Episode 6: Sofia’1968

The Urban Detective

In 1968 youth movements all over the world sought to change the world forever. In the wake of the Prague Spring, Communist Sofia hosted The World Festival of Youth and Students, welcoming thousands of young people in its first "grand opening" to the West. Some, as the writer Viktor Paskov, remember it as the Bulgarian "summer of love" - but was it really? And what about the pervasive myth that the Beatles wanted to play the festival, but were thwarted by the regime? In this episode we ask how Bulgarians experienced this iconic year - and what was the deal with this "socialist Woodstock"? With Ina Valtchanova, writer, Hristo Boutsev, editor in chief of "Кultura" newspaper, Johnny Penkov, documentarian, and Emil Georgiev and Harizan Harizanov - Beatles fanatics. This episode features exerpts from "State Security and the World Youth Festival" collection, Sofia Magazine, the Golden Fund of the Bulgarian National Radio and the personal archive of the Bulgarian National Radio journalist Tsvetan Tsvetanov. The exerpt from "Germany, a Dirty Tale" by Viktor Paskov is read by Radoslav Chichev. The song at the top Who Stole the Soul of Rock'n'Roll by The Dingees, International City Recordings, 2010, (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) Additional sounds in the episode from Freesound.org: Koscierzyna Fontanna by Zbylut ; Floyd Filtertron Riding by aceinet; CC BY 3.0