Kosovo’s central government and authorities in the capital, Pristina, have joined forces to bring home an international music festival founded by the singer-songwriter Dua Lipa’s father, which was moved after a dispute with its organizers.
One week ago, the Sunni Hill festival announced it was moving to neighboring Albania after a political dispute between Kosovo’s ruling party and the ruling party in Pristina prevented organizers from obtaining permission to hold the festival, which has a daily capacity of 15,000 people.
Dukadjin Lipa, the singer’s father and manager, who was born in Kosovo, said that he had made a “difficult but necessary” decision to organize an event from August 4th to 7th in the Albanian capital, Tirana.
Organizers have been asking Kosovo authorities for three years to allow them to manage a 17-hectare (42-hectare) park where they say they will build the appropriate infrastructure for the annual festival and let it be used freely for the rest of the year.
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Audience at the Sunni Hill Festival in Pristina, Kosovo, 2019 (Visar Krieziu / Associated Press)
A joint statement from the Ministry of Culture and the Pristina municipality on Monday said they had agreed to hold this year’s edition at a location in Pristina – “where it belongs” – and to continue talks on holding the festival at its usual location from next year. years.
A special edition with a different lineup of artists will be held in the Albanian capital, Tirana, from August 26th to 28th.
Organizers said this year’s artists would include Diplo, Skepta, DJ Regard, AJ Tracei, Mahmood and Albanian performers, as well as “two of the world’s great artists” yet to be revealed.
The Sunni Hill Festival debuted in Pristina in 2018 and was held again in 2019, attracting international artists, including the British-born Dua Lipa.
The festival has brought invaluable publicity to Kosovo.
The event has been put on hold in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
