18/09/2026
“MATHEMATICS WITHOUT BORDERS” – MATHEMATICS, FRIENDSHIP AND A MESSAGE OF PEACE
The International Tournament “Mathematics Without Borders” was founded in 2013 by Lyubomir Lyubenov, Vanya Dimova and Dimana McCallum, with the idea of giving children from different parts of the world an opportunity to meet through a language that needs no translation – the language of mathematics.
In June 2014, Nessebar welcomed the participants in the first International Final.
Since then – thirteen Finals.
And the venue of the great summer gathering has remained unchanged.
Nessebar – where the Balkan Mountains meet the sea, and where the millennia-old town, part of the world’s cultural and historical heritage under UNESCO protection, becomes the capital of young mathematicians every summer.
FROM 7 TO 18 YEARS OF AGE – NINE AGE GROUPS
“Mathematics Without Borders” is a tournament for students from 7 to 18 years of age, divided into nine age groups.
Group 1 – 7-year-olds; Group 2 – 8-year-olds; Group 3 – 9-year-olds; Group 4 – 10-year-olds; Group 5 – 11-year-olds; Group 6 – 12-year-olds; Group 7 – 13-year-olds; Group 8 – 14-year-olds; Group 9 – students aged 15 to 18.
Thus, a child can take their first steps in the tournament at the age of seven and remain part of it until graduating from school.
AUTUMN, WINTER, SPRING AND… SUMMER BY THE SEA
The tournament was created as a competition held in stages – three rounds during the school year and an International Final in the summer.
The three rounds follow the seasons in Bulgaria – an Autumn Round in October, a Winter Round in January and a Spring Round in March. They are held remotely at partner schools. A Semifinal is also organized for Bulgarian participants to determine the finalists.
And in summer, all roads lead to Nessebar.
Each individual round and the individual Final follow the same basic format – 20 problems in 60 minutes.
MATHEMATICAL RELAY
The Final also has its own team competition – the “Mathematical Relay”.
Here, mathematics becomes a team game. The problems are interconnected – the answer to each preceding problem is used in the statement of the next one.
Thus, success depends not only on knowledge, but also on speed, trust and the ability to work together with others.
NESSEBAR – A MEETING PLACE FOR 25 COUNTRIES
Over the thirteen editions of the tournament, Nessebar has welcomed young mathematicians from 25 countries:
Australia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Vietnam, Estonia, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Malta, Mexico, Romania, Russia, North Macedonia, the USA, Slovenia, Serbia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Montenegro.
At the thirteenth Final alone, held in Nessebar in July 2026, nearly 900 students from 11 countries came together.
A TOURNAMENT THAT HAS REACHED 43 COUNTRIES
The geographical reach of the remote rounds and Finals is even broader. Over the years, students from 43 countries have taken part:
Australia, Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, Afghanistan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, Vietnam, Estonia, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Canada, Kyrgyzstan, China, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Myanmar, Moldova, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Russia, the USA, North Macedonia, Singapore, Slovenia, Serbia, Taiwan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Montenegro, Switzerland and South Africa.
By the Spring Round of 2026, 626,217 certificates had been issued for participation in the tournament.
Behind this number stand hundreds of thousands of children, thousands of teachers and countless hours of work in schools from different parts of the world.
DOVES AND OLIVE BRANCHES – A MESSAGE OF PEACE
“Mathematics Without Borders” has never been merely a competition for points, medals and trophies.
Among its symbols are white doves and olive branches – a message of peace.
At the 2026 Final, the stars of the tournament, the organizers and the hosts once again released white doves over Nessebar – with a message of peace to the world.
This is also one of the ideas embedded in the tournament from its very beginning – children can be rivals when facing a mathematics problem without being enemies.
Different languages.
Different flags.
The same problems.
Mathematics Without Borders.
THE EMBLEM OF THE TOURNAMENT
“Mathematics Without Borders” has its own emblem, created by Aliya Iskakova from Kazakhstan.
This, too, is part of the symbolism of the tournament – a competition created in Bulgaria, whose identity has been shaped over the years with the participation of people from different countries.
THE TOURNAMENT HAS ITS OWN SONG
“Mathematics Without Borders” also has its own song.
The lyrics are by Ivan Nenkov, the poet of the sea, the music is by Milena Dobreva, and the arrangement is by Ruslan Karagyozov.
The song is performed by “The Sea Grains of Sand” and remains part of the musical history of the Finals in Nessebar.
Ivan Nenkov’s message is expressed in the chorus of the song:
“We gather all the smiles,
subtract the sadness,
and life becomes different,
not only in the song.
We share what we have
and we are strong because
we multiply the good
for everyone around the World!”
