The following is a brief history of the early years of Round Table Bulgaria.
Round Table life in Bulgaria began in October 1993, when Tablers from around the world gathered to celebrate the chartering of RT 1 Sofia. The mother table was RT 67 Antwerp, Belgium.
Among the distinguished international guests were Harry McNamara (International Officer of RTBI), Mike Roberts (Immediate Past IRO), and Manny “BMW” Pattinson (General Secretary of RTI).
The chartering ceremony took place at the Palace of Culture during the weekend of 1–3 October 1993. Harry McNamara presented a block and gavel to the new Bulgarian Table. The gala dinner celebrations extended into Sunday morning, concluding with a farewell brunch, where RTBI famously served the iconic BMWs cocktail—a mix of Baileys, Malibu, and Whiskey.
Less than a year later, in September 1994, the second Bulgarian table, RT 2 Bourgas, was chartered. Bourgas, a coastal city about 250 miles from Sofia, welcomed international guests who were first flown into Sofia and then driven to the charter location by Bulgarian Tablers. The weekend featured a welcome party, a Saturday excursion to a nearby resort, and the official charter ceremony held at the State Gallery of Bourgas, followed by a gala dinner that once again lasted into the early hours. The event was marked by genuine friendship and hospitality from the members of both Bulgarian Tables.
In 1996, RT Bulgaria became an associate member of WOCO.
Next came RT 3 Plovdiv, chartered on 6 February 1999 by RT 67 Brussels International, with an initial group of 13 members. George Anastasov served as the first chairman. Since its inception, the table has actively promoted the ideas and principles of Round Table.
From 12–14 April 2002, the charter ceremony for RT Bulgaria took place during the national AGM, with RT Netherlands as the mother association.
RT 4 Plovdiv was chartered on 1 November 2003, emerging from one of the major charity initiatives of RT 3 Plovdiv. Since 1999, RT 3 Plovdiv has supported capable young people in the city by awarding annual scholarships across all six local universities.
The club’s main goal is to expand this scholarship program. The first charity party aimed at raising additional scholarship funds was held in 2001, where foreign guests joined the cause. The project’s goal went beyond recognizing talented students; it also sought to empower and advance their future development. Many of these scholarship recipients later formed the foundation of RT 4 Plovdiv.
In the autumn of 2013, twenty years after Round Table began in Bulgaria—and inspired by the EMATM event in Plovdiv a year prior—four men from Varna began meeting with the dream of establishing a table in Bulgaria’s summer capital. With the guidance and support of RT 3 Plovdiv, they embarked on their journey.
Twelve months later, their efforts bore fruit with the chartering of RT 5 Varna on 18 October 2014, with RT 6 Forlì, Italy serving as the Godfather table.
Since then, many events have taken place, countless social initiatives have been completed, and—most importantly—lifelong friendships and fellowship have been created through the spirit of Round Table in Bulgaria.