On the 30th of January 2019 over 400 members and friends of the Hellenic Business Council in Bulgaria gathered at Sofia Hotel Balkan's Royal Hall to raise a toast for success and prosperity at the HBCB Annual New Year's party. This year's event featured a festive program with traditional Greek music, Vassilopita cutting and a lot of exciting prizes. The HBCB party provided an excellent opportunity to meet partners and friends and to welcome the New 2019.
 
The festive program began in a casual atmosphere under the accompaniment of nice piano melodies, performed by the musicians from Band 7/8 who came from Greece especially for the event.
 
The Chairman of HBCB Mr. Stamatis Theodoropoulos opened the official part of the evening, welcoming the guests and thanking them for their commitment to the HBCB mission and the continuous support of the Council. He wished them a Happy New Year, full of health and happiness, new achievements and a lot of inspirations on their life.
A congratulatory speech was made by H.E. the Ambassador of Greece to Bulgaria, Mr. Grigorios Vassiloconstantakis. He greeted the guests and mentioned that some of them have made big investments in the Bulgarian economy and have created more than 40,000 jobs as well. He wished everybody joy and success.
The event was also honored by the presence of H.E. Mr. Marios Kontourides, Ambassador of Cyprus in Sofia, who expressed his joy being on duty in Bulgaria and wished to the participants happy and healthy New Year.
 
The Master of ceremony, Mr. Niki Kanchev, thanked all sponsors and companies that kindly provided the gifts for the winners in the festive raffle. According to HBCB annual tradition, the Vassilopita, provided by Alma Libre, was officially cut in hopes of health and prosperity.
Later on, the traditional Greek music with bouzouki also made a great deal of the excellent mood of the guests, who enjoyed the delicious Greek kitchen, prepared by the chef of Sofia Hotel Balkan.
 
HBCB would like to thank its patron companies EKO Bulgaria, Postbank, Chipita Bulgaria, Coca Cola HBC, ETEM Bulgaria, Intralot Bulgaria and Piraeus Bank for their invaluable support.
HBCB would like to thank EKO Bulgaria for the General Sponsorship of the event.
We would like to thank all its members and friends for their presence as well as the companies’ sponsors of this great evening:
Alexandris Engineering, Baker Tilly, Belovo Paper Mill, Eurofast Global, Go Shipping, ICAP, IKEA, Interplast, Intracom, Mirkat, Orbit, Penkov, Markov & Partners, Philip Morris, Report.BG and Zlatna Panega Cement
We would like to thank the companies that kindly provided the gifts for the winners in the party raffle, the drinks, the Vassilopita and the musicians for the party as well:
 
Aegean Airlines – 2 roundtrip airplane tickets Sofia-Athens-Sofia; Autotechnica – one test drive weekend with Seat Ateca for two at Pirin Golf and SPA Complex in Bansko; Alma Libre Bulgaria - Vassilopita; Coca-Cola HBC Bulgaria - water and non-alcoholic Beverages; Chipita - 2 baskets with special surprise gifts; Force Delta – security; Glass Cleaning – a present package ‘’10 Years Glass Cleaning in Bulgaria’’; Kеmpinski Hotel Grand Arena – Bansko - 2 overnights stay  in a luxurious double deluxe room, including SPA; Maison Sofia Hotel - a free accommodation in double room for two and one day SPA, including fitness, pool, sauna and hamam; Meli Tours - 2 nights in a double room at 4 stars hotel in Halkidiki, Greece, including breakfast and dinner; Plesio - Xiaomi smart skill gadget; Premier Luxury Mountain Resort Bansko - 2 nights' free accommodation and Spa & wellness facilities; Sofia Hotel Balkan - 2 complimentary dinners for two persons in Sofia Hotel Balkan.
 
We are glad that our event receives more and more attention each year and we hope the tradition will stay alive for years to come. Thank you all so much and see you next year!