When pop music became culture in Serbia

In recent years, a mandatory part of summer events in Serbia are the stars of folk music, especially festivals that were founded with the intention of spreading culture.

In Inđija, for example, every summer for the last 24 years, the summer festival of cultural creativity "Scena Fest" has been held, which for this municipality has the rank of the most important manifestation. And yet, neither in the proposals, drafts nor in the decisions on the local self-government budget is it clearly indicated. The money that Indjija allocates for this event is kept strictly secret.

It was founded as a ten-day event organized by the Cultural Center, where theatrical performances, film screenings, exhibitions and concerts by renowned bands of the rock scene were held at various locations in the city. And, he was highly regarded.

Indjija

And then in 2021, the concept was changed.

Theater giants such as Radet Šerbedžija, Ralet Milenković, Gorica Popović, Milenko Zablaćanski, Goran Sultanović, the performances of the Zvezdara Theater, the National Theater and the like, were replaced by folk singers, film screenings and exhibitions were canceled, and the stars of the rock scene Darko Rundek, Orthodox Celts, Del Arno Benda, Partibrejkers, Vlatko Stefanovski, Vasil Hadžimanov, Bisera Veletanić, Zemlje Gruva, Marcelo and others were replaced by the favorites of the ruling structure.

The trump cards of this year's edition (July 3-8) are Jelena Karleuša and Dragana Mirković, and the rest of the program is dominated by concerts of Orthodox and ethnic music.

According to the IN Media portal, it is not possible to find out who the organizer is, nor how much it all costs. As they unofficially learned from that institution, an agency was hired for the needs of the organization, which also worked on the "Sumer sound festival" in Indjija six years ago.

This portal states that last year's "Scena Fest" cost citizens 18 million dinars. This year, they did not receive an answer from the Cultural Center about the organizer and the price of the festival, so they tried to get it through the councilor of GG "GrađanIN" Strahinja Jovanović in order to set it up in the local parliament.

He was told that the Cultural Center "had no insight into what exactly the money was spent on and how much the performers cost".

And the projection of the budget of the municipality of Inđija intended for municipal manifestations is stated to be 29,4 million dinars or 251 euros. The individual costs for the municipal manifestations are not listed, so it is not known how much money the citizens will pay for the performances of two famous folk singers this year.

Subotica

In Vojvodina, concerts of folk stars have become a mandatory part of various types of events in recent years.

So, for example, Jelena Karleuša will sing in Subotica at the City Day celebration on September 1. The coalition "Subotica against violence - I choose Subotica - Nela Tonković" opposes this, requests information about the price of the concert, and reminds that the people of Subotica learned about her performance through her Instagram profile, and not from the city's leaders, which according to them is proof that in Subotica makes deals behind closed doors.

"In what way and according to what criteria do they choose performers for concerts on the occasion of the City Day, are personal and not public interests prevail in these affairs, which is why they believe that the appropriate celebration of the City Day is the one at which a singer known for her excellent connections with the ruling party performs party, and a lack of verbal culture and hearing", ask the representatives of the coalition.

And the City Committee of the Movement for Change (PZP) criticized Jelena Karleuša's performance on the occasion of Subotica Day. They say that "the fact that public procurement for the organization of this event has not been announced so far, which is the legal obligation of the City Administration of Subotica if the concert is financed from the city budget, indicates serious irregularities and potential illegal actions", they assess in PZP.

They remind that Subotica is a city of culture, secession, art, history and freedom that the City Day should be celebrated with dignity and respect for historical values ​​and traditions.

"Instead of watching and listening to culture and art on Freedom Square, one of the most significant symbols of our city, we are faced with the announcement of an event that promotes kitsch and drunkenness." This is an insult to all the citizens of Subotica who proudly preserve the cultural and historical heritage of our city," said the party.

Temerin

The municipality of Temerin would have celebrated its Day on July 1 with a concert by Dragana Mirković, but the storm prevented such a celebration. Of course, it is not known whether the contract between the municipality and the singer foresees this circumstance, and how it will affect the fee.

Curonian Spit

In Kuršumlija, for the three concerts that will be organized during the "Cultural Summer 2024", the municipal Tourist Organization, which is the organizer of the event, will pay 6.453.062 dinars or about 55.000 euros. The "Južne vesti" portal notes that the costs of cultural and technical realization, about 8.500 euros, should be added to this amount.

Svetlana Ražnatović's concert was the most expensive - about 40.000 euros, the performance of "Tropiko band" will cost about 11.500 euros, while the group "Wonder Strings" will charge about 3.700 euros for their performance.

The tourism organization of Kuršumlija says that they chose the contractors based on the conducted survey, and that the strategic goal of the Municipality of Kuršumlija is to "in the shortest possible period of time become recognizable and one of the most visited tourist destinations at the national and regional level".

In 2022, Juzne Vesti wrote that Dragana Mirković sang with a band in the center of Kuršumlija for 1,98 million dinars, while 9 days later she performed at the "Plum Days" event in Blac, when she entertained the citizens for 1,53 million dinars.

In the same year, Toni Cetinski also performed at the "Cultural Flight" in Kuršumlija, and that concert was paid for, like Dragana Mirković's concert, 1,98 million dinars.

And last year, Kuršumlija did not save on well-known singers of folk and popular music, so for the "Cultural Summer 2023" the most money was given for Ace Pejović's concert, 2.999.000 dinars, Riblja chorba performed for 1.138.400 dinars, ethno group "Vrelo" for 439.400 dinars, while there is no data for the "Penthaus band" group.

And, not to mention more.

Source: IN Media, Južne vesti