Burgas will host the International Geography Olympiad in 2029.

Bulgaria has won the bid to host the 25th International Geography Olympiad (iGeo), and in the summer of 2029, Burgas will welcome the world's top young geographers.Our country was selected to host the largest international geography competition during a session of the International Geographical Union in Istanbul, Turkey. Burgas won the hosting rights over competing bids from Porto Seguro, Brazil, and Nicosia, Cyprus, following a secret ballot by the Task Force of the International Geography Olympiad.The candidacy of Burgas was officially submitted at the beginning of 2026 and is the result of a joint effort by the Faculty of Geology and Geography at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", the Municipality of Burgas, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Sofia University Branch in Burgas, and the National Natural Sciences Olympic Teams Association.The initiative to host the event came from the leaders of the Bulgarian national geography team, Assoc. Prof. Dimitar Zhelev and Assoc. Prof. Kaloyan Tsvetkov. For Burgas, hosting this event is yet another recognition of the city's development as a national and international center for education, science, and youth talent cultivation.

Just days ago, Istanbul hosted the 22nd edition of the Olympiad, which saw the participation of representatives from 48 countries. Prior to Burgas, the competition will be hosted by Jelgava, Latvia, and Melbourne, Australia.Bulgaria already has successful experience in organizing international geography competitions. In 2026, our country hosted the European Geography Olympiad (EGEO), which was held in Varna