THE BALLOON MAN

Balkanski circus marks 50th anniversary of devastating earthquake in Skopje with performances: owner

 

from:  focus-fen.net
29 March 2013 FOCUS News Agency
Home / Southeast Europe and Balkans
Skopje. The performances of Balkanski circus in the Universal Hall in Skopje feel at home. Once we arrived in Macedonia, we discovered a new Skopje, Alexander Balkanski, founder and owner of the biggest circus in the Balkan Peninsula, said in an interview with FOCUS News Agency.
 Currently Balkanski circus is in the Macedonian capital and is holding performances to mark the 50th anniversary of a devastating earthquake in Skopje.
 Why Balkanski circus marks the anniversary? The answer is the following – in 1963 at the time of the earthquake the Bulgarian state circus Sofia was in Skopje. On the third day of the performances the strong earthquake occurred and the circus turned into a mobile hospital and shelter for all injured people, he said.
 Balkanski circus is in the Macedonian capital also because a circus has not visited Skopje in the past 50 years.
The idea about a visit of Balkanski circus popped up when former Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov visited Macedonia. The idea was for the circus to come on goodwill on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Skopje. The performances are held in memory of the people who died in the quake, said Alexander Balkanski.
 Vanina NEDKOVA