Sofia boasts the biggest congress centre on the Balkans - the National Palace of Culture. The idea for the construction comes from the former Bulgarian first-lady Lyudmila Zhivkova (daughter of the communist politician and leader of the former People's Republic of Bulgaria Todor Zhivkov). The project was designed by a team of Bulgarian and foreign architects. It has to offer 16 halls and more than 5000 seats. The congress centre has a wide variety of technical equipment at its disposal in order to host different types of events - congresses, meetings, festivals, concerts, fairs, etc.