Novinite.com Celebrates 10th Birthday, Awards Kristalina Georgieva as 'Personality of 2010'

The party for Novinite.com's 10th Birthday: (L-R) Publisher Maxim Behar and EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva with Novinite.com journalists Ognyan Kassabov, Ivan Dikov, Milena Hristova, Maria Guineva, Valeriya Krasteva, Nikola Petrov. Photo by M3

Bulgaria's largest English-language media Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) has celebrated its 10th birthday with a special event in Sofia, with EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva being an honorary guest.

Dozens of representatives of the diplomatic corps in Sofia, the Bulgarian government, the business, sector, and the media joined the Publishers and Editorial Board of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) at the glamorous birthday party Monday afternoon in the Radisson Blu Hotel in the Bulgarian capital.

Those included US Ambassador James Warlick, Italian Ambassador Stefano Benazzo, Norway Ambassador Tove Skarstein, Palestinian Ambassador Ahmed al Madbuh, EC Representation head Zinaida Zlatanova as well as senior diplomats from the other foreign missions in Sofia.

"Upon arriving, Her Excellency, the Ambassador of Norway to Bulgaria, Tove Skarstein, asked me if I was organizing this event. I am glad to say that I have been organizing it for ten years now. I would like to thank all of our and all of our readers from around the world for being with us," the founder and publisher of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) Maxim Behar told the guests at the birthday event.

Behar reminded that the first article ever published by Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) written by him personally was "Radisson SAS Opens In Sofia" (Sunday, March 11, 2001), which is why the holding of the birthday event at the Radisson had a symbolic meaning.

"There are approximately 5 260 000 minutes in one decade. In this past decade we have been with you every single one of these minutes. We remain committed more than ever to serving you, our readers," Ivan Dikov, Editor-in-Chief of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) said.

At the 10th birthday party of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), the Publishers and Editorial Staff awarded Kristalina Georgieva, EU Commissioner for humanitarian aid, for having been elected "Bulgaria's Personality in the News 2010" by YOU, our readers from all around the world!

In the voting in December and January Georgieva grabbed the first place in the annual poll of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) by a narrow margin, with the star striker of Manchester United Dimitar Berbatov remaining a very close second.

"I would like to thank explicitly Novinite.com for their outstanding coverage of both Bulgarian and European topics! When I was working in Washington, DC, and now when I am working in Brussels I send very often articles of Novinite.com to my colleagues and associates," EU Commissioner Georgieva said upon receiving her award as "Bulgaria's Personality in the News 2010."

Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) traditionally polls its readers from around the world at the end of each year to give them the chance to determine the most important personalities of the year. In 2009, the readers of Novinite.com placed first UNESCO's Bulgarian Director-General Irina Bokova, followed by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Bulgaria's former EU Commissioner Meglena Kuneva.

Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), was founded in 2001 by Bulgarian journalist, businessman, and public relations expert, Maxim Behar. It was formally launched on March 11, 2001.

Since then, the real time news website has recorded more than 31 000 000 unique visits, and more than 106 000 000 page views.

Novinite.com's online daily newspaper, The Sofia Morning News (called Bulgarian Breaking News at the time), was launched on June 1, 2001. Its subscription figures - and that of The Sofia Weekly - each near 30 000.

The Team of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) would like to thank all of you, our readers from around the world, who have taken eager interest in our work, and have supported us throughout the past 10 years! We remain committed to serving you more than ever before!

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!