Chrissy Brand from Great Britain: I’ve been listening to Radio Bulgaria for decades

For Chrissy Brand, a freelance journalist and long-time radio enthusiast from the UK, the trip to Bulgaria didn't start with a call to a travel agency or a low-cost airline ticket. It began decades ago in a quiet room filled with the humming of an old valve radio and the incomprehensible voices of countries near and far, carried over the airwaves. One of those countries was Bulgaria.

For years, Chrissy Brand has dreamed of visiting the country she knows so much about from the shortwave broadcasts and later from the online podcasts of Radio Bulgaria, the international program of the Bulgarian National Radio, operating since 1936.

We meet Chrissy Brand at the BNR central bulding in the heart of the Bulgarian capital Sofia, where she is our guest to tell us how her love of international radio broadcasting inspires her to travel the world and make new friends.

Listen to the full interview of Chrissy Brand talking to Radio Bulgaria's Rositsa Petkova

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Her interest in radio dates back to her childhood:

"When I was a child, there was a BBC program called "Listen with Mum", my mother and I listened to it, I was very young. After that, I often went to my grandparents' house, who had one of those old huge valve radios - I could barely reach the knobs, but I was captivated by the beautiful green lights. I turned the knobs and read the strange names of cities and countries. That was more interesting to me than listening to normal radio stations like the BBC programs. I felt like I was part of a club that few people know about."

From Sofia to the UK - a bond that was forged the 70s

In the mid-1970s Chrissy also came across the frequency of Radio Sofia, as Radio Bulgaria was called back then:

"I first heard Radio Bulgaria in the 70s, maybe 1976. Then I bought my own radio set because I realized that you can hear all these countries that broadcast in English and other languages. I started listening to Radio Sweden, Radio Prague and Radio Netherlands, and then I discovered Radio Sofia. And it was really exciting. Back then you could contact the station and get a QSL card, and that way you could establish a bond and a friendship. It felt like something very special."

The so-called QSL cards, a physical confirmation of a received listener report, which Radio Bulgaria continues to send today, are becoming a truly valuable symbol of a distant country.

BNR’s new QSL cards for 2025 present the beauty of Bulgaria

In today's highly competitive media landscape with multiple online platforms, Chrissy finds value in national radio stations and the unique voice of Radio Bulgaria, especially for listeners looking for authentic cultural depth.

"I have always been loyal to international radio stations, as I like that feeling of international friendship and culture. Also, the content is on a higher level compared to most pop music and news radio stations. So I still listen regularly to Radio Prague, Radio Sweden, Radio Bulgaria. Also sometimes Radio Slovakia and Radio Thailand. I was lucky enough to visit Bangkok a few years ago and the people there are also very friendly. It's wonderful when you listen to these radio stations and then establish friendships with the people there."

In front of the small chapel in the yard of the Bulgarian National Radio

What does Chrissy discover in "Bulgaria Today" – the English-language podcast of Radio Bulgaria, which our listeners can find on our website?

"I listen with interest to the news, especially local news, national news, which you rarely hear in other countries. But also the voice of ordinary people, of the citizens who live in the country – how they feel, what they do, how they spend their free time. That way I get an idea of what it would be like if I lived in this country. And also, the music is wonderful. I think it is important to play both folk and pop music and everything new that is happening on the music scene at the moment. Radio Bulgaria is a good way for this music to spread."

The sounds of Bulgarian music have captivated her since she was a child, and even now, when she is in Sofia, she happily discovers a television program about Bulgarian folklore in her hotel room.

"I think that short musical performances and interviews with ordinary people are the formula for success. And it's also important to attract new listeners around the world, younger people who will say: "Oh, what is life like in Bulgaria? I didn't know they had an English broadcast, I can listen to it so easily". The future is definitely the direction of attracting new audiences!"

Currently, Chrissy is the author of a monthly column in the American radio broadcasting magazine "Spectrum Monitor", and is also the editor of the communications journal of the British DX Club. For years, she has been part of this group of radio enthusiasts, devoted to a "romantic" hobby that shows the importance of national radio broadcasts.

Annual meeting of European DX Council takes place in Bulgaria

"It's an aging population and our members are gradually facing away, fewer and fewer young people are joining, but there is always something interesting to listen to. It's not quite the same as listening to shortwave, although there is still a lot of shortwave content. We are a community of people brought together by their interest in radio, perhaps people with more progressive ideas about international friendship, the idea of a united group of people who share common interests."

Discovering layers of history in Sofia

Decades after first encountering the sounds of Bulgaria, Chrissy finally arrives here, deliberately choosing not to travel by plane, but to cross the whole of Europe, meter by meter, by train and bus, and soak up the sights and aromas of the continent firsthand. She arrives in Sofia by bus after a few days in the Serbian capital Belgrade and shares her first impressions with us:

In front of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre in Sofia

"It's wonderful! When you arrive in a new place, you're always a little confused at first, especially when you don't understand the language, and my knowledge of Cyrillic is pretty basic. But it's really beautiful here - huge boulevards, lots of historical buildings. I really like the architecture and the different cultural layers. It's really amazing how many preserved remains there are of the ancient Roman city of Serdica, which has been explored and excavated. You go down behind the ruins, look up and see centuries of history. The feeling is special."

The program for the remaining days of Chrissy's trip around the country includes many names of places that have been featured on numerous QSL cards or radio broadcasts on Radio Bulgaria, such as Rila Monastery, Plovdiv, Burgas and the Black Sea Coast.

Looking Forward: Radio Bulgaria at 90

As the Bulgarian National Radio is marking its 90th anniversary this year and Radio Bulgaria will celebrate its 90th birthday in 2026, Chrissy’s visit to us is a testament to its enduring place in today’s global media landscape.

Her wish for us is both a challenge and an encouragement:

“I wish Radio Bulgaria many more happy years, many more successful years and opportunities to expand its audience with younger generations, so that new and new people around the world will hear about your shows, learn more about the country and want to visit it!”

As she continues her journey through the country she first encountered over the airwaves, Chrissy Brand shows us that Bulgaria’s voice continues to be heard and that in the era of global streaming content and an ocean of podcasts, specialized foreign-language shows on national radio stations continue to be an invaluable cultural bridge.

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Photos: Chrissy Brand (private archive), Rositsa Petkova, BNR archive

English publication: Rositsa Petkova