Celebrating St. Valentine’s Day with troubled hearts, citizens and environmentalists are gathering in Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv to kiss for saving Irakli – one of the few Black Sea virgin beaches, which has not stopped property investors from casting their hungry eyes upon it. Despite the ban imposed by the Regional Inspectorate on Environment and Water Affairs on construction company Swiss Property (SP) on building a holiday village at Irakli coast, the firm has not canceled operations, acting like a self-appointed authority and ordering the Bulgarian nature.

In reply, Daspasimirakli, the organisation dedicated to the preservation of the area, has called for “the most massive kiss in the history of environmental protection and the most ecological kiss in the history of St. Valentine” and has labeled the holiday “the day of those enamoured with Irakli”.

The event starts at 6.30 pm on February 14 in front of Ivan Vazov National Theatre in Sofia, to the background of World Beats Music played by DJ Dancing Angel and the Global Circle Underground DJs.

The organisers said this St. Valentine’s Day would be the first one when the people with an active civil position can show it on the most beautiful way - by kissing. Daspasimirakli wants to prove that “only the love can save us from the apathy and the aggression of this country”.

“This is the first St. Valentine’s Day when we can show that in Bulgaria we kiss well and even with a mission: to combat the apathy and the kitsch,” the organisers said. It is an attempt for a record for the biggest number of people kissing at the same time in Bulgaria.

“Daspasimirakli is certain that all people, who follow the campaign's progress, have thousands of reasons to want to passionately kiss many representatives of the Bulgarian Cabinet, Nessebar municipality (where Irakli is located), Ministry of Interior and, most of all, Stoyan Zahariev and SP representatives – people in tender relations with the concrete!,” the environmentalists said.

Certain that love is at the root of everything, Daspasimirakli invited all who love to kiss, love Irakli and the Bulgarian nature, love life, want to show all their love to the Bulgarian government and Nessebar municipality, the investors and the excavators to attend the event. "We invite all who have the desire, but not the opportunity to kiss all those government officials, who would transform Irakli into a wonderful concrete resort, in which we are sure there will be kisses of all kinds and sorts,” the organisers said.

“Tens of ministers, municipal councillors and investors, come and we will kiss you,” they added.

The event is also supported by the coalition of 18 environmental organisations to Sustain the Nature in Bulgaria, including WWF Bulgaria.