NATIONAL BEAUTY PAGEANT
MISS BULGARIA
Since 1929
PRESTIGE. NATURAL BEAUTY. TALENT. INTEGRITY. TRADITION.
WHO WE ARE
The Miss Bulgaria National Beauty Pageant is a historic national institution and a symbol of Bulgarian beauty, heritage and tradition since 1929.
Each year, Miss Bulgaria brings together women from across the country in a prestigious national competition to crown a representative of Bulgarian beauty, talent and values. The winner becomes an ambassador for Bulgaria, its traditions and a message of peace.
Beyond the Grand Final, Miss Bulgaria is a year-round platform celebrating lifestyle, success, passion and beauty, creating opportunities and experiences throughout the year.
The newly crowned Miss Bulgaria receives access to remarkable opportunities and rewards, including the possibility to represent Bulgaria at some of the world’s most prestigious international pageants.
May the magic be with you!
NEW ERA FOR MISS BULGARIA
Gaël BONNEL SANCHEZ, French businessman and producer, now leads Miss Bulgaria with a clear ambition: to restore the prestige of this historic national institution and bring it into a new era.
Recognized in France as one of 16 exceptional high performers featured by psychologist and neuroscience researcher Fanny Nusbaum in Le Secret des performants, Gaël appears alongside remarkable French personalities including rugby champion Frédéric Michalak, aerobatic pilot Mélanie Astles, haute-couture designer Julien Fournié, and master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian — creator of Jean Paul Gaultier’s iconic Le Male and later Baccarat Rouge 540.
After beginning his career in football, Gaël transitioned into television with Endemol before entering the film industry through Nu Boyana Film Studios, where he later served as Marketing Director.
A TRACK RECORD OF INNOVATION
An entrepreneur driven by innovation, his career has been marked by a series of pioneering concepts. He created Heroïca Tempus, the world’s first timepiece incorporating authentic handwritten signatures of historical icons such as Napoleon and Albert Einstein directly into the dial. He also created Black G, the world’s first caviar vodka, a concept that later inspired Pernod Ricard, one of the world’s largest spirits groups, and founded GBS Models, Bulgaria’s first influencer academy and agency.
Today, he leads Hollywood Influence Studios, developing a new generation of entertainment and film projects. He is currently producing Above The End, set to become the world’s first film to feature scenes shot at the edge of space, in partnership with French aerospace company Zephalto.
He now brings this same culture of innovation and international vision to Miss Bulgaria, with five principles at the heart of its transformation:
PRESTIGE. NATURAL BEAUTY. TALENT. INTEGRITY. TRADITION.
INNOVATING WHILE PRESERVING TRADITION
Gaël’s vision is to modernize, innovate and elevate Miss Bulgaria without losing the heritage that has defined the competition since 1929.
Under his leadership, the pageant is undergoing a profound transformation: stronger rules and controlled voting have been introduced to reinforce fairness and credibility; natural beauty, intelligence, education and ambition are being placed at the heart of candidate selection; and the competition is expanding beyond Sofia, with the Grand Final moving across different Bulgarian cities to give Miss Bulgaria a truly national dimension.
At the same time, new digital formats, media content, brand collaborations and entertainment concepts are transforming Miss Bulgaria from a traditional annual pageant into a modern, year-round platform for beauty, talent, culture and opportunity.
The objective is not to reinvent Miss Bulgaria by erasing its past, but to preserve its tradition while building what a national pageant should represent today — and tomorrow.