Welcome to BALKANFILA XXI 2026

The Beginning of a Dream

The year is 1936. The Union of Bulgarian Philatelists does not yet exist as a national association of philatelic societies, but collecting Bulgaria is buzzing with active public life. It is precisely then that a new philatelic magazine appears – “Bulgarian Stamp”..

Its publisher is the barely 22‑year‑old Simeon Charykchiev – a young philatelic dealer with flair and bold ideas. He does not simply sell stamps; he looks ahead, dreams, and sees the potential of philatelic collecting in Bulgaria. In his mind a vision is born, daring for its time: a major international philatelic exhibition would significantly stimulate the market and place Bulgaria on the map of European philately.

Europe was already organizing such events, and Bulgaria was then experiencing an economic upswing, supported by strong state protectionist policies. Charykchiev assessed the trends accurately, and in the second issue of “Bulgarian Stamp”, published in April 1936 – exactly 90 years before the date to be celebrated in April 2026 – he published the article “Balkan Philatelic Exhibition in Sofia.”. In it, for the first time, he put forward for public discussion the IDEA OF A BALKAN EXHIBITION..

“…the exhibition… must be organized under the leadership of the existing philatelic organizations in Sofia – dealers and collectors. A committee, composed of the two organizations, will prepare a well‑founded memorandum to be submitted for approval by the relevant state authorities. Within one or two weeks, during which the exhibition would last, the state could realize a profit…, more than half of which would be in foreign currency… Such a Balkan exhibition, organized in Sofia, would be visited by thousands of foreigners… The philatelic public abroad is very responsive and generous towards such initiatives. Our colleagues from other countries have long understood this phenomenon, making the most rational use of it…”

Charykchiev foresaw a bright future for such an initiative – and he was right. But thirty years had to pass before his dream became reality. When the first BALKANFILA finally opened in Varna, Simeon Charykchiev was already living in France, where he continued to promote Bulgarian stamp issuing.

In Paris he founded the philatelic circle “France – Bulgaria”, organized exhibitions, and presented Bulgarian postage stamps to the international public. He attended the opening of BALKANFILA in Varna – but nowhere was it noted that he was the man who had conceived the idea.