An exchange instead of rent
Most cities follow a long route: the municipality charges rent for a park, collects the money in its budget, and later spends part of it on cultural events. In Varna we chose a shorter one. The Municipality gave Coco Agency access to the Sea Garden for the summer, and in place of rent we created social initiatives whose benefit went directly to the people of the city.
Here is what that exchange looked like in practice:
| What Coco Agency gave back | Value |
|---|
| Free entry to both parks – Children’s Day, 14 free Mondays and free access for visitors with disabilities | More than €110,000 |
| Logistics and organisation of the Children’s Festival at the Pantheon | More than €9,000 |
| Logistics and services for Varna Day | More than €1,600 |
| Total returned to the community | More than €120,000 |
The value did not pass through a budget or a tender. It went straight to families, children, artists and visitors with disabilities – in the same summer, in the same park.
Supporting the city’s own celebrations
For Children’s Day, Coco Agency covered more than €9,000 in logistics for the Children’s Festival at the Pantheon and helped the Municipality manage the event. Children from different associations, theatres and local artists had a stage to show their talent to young people and their parents, and more than 3,000 people came to support the young talents of Varna. On the same two days, 31 May and 1 June, every child could visit both exhibitions for free – more than 810 children took the chance.
In August, we also supported Varna Day, the celebration of the city, with more than €1,600 in logistics and services.
Free access all summer
After Children’s Day, the parks stayed open for the whole summer. Every Monday, residents of Varna could enter for free – a tradition that lasted 14 Mondays, from June to September. Visitors with disabilities and their companions were also welcomed free of charge: more than 460 of them visited the exhibitions during the season.
Because 99% of visitors explored both parks, the 5,081 registered free entries correspond to more than 10,150 visits to the exhibitions. The numbers grew through the season, as word spread across the city: from 57 free visitors on the first Monday in June to almost 800 on the last Monday of August.
| Free-entry day | Free entries |
|---|
| Children’s Day, 31 May and 1 June | 810 |
| 8 June | 57 |
| 15 June | 86 |
| 22 June | 142 |
| 29 June | 95 |
| 6 July | 160 |
| 13 July | 286 |
| 20 July | 203 |
| 27 July | 264 |
| 3 August | 223 |
| 10 August | 528 |
| 17 August | 358 |
| 24 August | 647 |
| 31 August | 796 |
| 7 September | 426 |
| Total | 5,081 (≈ 10,150 park visits) |
Two worlds in one park
In Living Dinosaurs, visitors walked among life-size animatronic dinosaurs that move and roar, set among the trees of the Sea Garden as if they had never left. A few steps away, Giant Bugs shrank them to the size of an insect, with giant butterflies, ladybirds, scorpions and spiders in themed habitats, and information panels on how each creature lives.
Placing both exhibitions side by side gave families a full morning or afternoon in the park – a day out that combined fresh air, learning and play, at the heart of the city’s summer season.
Caring for the Sea Garden
The Sea Garden is one of Varna’s most loved places, and we treated it that way. When heavy rain arrived during the dismantling in September, we paused the work for three days rather than drive heavy machinery over wet lawns, so that the grass of the park would not be damaged, and agreed a short extension with the Municipality to restore the site carefully.
Why this model works for Bulgarian cities
We believe agreements like this one bring extra value to society without a complicated system. When a municipality works directly with cultural companies, the public space becomes a place of culture straight away: residents get free access, local artists get a stage, and the city’s celebrations get practical support – without the money first going to rent and then coming back as funding for events.
Bulgarian cultural companies can provide this service directly to Bulgarian society. Coco Agency is ready to offer the same model to other municipalities: an exhibition in a park or square, and in place of rent, a social programme agreed with the city.
What comes next
The success of the summer led us to propose a new autumn and winter programme for the Sea Garden: Glowing Garden, a light trail with more than 200 light sculptures and 5,000 lights that has already welcomed more than 150,000 visitors in cities such as Sofia, Kyiv, Cluj, Iași and Timișoara, together with a festival of live music by Bulgarian artists.
Alongside it, we have proposed a charity Christmas dinner for 200 special guests – elderly people without family and children without parental care – fully funded by Coco Agency and organised with the city’s social services. Our wish is for it to become a yearly tradition in Varna.
Bring the same model to your city
Municipalities, parks and resorts can host Living Dinosaurs, Giant Bugs or both, with a social programme designed together with the city – free days for residents, support for city festivals, school visits and access for people with disabilities. Tell us about your park or square and your season, and we will send a layout and a proposal.
Exhibitions for municipalities Living Dinosaurs → · Giant Bugs →