But the music of “Mathematics Without Borders” is much more than a single song.
It is part of the way Bulgaria welcomes the children of the world.
Bulgarian National Radio soloist Georgi Dobrev tells the legends of Bulgaria through the sound of the kaval.
The rhythm and synchrony of “Dimitrov’s Boys” bring to the stage the power of Bulgarian dance.
And the Final ends with a song that left the boundaries of Earth long ago.
“Izlel e Delyo Haydutin”, performed by Valya Balkanska – the song sent into space on the Voyager Golden Record.
At the last two Finals, it was performed in Nessebar by Nikolina Savova and Maria Stefanova, also known from the music show “The Voice of Bulgaria”.
And then the ceremony is no longer simply an awards ceremony.
In one place come together mathematics, Bulgarian music, dance, the sea and children from different parts of the world.
MEDALS, TROPHIES, LAUREL WREATHS AND A BULGARIAN ROSE
In the individual rounds, participants receive certificates, while the best-performing students receive gold, silver and bronze medals.
The Final adds cups and other special trophies.
And the winners take the stage wearing laurel wreaths and holding Bulgarian roses.
The laurel wreath – a symbol of victory.
The Bulgarian rose – a memory of the host country.
THIRTEEN FINALS – THIRTEEN FILMS
A short film has been created for each of the thirteen Finals of “Mathematics Without Borders”. All the films have been published on YouTube and preserve the atmosphere of the gatherings in Nessebar – the competitions, the award ceremonies, the children’s smiles, the music and those little moments that cannot be recorded in any official protocol.
Throughout all these years, Veselin Lazarov has invariably been behind the camera, while the photographic history of the tournament is the work of Marian Dimitrov.
The short versions of the films were created by Diana McCallum, Glen McCallum and Vergina Mateva, who brought together in just a few minutes the most characteristic moments and emotions from the Finals.
Thirteen Finals. Thirteen films. Thousands of photographs. One story that continues.
THEY BELIEVED IN THE TOURNAMENT
An idea cannot travel such a long road alone.
Over the years, “Mathematics Without Borders” has received support and prizes for its winners from the publishing houses Anubis, Bulvest 2000, Klett, Prosveta and Regalia 6, as well as from Bachkovo Spring Water, OMV, Musala Soft, SAP Bulgaria, Telenor, Bulgargaz and Ficosota Syntez.
Their support helped make each prize not only an award, but also a lasting memory of hard work, effort and success.
And, of course, behind the thirteen editions stand the teachers and school coordinators from Bulgaria and around the world – the people who devote their time, knowledge and energy so that the idea of “Mathematics Without Borders” can reach children.
Without them, the tournament would not have crossed so many borders.
MESSAGES TO THE PARTICIPANTS AND ORGANIZERS
Over the years, the tournament has received congratulatory addresses from prominent individuals and institutions whose messages have been directed above all to the young mathematicians.
Among them are the Presidents of the Republic of Bulgaria Rumen Radev and Iliana Iotova, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, UNESCO Acting Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences Abou Amani, H.E. Nargiz Gurbanova, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Bulgaria, as well as Bulgaria’s Ministers of Education Todor Tanev, Meglena Kuneva, Krasimir Valchev and Galin Tsokov.
We regard these messages not simply as recognition of the organizers, but as recognition of the children and their teachers, who give meaning to the tournament.
WE ALSO HAVE LIKE-MINDED FRIENDS
Over the years, the guests and friends of the tournament have included Assoc. Prof. Rusi Rusev, Prof. Minko Balkanski, Prof. Atanas Stefanov, Prof. Maria Neykova, mathematics publisher Willie Yong from Singapore, Ni Ming from China, representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science, diplomats and many teachers from Bulgaria and around the world.
But a special place in the history of the Final belongs to the hosts – Nessebar Municipality and Lyuben Karavelov Secondary School.
People who, over the years, have not simply hosted the tournament, but have become part of it.
AND EVERY SUMMER – BACK TO NESSEBAR
There, the Mathematical Garden also awaits us, created in 2019 with rose bushes planted by the leaders of the participating teams. The tradition continues – in 2026, the planting of Singapore’s rose was also planned in the garden.
The roses grow.
The children grow up.
Some leave, while others arrive for the first time.
But every summer by the sea, different languages and different flags meet again, and mathematics brings them together.
And when the white doves fly over Nessebar, the winners hold the Bulgarian rose, the kaval tells its legends, and the song that humanity sent towards the stars is heard, the words “Mathematics Without Borders” come to mean much more than the name of a competition.
They mean knowledge, friendship, respect and peace.
In Nessebar – where the Earth is a red rose, summer and sea!
