Christo and Jeanne-Claude

"The Academy Award is pragmatically useful. Now the film will be watched by at least another 20 million people.

This means that viewers will be exposed to the facts that we present in this film - Russia has a program to kill and eliminate its own citizens, anyone who has the courage to go against the authorities or run for president."

A powerful message from the Oscars ceremony. The film "Navalny" created with the participation of Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev won the Oscar in the category of documentary cinema.

"We owe a lot to Christo Grozev, Christo, you risked so much and did so much for this film. We also thank Alexei Navalny and his family," said director Daniel Rohr.

Approximately 6 million tourists and Parisians have visited the wrapped Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The installation, whose dismantling began in early October, was Bulgarian Christo's dream project, which his nephew, Vladimir Yavashev, carried out a year after his death.

Revenues for Paris are estimated at about 235 million euros.

Today ends the life of the work "The Wrapped Arc de Triomphe" by the Bulgarian Christo and the Moroccan Jeanne-Claude, realized by Vladimir Yavashev and his team.

This morning began the dismantling of the work, which was on display for 16 days - "Days of Joy and Beauty", as the artists said.

After three months of construction work Paris' famed Arc de Triomphe was on Thursday completely concealed. A day later Christo's last artwork was officially unveiled by French President Emmanuel Macron. Following the project's completion, the arch will remain transformed for just 16 days.

General view of the Champs-Elysees during the last preparations for the assembly of the 'Arc de Triomphe', September 16, 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON

"This is the achievement of a 60-year-old dream, a crazy dream come true," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, during his visit to the location.

A first giant sheet of fabric was draped down the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Sept. 12 as work started to wrap the monument in a tribute to late artist Christo.

After weeks of preparations, the final stage of the art installation has begun, with a silver-blue sheet unfurled from the top of the imposing war memorial at the top of the Champs-Elysees.

Even after his death, artist Christo's dream project of wrapping up Paris' Arc de Triomphe in silvery-blue recyclable fabric will go ahead next year in line with his wishes, organisers said on June 2.    

From Paris's oldest bridge to Berlin's Reichstag, the Bulgarian-born artist spent decades wrapping landmarks and creating improbable structures around the world.    

Bulgarian-born artist Christo, best known for wrapping buildings and famous landmarks in fabric or plastic, has died at his home in New York, aged 84.

He passed away of natural causes on Sunday, according to a statement posted on the artist's official Facebook page.

Influential contemporary artist Hristo Vladimirov Javacheff "Christo" passed away of natural causes at the age of 84 in New York, his representatives announced little before midnight on May 31. "Christo lived his life to the fullest, not only dreaming up what seemed impossible but realizing it," his office said.