally planted lettuce and other plants that we later brought back to Earth. Everything was done exactly like the real process. We had instructions and communication with the command center. One day we were in the command center to see how things work from there and to give commands.

Veneta: Everyone had a role in the command center.

Maxim: Everyone has a role everywhere. One person is responsible for communications, another for launching, another for temperature control inside the station. Everyone has a role. We experienced everything almost exactly like the real thing. When they asked us what the biggest mistake in space is, we didn’t know the answer. They said: “There is no mistake. The moment you make one, you’re out.”

Veneta: But the training is so intensive and repeated so many times that it would take a real failure for a mistake to happen—and you are not alone there.

Diana: After this mission, does it seem possible to truly explore space, considering that our technologies are still limited?

Maxim: We had an entire afternoon dedicated to space law. It was actually a debate. We were divided into groups and discussed who owns space territories. If someone lands on the Moon and says, “This territory is mine,” how is that possible? Our instructors gave the example of European settlers who arrived in America 250 years ago and claimed land. We also spent half a day assembling rockets ourselves—real rockets—which we then launched. Another day was dedicated to aviation, and we flew an F-16 simulator.

Diana: A small mistake in such a fast aircraft…

Veneta: And you can spin several times in the air.

Maxim: Exactly. This whole experience was incredibly interesting, and we didn’t even know what we were going into. When we asked them to send us a program, they said, “We don’t send programs.”

Veneta: It’s impossible to describe such an experience in a program. Each mission started with preparation, where they explained the theory and how to read the instructions. Then you actually performed the mission. It combines theory, practice, and physical exercises. That’s why we really didn’t know what to expect.

Maxim: On the first evening we had a welcome dinner, and one of the vice presidents of the NASA center said: “These will be some of the most interesting days of your life.”

Diana: And was she right?

Maxim: Absolutely. Maybe even the most interesting days. She was completely right. On the first day, before we even received our suits, Veneta and I walked around and saw the Bulgarian flag.

Diana: Where did you see it?

Maxim: At the NASA center.

Veneta: In the museum. There is a whole ceiling with the flags of all countries that have contributed to space exploration.

Maxim: It made me very happy to see the Bulgarian flag. The idea of our experience was that many people in Bulgaria would say, “If they can do this, so can I.” People often identify with those they see in the media. I want to say to everyone, especially young people in Bulgaria: you can do it. The mission we attended takes place once a year with this duration and number of participants. We were 15 people—13 Americans and two foreigners, who were Bulgarians. But there are also three-day and one-day programs. There is even a school in Izmir licensed by our base in Huntsville. We want to see a Bulgarian astronaut as soon as possible.

Veneta: It is very achievable.

Diana: Thank you very much for giving us the chance to look beyond and to dream a little. Thank you, Maxim and Veneta Behar.

Maxim: Thank you as well. With this suit, we are waiting for you at the base very soon.

Diana: Thank you, and thank you to our viewers for being with us this morning. If all is well, we will see you again next Saturday at 7:00. Have a wonderful Sunday and a great week ahead. Goodbye.

The whole interview watch here: https://www.maximbehar.com/bg/video/430/euronews-maksim-i-veneta-behar-za-odiseyata-v-kosmosa

Viktor: What did they learn, and are they ready for the challenges of upcoming space tourism journeys? Maxim Behar should already be with us, but Maria, I don’t see him. Maybe he stayed with Veneta at the training.

Maria: I don’t see him either.

Viktor: He was supposed to be here to visit us, especially to appear first on our show. I don’t know where Mr. Behar is.

Maxim: Here I am.

Maria: We’re very glad. Hello!

Maxim: Good morning!

Viktor: Good morning! Live from the training center, we see you in such an impressive outfit.

Maxim: Almost, almost. Good Saturday morning. I’ve come with a banana. I’ll tell you about it. I’m very glad that we’re together.

Viktor: Thank you for coming to us first to share your story.

Maxim: Thank you for the invitation. You know, your show is truly one of my favorites, especially on Saturday mornings, when we need to bring a little freshness into several million Bulgarian homes. We’re arriving together with my wife from Huntsville, Alabama. This is the astronaut training center — the largest and the only one in America. All American and international astronauts train there before flying into space. Twenty-one people who completed the course we completed later became real astronauts. In other words, they were discovered during the course itself, and their photos are displayed everywhere.

Viktor: Have you already received an offer to become the next astronaut?

