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Ivan Petkov

Mild Mediterranean climate, natural sights, good tourist infrastructure - add ancient heritage to this and you will easily understand why every year Greece attracts so many tourists from around the world. Surely, we, the Bulgarians, associate holidays in our southern neighbour with all these factors. Last week we told you how you could use the Internet to plan your holidays in Greece. This week we will see how you can take advantage of the resources of the World Wide Web to further enrich your stay in Greece.
 
Hold on, because our first proposal is quite extravagant!

Unlike a few years ago, today Bulgaria is present on the map of concert tours. Unfortunately, not always do the world famous performers include us in their programme and ardent and loyal fans of a particular performer have to organize a trip to a neighbouring country.

The world-famous eccentric pop diva Lady Gaga will perform at the Olympic Stadium in Athens on 19 September within her tour "LADY GAGA'S art RAVE: the ARTPOP ball". Here is an opportunity to combine a trip to Greece with a concert of a world star that has not included Bulgaria in her tour.

I admit that I am not an ardent Lady Gaga fan, but this is a great opportunity to learn more about her and find out how to organize a visit to her concert without leaving my home, or plan part of it at least.

As someone who does not speak Greek, I immediately rushed to search for information in English, being initially convinced that this is the most direct and simple way. However, I underestimated the power of Lady Gaga fans in Bulgaria, for which I apologize! Lesson one - when it comes to a concert, always seek information from fan sites and groups on social networks.

The very first search in Bulgarian took me to such a Facebook group with a large and interesting album of the singer. The cover photo of the group, of course, contained information on her tour in the region, including cities, dates and sites from which you can buy tickets.

I immediately used the information and I was transferred to the site of the organizers of the concert in Athens, Lavris. There were no unpleasant surprises on it. As is proper for a tour of this rank, the site has an English version. In addition, it is pretty nice and finding the information I needed was quite easy. Only the section of questions and answers was in Greek, but I do not think this is a major obstacle. I will not surprise the most passionate Lady Gaga fans for sure, but it would be appropriate to mention another source of information, this time a worldwide fan site, littlemonsters.com.

The first thing that drew my attention on Lavris site was a graphic announcement in red, which reassured me that if I buy a ticket up to 31 July and pay for it online, I can do so in 3 interest-free instalments. In view of the fact that the concert in Athens was officially announced at the end of March, this information had been of great benefit to the fans in the region. Let us not forget that there is a crisis. Here is the place to mention the ticket prices:

Below is a layout diagram of the different zones to facilitate you:

By visiting some of the sites mentioned in last week’s article, you can find a nearby hotel or a more distant one, but with convenient transportation.

Assuming that, like me, you are not a member of the fan club of a particular international star, Lady Gaga in this case, but want to attend the concert, I will point out some of the important steps for organizing such a trip:

• Firstly and most importantly, find the fan site or sites of the performer. Try to get in touch with their members if possible. You will obtain invaluable information and you can even find company for the trip if you need one, for room sharing or for the concert as well as new friends from an unforgettable experience. In addition, this will reduce your costs.

• Find information about the event, ticket prices, and options to buy them online. If you skip the step with fan sites, it will not be so hard to manage on your own. Moreover, do not underestimate the information in your native language as I did!

• Search for a hotel or hostel near the venue of the event. I already mentioned some of the sites and if you have never used them, you will be surprised by their potentialities, including comments from people like you, which will help you make your choice.

• I saw that the local travel agencies have addressed the situation and some of them already offer tours associated with events such as concerts by international stars. To have more freedom of choice, you could seek such information as well.

It remains to be thrilled with delight and anticipation of the event. Similar concerts charge people with positive emotions and an unforgettable experience, which is no less exciting than a traditional holiday in Greece. And why not combine the two experiences; mid-September is a time that allows you to experience the exotic Mediterranean.