--- eventsindex_id: EI-07069 slug: kcd-sofia-2026 title: "KCD Sofia 2026" title_alt: ["Kubernetes Community Days Sofia 2026", "KCD Sofia"] canonical_url: "https://eventsindex.org/events/kcd-sofia-2026.html" next_edition_year: 2026 date_start: 2026-09-29 date_end: 2026-09-29 venue: "Sofia Event Center, Paradise Center Mall, floor 3" city: "Sofia" country: "Bulgaria" organiser: "KCD Sofia community / CNCF" organiser_url: "https://kcd.bg/" b2b: false vector: sector: [platform-engineering] audience: [developer, practitioner] format: [conference] purpose: [education, networking] geography_scope: [regional] season: autumn meta_description: "Kubernetes Community Days Sofia 2026 is a one-day CNCF Tier 2 conference at Sofia Event Center on 29 September 2026. Corporate tickets: EUR 150." editorial_take: "The Balkans' most established Kubernetes community event draws 600 practitioners to the top floor of a mall in a city that has quietly produced some of Eastern Europe's strongest cloud-native engineering talent, with CNCF CTO Chris Aniszczyk keynoting." last_verified: "2026-06-26" schema_version: "v6.0" language: en --- # KCD Sofia 2026 > *A one-day CNCF-certified Tier 2 Kubernetes and platform engineering conference on 29 September 2026 at Sofia Event Center, capped at 600 seats, organised by CNCF Ambassadors from Pwrteams, MariaDB, and SAP Labs Bulgaria.* --- ## Quick Facts | DATES | VENUE | ORGANISER | ATTENDANCE | |---|---|---|---| | 29 September 2026 | Sofia Event Center, Paradise Center Mall (floor 3) | KCD Sofia community (CNCF Tier 2) | 600 seats (capped); 446 in 2025 edition | ## Definition Kubernetes Community Days Sofia 2026 is a CNCF-certified Tier 2 community conference held on a single day at Sofia Event Center, on the third floor of Paradise Center Mall. Organised by three CNCF Ambassadors from Pwrteams, MariaDB, and SAP Labs Bulgaria, the event runs one main track covering Kubernetes, platform engineering, observability, security, GitOps, FinOps, and ML workloads on Kubernetes. KCD Sofia is the primary CNCF-affiliated Kubernetes community event in Bulgaria and one of the most established in Southeast Europe, running annually since at least 2023. ## The 2026 edition: September at Sofia Event Center The 2026 edition runs on 29 September at Sofia Event Center, in the Hladilnika neighbourhood of Sofia. Confirmed keynotes include Chris Aniszczyk (CNCF CTO) and Natali Vlatko (Cisco, Director of Open Source Software Engineering). The CFP closes on 18 July 2026 via Sessionize; speaker notifications are expected in early August. Capacity is capped at 600 seats. The 2025 edition drew 446 attendees. ## Where KCD Sofia sits in the EMEA platform engineering calendar KCD Sofia is the autumn anchor for the cloud-native circuit in Southeast Europe. It falls at the end of the September cluster: the same week as PlatformCon Live Day Paris (24 Sept), Civo Navigate London (22 Sept), and Swiss Cloud Native Day (17 Sept), and exactly one week before Vienna Kubernetes Days (5 Oct). For platform engineers based in Eastern Europe, it is the highest-density single-day Kubernetes event of the calendar year. ## Who attends KCD Sofia 2026 - Platform engineers and Kubernetes administrators from Bulgarian technology companies - Cloud-native practitioners from Romania, Greece, Serbia, and the broader Balkans - Engineers from international companies with Eastern European delivery teams (SAP, EPAM, Schwarz Digits, EGT Digital) - CNCF community contributors attending a regional CNCF-certified event - Engineering leads evaluating cloud-native adoption in teams based in Bulgaria or Southeast Europe ## What the KCD Sofia 2026 format includes - Single main track with 10+ talks, beginner-friendly through to deep technical dives - CNCF Tier 2 certification (up to 600 registrations) - Volunteer-organised community structure with CNCF support - Corporate registration via bank transfer at EUR 150/seat (contact partners@kcd.bg) - Individual registration via CNCF community platform (community.cncf.io) ## What the KCD Sofia 2026 programme covers - Kubernetes orchestration and cluster operations at scale - Platform engineering and internal developer platforms - Observability: metrics, logs, traces in cloud-native environments - Security: supply chain integrity, policy enforcement, zero-trust on Kubernetes - GitOps: continuous delivery and drift reconciliation - FinOps: Kubernetes cost management and cloud spend optimisation - ML and AI