The philharmonic players suspect that the issuance of the building permit for the building is an attempt to divert attention from their demand that the director be selected through a competition, and not appointed by the Government of Serbia.
In Rome, as part of "PRO PR Rome", the Belgrade Philharmonic was awarded the title "World's Best of the Best", together with the Spanish Prado Museum, the British Museum and the Great Giza Museum.
As explained, the Belgrade Philharmonic was awarded for outstanding achievements in the field of communications, in recognition of excellence, consistency, transparent communication, innovation, continuous development, strategic approach and sustainability.
Jelena Milašinović, long-time PR manager of the Belgrade Philharmonic, and the one most deserving of this world recognition, drew attention to the fact that "at the same moment, in Belgrade, the employees of that house are fighting for their legitimate rights, while the decision-makers do not hear them. Communication is not just a tool, but a responsibility, so I hope that the voice of this orchestra, which has reached Rome, will have a real echo at home."
Building permit for the building
Almost simultaneously with this recognition, the City of Belgrade Secretariat for Urban Planning issued a building permit for the construction of the Concert Hall of the Belgrade Philharmonic in New Belgrade, block 13, between the Palace of Serbia and the business complex "Ušće".
Photo: PromoThe new building of the Belgrade Philharmonic by Amanda Levit
The building will have five floors, 56.656,5 square meters (half is underground), the investor of the project is the Republic of Serbia, i.e. the Ministry of Public Investments, and the estimated value of the works is 28,1 billion dinars, which is 240 million euros.
The construction permit is valid for three years from the date of legal validity - within that period, the investor must report the start of work, otherwise the permit ceases to be valid.
It's been 15 years since the idea
The Belgrade Philharmonic is 102 years old and is one of the best philharmonic orchestras in the world, and one of the few that does not have its own building.
Caution, and above all the fifteen-year development of events regarding the new building of the Philharmonic, require that this news be seen only as favorable, as was said a little while ago, and that one should not be too happy about it yet.
The initiative for the construction of the Belgrade Philharmonic building was launched in 2010 by its legendary director Ivan Tasovac.
The first concrete move in that direction was in 2021, when an international architectural competition was organized for a new building, where the work of the British architect Amanda Levitt was chosen. The competition was organized at the request of the Government of Serbia in partnership with the Cabinet of the then Prime Minister, the Ministry of Culture, the Office for Public Investments, the City of Belgrade, the Belgrade Philharmonic, and - the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The Prime Minister at the time, Ana Brnabić, advertised the Philharmonic building as the project of the year.
And then came the Expo.
However, in the Expo 2027 project, which President Vučić presented to the people in January 2024, there were various museums and cultural institutions, but not the Philharmonic building, although there was an award-winning solution.
That's why it started to be said that nothing would come of it. He was coming to Belgrade maestro Zubin Mehta, possibly the greatest friend of the Philharmonic, spoke with the Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković, but nothing changed.
Photo: BFMaesto Zubin Mehta and Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković
Then, on April 25, 2023, the Secretariat for Urban Planning of the City of Belgrade issued location conditions for the construction of a new building, which last for two years. A day before the deadline, on April 24, 2025, late in the evening, the Ministry of Public Investment submitted a request for the issuance of a building permit.
That request was approved a few days ago, and during the next three years, the construction of the new Belgrade Philharmonic building must begin.
Let's just remind you that when the international competition for the architectural solution of the Philharmonic building ended in 2022, it was announced that the foundation stone could be laid in 2024, and that the building would be completed by this year. It turned out, therefore, that this year only the building permit for construction was obtained.
Is permission a postponement of another problem
The issued building permit refers to the first prize-winning architectural solution by Amanda Levit. February last year, at the time when The Belgrade Philharmonic went on strike for three weeks in order not to get better working conditions, they were told in the Ministry of Culture that they would get a new building, but definitely not this one, but another, cheaper one.
It is not known why the state abandoned the need for a cheaper building for the Belgrade Philharmonic and who is responsible for that, and it is not important.
The Philharmonic continues to think that Amanda Levitt's solution is a good one, and it suits them that, at least for now, it looks like they will get the building that won first prize in an international competition that had 37 entries from 15 countries.
But they also suspect that granting a construction permit for the building at the very moment when they are looking for a director who will be selected through a competition and not an acting director appointed by the Government of Serbia, is an obvious delay in solving the problem on which their future depends.
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