The neighbouring country, Filibe, is the second largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia and is located in the central southern part of Bulgaria. Named after Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great, the city has a history of thousands of years, and has hosted many different civilizations from ancient Greece to the Ottoman Empire. Due to these features, the city was designated European Capital of Culture in 2019. Filibe, one of the country’s major economic, transport, cultural and educational centres, is a settlement in which a significant proportion of the Turkish population in Bulgaria lives. B40 is one of the founding members of the Balkan Cities Network.