Stage of the Centuries Summer Festival is a unique open-air opera and ballet festival held on Tsarevets Hill in Veliko Tarnovo. It is one of the emblematic cultural events held in Veliko Tarnovo. The first edition of the festival was staged in 1985 on the occasion of the 800th anniversary since the uprising of boyars Asen and Peter against the Byzantine rule and the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1393). It was then when the opera Ivaylo written by composer Marin Goleminov (1908-2000) was performed for the first time on an open stage in Tsarevets.

     The second edition of the cultural forum which was already given the name Stage of the Centuries took place in 1987. Its bill included six performances of the opera Tsar Kaloyan by composer Pancho Vladigerov (1899-1978), two opera concerts and three performances of the ballet The Goat Horn by composer Krasimir Kyurkchiyski (born in 1936).

     The only such cultural event in Bulgaria was held again after a 21-year break in 2008 on the occasion of the centennial anniversary since the declaration of the Independence of Bulgaria. On 12 September 2008, the Stage of the Centuries was reborn with a spectacular staging of the opera Turandot by Giacomo Puccini. A special 6 m-high stage was built for the festival among the remains of the palace on Tsarevets. The stage area was in harmony with the authentic historical atmosphere of the place and over 1500 seats were arranged around the stage and at the foot of the Patriarch’s Church.

     The second night of the festival was dedicated to the centennial anniversary since the birth of renowned Bulgarian composer Marin Goleminov. Fragments of his opera Ivaylo staged for the first time on Tsarevets Hill 23 years earlier were shown. Arabesque Ballet performed Bolero by Maurice Ravel. The festival ended on 14 September with a performance of the ballet Zorba the Greek by choreographer Lorca Masine in which stars of the Bulgarian National Ballet such as Yasen Valchanov, Dilyana Nikiforova, Sarah-Norah Krasteva, Nikola Hadjitanev, and Kiril Ivanov took part.

     In 2010 for the first time, Tsarevets Hill in Veliko Tarnovo became a stage for historical recreations from medieval Bulgaria. During the festival recreations of a medieval fair and a road military camp from the 12th-14th centuries were shown together with reenactments from the lives of medieval people, attractions, medieval music and demonstrations of archery, riding, fencing with swords, and combat skills without arms. Masters from the famous Samovodska charshiya (Samovodska Market) in Veliko Tarnovo presented the medieval traditions preserved by the Bulgarian crafts.

     It is possible for people with disabilities to visit the shows staged on Tsarevets Hill.