Host Cities and Venues

Finals - Host City and Venue

Host country: Bulgaria

After winning the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix Group 3 Finals in 2014, Bulgaria have built on that success in recent years. They first joined the World Grand Prix in 2013 and ended up in ninth place, then they finished second in the Preliminary Round of Group 3 in 2014, before their home victories against Kazakhstan and Czech Republic in Samokov saw them win promotion for the 2015 edition. Last year, Bulgaria finished fifth out of eight teams in Group 2.

Bulgaria have been a consistent podium finisher in the European Volleyball League with bronze medals in 2009, 2011 and 2013, and silver medals in 2010 and 2012. Bulgaria’s greatest successes came over three decades ago when they took the bronze medal at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games and the gold medal at the 1981 European Championship.

Host City: Varna

Varna, dubbed the seaside capital of Bulgaria, has hosted matches of the World League Intercontinental Round in 2011, 2013 and 2014 as well as the World League Group 2 Finals in 2015, but this will be the first time the World Grand Prix will be played in the city. In 2013 the home crowd at the completely sold-out Palace of Culture and Sports got a rare chance to support both the women’s and the men’s national teams of Bulgaria in action, when Varna hosted the Final Four tournament of the 2013 CEV Volleyball European League - Women as well as an FIVB World League double header between Bulgaria and Poland. The country’s third largest city also hosted the 2013 CEV U22 Beach Volleyball European Championship.

Venue: Palace of Culture and Sport

The Palace of Culture and Sports is a multifunctional complex located in the heart of Varna. It is one of the symbols of the city and over the years has hosted many cultural and sporting events. The building was completed in 1968 and has a capacity of 5,500.

Preliminary Round - Host Cities and Venues