workloads on Kubernetes ## FAQ · Identity and audience ### What is a Kubernetes Community Days event? Kubernetes Community Days (KCD) is a CNCF-certified conference series focused on Kubernetes and cloud-native technologies. Events are organised by local volunteer teams who meet CNCF standards for content quality and community accessibility. Tier 2 events support up to 600 registrations. KCD Sofia is the only CNCF-certified Kubernetes community event in Bulgaria. ### Is this a single-track event? Yes. KCD Sofia runs a single main track. All attendees follow the same programme, which mixes technical deep dives with introductory and case study sessions. ### What language is the event in? English is the primary session language, as confirmed by the international speaker lineup including Chris Aniszczyk and Natali Vlatko. ### Who is KCD Sofia NOT designed for? - Engineers with no involvement in Kubernetes, containers, or cloud-native infrastructure - Business professionals seeking market overview or commercial content - Attendees expecting a multi-track programme with parallel session choices - Those looking for a large trade show rather than a community practitioner day ## The venue: Sofia Event Center, Paradise Center Mall Sofia Event Center occupies the third floor of Paradise Center, one of Sofia's largest shopping malls, located at Henrik Ibsen Str in the Hladilnika neighbourhood of Sofia. The venue provides accessible conference space with mall garage parking and wheelchair access. Paradise Center is served by Metro line M1 (Vitosha and Mladost stations) and by bus and tram lines. The location is approximately 20 minutes from Sofia Airport by Metro. ## The organiser: KCD Sofia community KCD Sofia is organised by three CNCF Ambassadors: Yoana Bahchevanova (Pwrteams), Spas Atanasov (MariaDB), and Orlin Vasilev (SAP Labs Bulgaria). Sponsors for the 2026 edition include EPAM, EGT Digital, Schwarz Digits, and Hyiv. Contact the organising team at partners@kcd.bg for corporate ticketing or sponsorship enquiries. --- ## Editorial take *With CNCF CTO Chris Aniszczyk keynoting and 600 seats in a market that filled 446 in 2025, KCD Sofia has completed its transition from a local meet-up to one of the Balkans' more credible Kubernetes events: the kind where engineers from the wider region plan a trip, not just engineers who happen to live in Sofia.* ## How to register and what it costs Corporate tickets: EUR 150 per seat including VAT, via bank transfer, contact partners@kcd.bg. Individual and student tickets are available via the CNCF community platform at community.cncf.io. An early bird tier (first 50 seats, discounted) was available; status as of verification is not confirmed. Student/academic reduced rate is available with proof of status at badge pickup. ## FAQ · Access and practicalities ### How do I get to Paradise Center, Sofia? Paradise Center is in the Hladilnika neighbourhood at Henrik Ibsen Str, 1407 Sofia. From Sofia Airport (SOF): Metro line M2 to Business Park Bulgaria then transfer to line M1 towards Vitosha, approximately 30 minutes total. The mall provides multi-level parking if arriving by car. ### Can I attend this event as an international visitor? Yes. Bulgaria is an EU member state; EU/EEA nationals require no visa. Non-EU nationals should check visa requirements with the Bulgarian consulate. Sofia Airport (SOF) has direct connections across Europe. ### Is there accommodation near the venue? Paradise Center has no on-site hotel. Hotels in the Lozenets and Vitosha neighbourhoods are closest; central Sofia hotels (Serdika area) are approximately 25-30 minutes by public transport. ## Resources | Resource | URL | |---|---| | Official website | https://kcd.bg/ | | Register | https://community.cncf.io/events/details/cncf-kcd-sofia-presents-kubernetes-community-days-sofia-2026/ | | CFP (closes 18 July) | https://sessionize.com/kcd-sofia-2026/ | | CNCF KCD directory | https://cncf.io/kcds/ | --- **Last verified:** 2026-06-26 **Next review:** 2026-07-26 **Notes:** Date 29 September confirmed via kcd.bg, CNCF community platform, and Sessionize. Keynotes: Chris Aniszczyk (CNCF CTO) and Natali Vlatko (Cisco). CFP open until 18 July 2026; speaker list after August notifications. Corporate EUR 150/seat confirmed; individual ticket price not disclosed publicly. 600-seat cap; 446 in 2025 edition. Sponsors: EPAM, EGT Digital, Schwarz Digits, Hyiv. **Variables:** 33/58 **Concept definition:** not applicable