In her speech following the ceremony, Ambassador Skarstein stressed that the order is a great honour not only to her personally, but to Norway as a whole. The Ambassador expressed her hope that the cultural heritage projects funded with Norwegian taxpayers’ money will help Bulgaria resume its place as a major cultural nation in Europe.
This was the first time a new version of the Golden Century distinction was conferred. The image of the Golden Century was changed to include the symbol of infinity – because “culture is an infinite term”, in Culture Minister Rashidov’s words.
The Golden Century distinction was also conferred on Spanish Ambassador Jorge Fuentes, US Ambassador James B. Warlick, artist Bozhidar Bonchev, theatre director Tedi Moskov and the principal of the National Lyceum for Ancient Languages and Cultures “St. Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher” Guergina Toncheva.