Maxim: Not yet. It’s a very interesting idea because I became very passionate about this topic. When we arrived one afternoon, we immediately had training and a briefing on what to do and how to do it. At the first dinner, one of the vice presidents of the space center said as she entered, “These will be the most interesting days of your life.” She was absolutely right. These were the most interesting days I have ever had.

Maria: We’re seeing footage now — we’re getting a glimpse.

Viktor: Yes, we can see it was real training and a real challenge.

Maxim: What we went through in about ten days is actually real astronaut training. The only difference is that astronauts train for one, two, or three years every single day so that there is absolutely no room for error in space. A mistake in space doesn’t just cost a lot — it cannot be afforded at all, because we all know what can happen. We went through a lot of theory and practice, many physical exercises, scuba diving where we experienced zero gravity, and all the possible situations that can happen in space. We spent a whole day on a Mars mission simulation, which was very tiring because it was at the end of the program. We conducted chemical experiments. We spent one day inside a space station and another day at mission control, operating the station. There are many, many extremely complex things that we can hardly imagine. They’re not necessarily physically demanding, but they require instant reactions and quick thinking. You must know exactly which button is where and have learned everything thoroughly. I’m full of energy.

Maria: We can see that you’re very enthusiastic about everything you experienced there. But tell us about the suit you’re wearing now.

Maxim: These are the suits they give us upon arrival. We have identifying badges. Everyone knows everyone’s name. We were 15 people. This training is held specifically at the Huntsville, Alabama base and takes place only once a year. The largest space museum in the world is located there. Every day there are groups of children, students, and families visiting. There are special summer programs for children lasting one, two, or three days. But this program, called Advanced Adult Training, takes place only once a year for 15 people. Veneta and I were the only non-Americans. We met fantastic people. We created a WhatsApp group, we talk every day, we exchange photos. But most importantly, the program was somewhat ascetic, because we lived in small rooms where the beds had no mattresses — just plain wood.

Viktor: Maybe to make it closer to the real situation you might face.

Maxim: Probably, yes. There were eight beds in each room, arranged in bunk beds, and no windows where we slept. On the first day, when they gave us the schedule — I had been asking for it the whole time because I wanted to know what we would be doing — they told us, “You’ll receive the program when you arrive. We don’t send programs to anyone.”

Viktor: So no one decides to quit beforehand, probably.

Maxim: Maybe. Or maybe so no one spreads it — I don’t know. When we opened it, I said to myself, “Wait, this can’t be possible. 6:00 p.m. dinner, 7:00 p.m. final session reviewing the day, and 8:00 p.m. everyone in bed.”

Maria: A strict regime, Mr. Behar.

Maxim: Yes. 8:00 p.m. is usually the time I leave my office. But we followed the schedule. We woke up at 6:00 a.m. At around 7:00 we gathered for our first coffee, and then we went to breakfast. Every morning we had breakfast with people they called “associate professors.” That was their official title — it said “Associate Professor” on their badges. They were retired NASA engineers and software specialists, all over 80 years old. They shared incredible stories about Apollo, Challenger, the Space Shuttle program, and Discovery. All of them had participated in preparing astronauts and spacecraft. After that, we followed the daily program. On the last day, we even flew an F-16 simulator — the same aircraft that Bulgaria has ordered and is still waiting to receive the rest of.

Viktor: We’re still waiting for a few more. Maybe you can bring some back if necessary.

Maxim: On the last day, we operated a full F-16 simulator with all the real electronics and control panels. We even competed with our colleagues. It was fantastic. You know me — I like to do things that take me out of my comfort zone. Veneta and I walked the Camino. We wrote a book about it. I also sang with Misho Shamara. We’ve presented our songs here many times.

Viktor: Maybe you’ll create a space song next.

Maxim: I haven’t thought about that yet, but stepping outside your comfort zone is extremely healthy. In December, when I celebrated my birthday, my children and I gathered to discuss my present. I told them, “Please, I don’t want any gifts.” I even wrote that in the party invitation. Don’t bring wine, paintings, whiskey sets, cigar cutters, or typical gifts. If you want to help me, support me in going to the space base in Alabama for training. Here’s a QR code. That’s how I decided to do it — because it was an incredibly interesting challenge, and we completed it successfully. Two days ago, we had our graduation ceremony. It was very emotional — American-style, with a stage, podium, names, and praise. And now I believe it’s time for a Bulgarian astronaut. You know about our Hello Space project at the Atlantic Club. Mr. Passy and his team supported us greatly. In July, at the sixth edition of Hello Space in Sofia, I can’t wait to share our experience with students, along with photos and videos. I was often asked why I chose this challenge. There are a million challenges in Sofia — you can just walk down a street full of potholes. But this is connected to space and the future. I want people watching us to say, “If Maxim can do it, I can too.” That’s my message to young people — students and university students — you can do it.

