The UEFA Women's Under-17 European Championship was officially opened with a stylish ceremony at the "Druzhba" stadium in Dobrich earlier today. More than 150 children participated in the event that took place prior to the game between Bulgaria and Portugal.

The ceremony was held in the spirit of Bulgarian traditions - the opening act was a brass band performance followed by a beautifully choreographed dance of boys and girls dressed in local costumes, during which all eight flags of the participating countries were carried out on the pitch. The EURO 2019 started earlier this morning with the game between Austria and The Netherlands and will finish with the grand finale on May 17th. The matches will be played in three host cities - Dobrich, Kavarna and Albena.

The opening ceremony and the game at the "Druzhba" stadium were watched by a number of special gusts, among them the mayor of Dobrich Mr. Yordan Yordanov, the mayor of Kavarna Mrs. Nina Stavreva, the deputy governors of the host city Mr. Krasimir Nikolov and Mr. Zhivko Zhelyazkov, the dean of the "International economy and administration" faculty at the Varna Free University associate professor Dr. Eleonora Tankova, the Public Relations expert at the same faculty Ms. Miloslava Georgieva and many more. The Bulgarian Football Union was represented by vice-president Mr. Yordan Lechkov, general secretary Mr. Borislav Popov and the chairman of the Amateur Football League Mr. Rumyan Valkov.