About 750 interior ministry officers will handle security and public order at the state ceremony to receive and bury the remains of Tsar Samuil, said chief inspector Ivan Georgiev, who heads the mass events unit at Sofia police.

The event is split into two zones. The first is the official area, and people can only get in through police checkpoints. In the second zone, open to the public, police will run spot checks at some points. Glass bottles, metal batons and anything else that could endanger life or health are banned.

From around 10:00, Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard will close in stages between Dunav Street and Rakovski Street, where the official ceremony will take place.

Around 12:00, police will restrict traffic along the motorcade route: from Vasil Levski Airport along Mimi Balkanska Street, Brussels Boulevard, Tsarigradsko Shose Boulevard and Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard to Rakovski Street. The exact time depends on how the ceremony goes and when the plane lands. Georgiev said streets will stay closed only as long as needed, so traffic does not get worse than necessary.

The ceremony should end between 13:20 and 13:25, and the procession carrying the remains will set off right after. It will go along Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard, then turn left onto Rakovski Street, right onto Oborishte Street, left onto Paris Street, and from there to the entrance of St Sofia Church. People will not be allowed onto the road with the procession, only on the pavements, and Georgiev said that if crowds build up, moving along them could get hard.

Traffic should reopen everywhere by 13:30 at the latest, except on Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard between Rakovski Street and Dondukov Boulevard.

Sofia council has also announced temporary traffic changes. From 12:00 until no longer needed, cars won't be able to enter or drive in either direction on Mimi Balkanska Street between Iztochna Tangenta Street and Brussels Boulevard, on Brussels Boulevard between Mimi Balkanska Street and Tsarigradsko Shose Boulevard, on Tsarigradsko Shose Boulevard between Brussels Boulevard and Vasil Levski Boulevard, and on Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard between Vasil Levski Boulevard and Knyaz Alexander Dondukov Boulevard.

The restrictions also cover parts of Lege, Knyaz Alexander I, Deacon Ignatiy, Georgi Benkovski, 6 September, Tsar Shishman, 15 November, Oborishte, Moskovska, Georgi S. Rakovski, Dunav and 11 August streets, the council said.

From 12:00, buses carrying participants can stop and park on Knyaginya Maria Luiza Boulevard, between Todor Alexandrov Boulevard and Pirotska Street, but only in marked spots.

Between 13:50 and 14:20, no cars will be allowed in either direction on Evlogi and Hristo Georgiev Boulevard, between Orlov Most Square and General Gurko Street. Sofia police's traffic department will decide how long the restrictions in the centre stay in place.