Maria: Mr. Behar, which of your expectations before leaving for the course did not match what you saw there?

Maxim: Not a single one. Everything in Huntsville exceeded my expectations. It was ten times more — in atmosphere, experience, conversations, teamwork, and challenges. You must be extremely prepared to enter a space station. For example, before our Mars mission simulation, we had six hours of preparation the previous day. We received detailed briefings in large folders. I don’t know whether they use those exact folders in real missions, but I believe they do — because a folder cannot burn out like a screen or system failure. You carry it with you.

Viktor: Analog still remains. But since we’re nearing the end, two things interest me: what does zero-gravity simulation feel like, and why the banana?

Maxim: I’ll tell you. At the training center in Huntsville, there is the grave of Miss Baker, the first monkey to fly into space in 1959 for 16 minutes aboard a Jupiter rocket. Another monkey died four days later. The purpose was to monitor her biological parameters because there had not yet been a human in space. She returned safely and lived until 1984. There is a tradition: everyone entering the center leaves a banana at her grave, which is near the entrance. We didn’t know this, but we immediately bought a banana and left it there.

However, during simulations, “banana” also has another meaning. When you have a problem, you must say “banana” first, and then state the problem. It’s a key word. We used it often. On the final Mars simulation day, I received instructions to fall and say my arm was broken, then immediately say, “Banana, I have a problem, my arm is broken,” so my colleagues could respond and help.

Viktor: “Banana, the tulips fell.”

Maxim: These flowers are probably already in zero gravity.

Maria: Exactly. What is your next challenge?

Maxim: I don’t know yet. But I’m sure there will be more. If Veneta and I can do this and feel so inspired and energized, I wish every young person in Bulgaria could try something like this. I hope we will soon see a Bulgarian astronaut in an American space program. I would be happy to meet students and share everything we experienced. There’s nothing scary about it. It’s inspiring, challenging, and space is the future.

Viktor: Let’s follow our dreams. Thank you, Mr. Behar, for your positivity.

Maria: Now we’re inspired too. Maybe one day it will happen to us.

Maxim: I’ll be waiting to meet you after your return.

Viktor: Banana — our time is up. That’s the problem. Until next time.

Maria: Bulgaria Morning continues.

The whole video watch here: https://www.maximbehar.com/bg/video/429/bulgaria-on-air-v-obuvkite-na-astronavta

The Behar family successfully completed the full astronaut training program at the NASA U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and have been back in Bulgaria for two days. They are the first Bulgarians to graduate with distinction from this program at the Center, which prepares astronauts and participants for American space missions and is considered one of the most prestigious training facilities in the world.

Their participation was part of the “HELLO, SPACE!” project of the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria — a unique program held once a year and open to only 16 participants worldwide.

“I am happy that our ‘Hello Space’ program was able, for the first time, to partner with NASA’s Center in Huntsville, and our assessment is that the Behar family performed excellently. We warmly welcome them back and look forward to them sharing their experience in detail during our space festival at the end of June in Sofia,” said the Club’s President, Solomon Passy, during the official reception.

Maxim and Veneta shared that the program included intensive space flight simulations, training for operating in zero gravity, and specialized EVA (extravehicular activity) exercises — commonly known as spacewalk training. Participants went through scenarios closely replicating real space mission conditions under the guidance of instructors with experience in the U.S. space program.

What we were doing 30–31 years ago has nothing in common with what we do today. In one word: everything has changed.

A few constants remain — honesty, integrity, and the need to be creative and innovative. But today these values exist on an entirely different level.

In 1995, it was important to be honest with society, with employees, and with your family. Today, it is hundreds of times more important to be honest with yourself, with your business, and with the people you communicate with on social media.

There are now around four billion “media owners” in the world — everyone with a social media profile. Each of them is simultaneously a publisher, editor, and reporter. This changes the type of person we work with. Perhaps we are no longer homo sapiens, but something closer to homo socialicus — people who live in constant sharing and communication.

“Does artificial intelligence help people more today, or does it confuse them?”

Both — it helps and it confuses.

When generative AI first appeared, many people reacted with near shock: How can a machine tell me things no one has ever told me before? At first, we compared it to a smarter version of Google.

But development has not moved at a geometric pace — it has accelerated exponentially. In just two or three years, we have seen phenomenal change. Today, it is hard to go even one hour without consulting AI — for writing, travel planning, ideas, or analysis.

The key difference is that AI is no longer just a search engine. It is a partner — an extension of our brain. Not something that simply provides information, but something we interact with to reach decisions together.

“If you were 25 today, what would you be most cautious about in the world of AI?”

I wouldn’t be cautious about anything — and I’m not cautious today either. My only concern would be failing to master it properly, failing to learn how to “talk” to it.

Today’s 25-year-olds live in a completely different world — a world of constant communication and overwhelming amounts of information. My colleagues aged 20–25 are far more educated and ambitious than people my age were years ago.

The real danger is not artificial intelligence, but resistance to it. Saying, “No, this is dangerous, I don’t want to know anything about AI.” The opposite is needed — partnership. When we learn to work alongside AI, it will help us identify fake content, protect ourselves, and become even more original and authentic.

“We see more fake news and deepfakes every day. How will we deal with this?”

Yes, we encounter fakes across all social media platforms every single day. But it is better to see them, recognize them, and report them than to pretend they do not exist.

I am confident that one day we will be “programmed” to recognize fake content instantly. Today it may take us 5 to 15 seconds, depending on how sophisticated the manipulation is.

The key is not fear or rejection, but curiosity and a desire to understand how technology works. Then AI will help us detect fake content — not the other way around.

“How do you use artificial intelligence in your daily work?”

I use it to the extent that current technologies allow. Very often, I ask AI how it would solve a complex case — for a client or for my company, M3 Communications Group, Inc.

But I never accept 100% of what AI provides. Usually, I take about 30% of its suggestions and combine them with 70% of my own experience — over 30 years in PR and another 10–15 years before that in journalism.

Its biggest advantage is time efficiency. Where I once spent hours searching across multiple platforms and YouTube, AI now organizes raw information on a single screen — and I build on top of that.

At the moment, I refine and polish what it offers. But the day when the ratio becomes 70% AI and 30% my final touch will be very interesting. That is when we will truly appreciate the power of this partnership.

“Do you learn more from your mistakes or from your successes?”

People often say, “Learn from your mistakes so you don’t repeat them.” I don’t believe that. What is there to learn from mistakes? You have already made them. If you repeat them two or three times, perhaps this business — or even communications — is simply not for you.

I learn from my successes. Every success is like climbing a peak — whether it is 100, 300, or 1,000 meters high. Once you reach the top, there is no point in looking down — you have already been there. You need to look up, toward the next summit.

The real lessons are: why I succeeded, what I did right, and how the next project can be even more successful.

“What role will AI play in politics and future elections?”

I believe that one day artificial intelligence will vote on our behalf — and this should not scare us.

Our role will be to clearly state what we want: cleaner streets, better incomes, more honest politicians, a more orderly state. AI will compare our expectations with the programs of parties and candidates and say: “This person should vote for this option.”

There will be no vote buying, no manipulated protocols. If a minister fails to deliver on promises, after a certain period their access card to the ministry will simply stop working. The system will say: “You are no longer a minister.”

This is not science fiction — it is a logical direction of development. Technology will allow us to control politicians far more strictly than we do today.

“What advice would you give to a 16-year-old starting an online business?”

First — find a niche. Bulgaria has an incredible number of niches that are still untapped. I travel constantly and see business models abroad that have not yet arrived here.

Today, you need almost no money to start. A phone, a laptop, and a good internet connection are enough. Everything else depends on ideas and work.

My short answer is: have a spark in your eyes. Be motivated to succeed. Want to create something that brings value to people — and yes, to earn money as well. That is a wonderful quality.

Luck matters, but luck without effort means nothing. If your head is empty, luck will simply pass by. But if you work, learn, stay curious, and strive to be different — both luck and success will come to you.

Watch the full interview here.

According to Maxim Behar, there is no fundamental difference between a regional, national, or international brand. The principles are the same — the most important prerequisite is the existence of a strong, authentic product.

“Samokov is a wonderful product,” Behar notes. The town has significant potential that needs to be better presented and structured, both for the Bulgarian public and for international audiences.

Its proximity to Sofia and Borovets is a major competitive advantage, which so far has not been fully utilised. For a long time, Samokov has remained in the shadow of the resort, despite having its own history, culture, and identity.

The role of communication in regional development

Even the best product can remain unnoticed if it is not communicated in the right way. Behar emphasises that successful branding requires consistent and purposeful communication, not isolated campaigns.

Stories about the city, its people, and its businesses need to be told daily and systematically in order to build a recognisable and sustainable image.

Business as the main driving force

According to Behar, branding cannot be the sole responsibility of the municipality. While state and local institutions play an important role, the true driving force must come from business. Entrepreneurs are more flexible, innovative, and proactive in communicating with the outside world.

Municipalities, on the other hand, should act as stable partners, creating favourable conditions and supporting initiatives. Sustainable development is achieved when institutions and business work in synergy and trust communication professionals.

People — the most valuable asset

One of the key themes of the discussion was the role of people. Natural resources and tourist attractions exist everywhere in the world, but what truly distinguishes Samokov — and Bulgaria as a whole — are its people: educated, motivated, and full of potential.

They should be at the heart of every communication strategy. Stories about local businesses, young professionals, and cultural and social life create emotional connection and make a place recognisable and attractive.

Digital channels as the main tool

Maxim Behar also highlighted the changing role of media. Today, digital platforms and social networks are the primary tools for reaching audiences. They offer precise targeting, measurable results, and efficiency, making them an indispensable part of any modern branding strategy.

Samokov — more than a tourist destination

According to Behar, Samokov should not be seen solely as a tourist town. It is equally important to promote opportunities for business and investment. A dynamic economic environment naturally attracts tourists and international partners as well.

The missing identity

At present, Samokov lacks a clearly recognisable logo, slogan, and key message — something Behar identifies as one of the first issues that needs to be addressed. A strong visual identity should be modern, clear, and embraced by the local community.

He suggests organising an open competition for a logo and slogan, involving young creatives and residents — a process that does not require major resources but can give a strong start to a comprehensive branding strategy.

Live promotion and international interest

Among the concrete ideas discussed were invitations to foreign ambassadors, investment forums, and cultural events that could turn Samokov into a place for meetings and exchange. Personal impressions and recommendations remain among the most powerful tools for building trust and interest.

Clear strategy and consistency

In conclusion, Maxim Behar emphasised that success comes from a clear vision, expert approach, and consistency. Samokov has all the prerequisites to establish itself as a strong regional brand — what is needed is to clearly define these advantages and present them consistently to the world.

Watch the full interview here.

Maxim Behar shares that he does not believe in a single defining story. For him, life is a sequence of experiences that accumulate over time and ultimately become true wealth. Having started working at the age of 13 and having gone through difficult personal moments, factory work, journalism, international politics, and business, he is convinced that these early and often challenging steps are what build character.

Stories, he says, are not always fully understood when they happen. Their true value often becomes clear much later—when they help us make better decisions or move forward during difficult times. True wealth does not lie in possessions, but in accumulated experience and meaningful life stories.

What does it mean to be “young” today?

According to Maxim Behar, age has nothing to do with the number of years lived. It is directly connected to one’s ability to make decisions. The faster and more confidently you decide, the younger you are. In today’s world, hesitation often equals falling behind.

Mistakes are inevitable, but they are not the problem—inaction is. A person who is afraid to take responsibility and make decisions gradually loses energy, regardless of age. True youth lies in action, in the courage to take risks and accept the consequences.

Have you ever doubted yourself?

Behar is firm in his belief that self-doubt rarely leads to positive outcomes. Instead of asking “Will I succeed?”, he prefers the question “How can I make it work?”. Every person has their own definition of success, and there is no universal formula.

What matters most, he says, is following your own dreams—whether they are related to business, a profession, or a way of life. Success is not measured by titles or positions, but by whether you have achieved the goals you set for yourself.

What is the most important risk you have taken?

For Maxim Behar, risk is not a single dramatic moment—it is a daily reality. From starting his own business in the early 1990s to the present day, he views risk as a natural part of growth. The biggest mistake, in his opinion, is obsessing over failures.

Instead of endlessly analyzing mistakes, it is far more valuable to learn from success. When you reach a peak, your gaze should be directed forward—toward the next one—not backward.

What should a true dream look like?

A dream, Behar says, should be frightening. If it feels too comfortable and safe, then it is not big enough. True dreams demand effort, courage, and a willingness to walk a path that does not yet exist.

That path is not predefined. It is created step by step. The most valuable part is not reaching point B, but everything that happens between point A and point B—this is where real growth takes place.

What is the role of inspiration?

According to Maxim Behar, inspiration is not something you search for—it comes on its own. The most important thing is not to run away from it. The moment inspiration appears, you must seize it and turn it into action.

Without inspiration there is no happiness, no motivation, and no meaning. It is fragile and requires care—especially in everyday life, in work, in projects, and in our relationships with others.

Watch the full interview here.