General Manager "Nisville Jazz Festival" in Niš, Ivan Blagojević announced on Monday (September 22) that the festival did not receive financial resources after the competition of the Ministry of Culture, which was announced in January, and that the ministry recommended local status for the festival, not national.
Blagojević stated in a statement that such a decision by the Ministry harms the festival's international reputation.
"This year's Nishville organized in almost impossible conditions with 1.000 performers and 300 programs on 20 stages in front of more than 200.000 visitors, it awakened our hope that the Ministry of Culture, after 31 years of existence, will offer us 35 million and the status of a National Festival, as it recently did with the National Film and Television Festival in Zlatibor," said Blagojević.
Telekom "can't help"
The director of Nishville added that the festival was denied support after 20 years, and that Telekom director Vladimir Lučić told him in February of this year that after a long series of years "he will not be able to help the festival (Nishville received 17.000 euros per year from Telekom)" because they were "forced to save money after the purchase of SBB sports channels".
"This attitude of the Ministry of Culture towards Nišville comes at a particularly inconvenient moment when Nišville is trying to put the city of Niš on the UNESCO list of jazz cities for the year 2027. The candidacy should be submitted in November, and for such a recommendation the Ministry of Culture, as well as the city of Niš, is necessary," said Blagojević.
He added that if Nišville does not receive the support of the Ministry of Culture or the Government of Serbia for 2027, the festival "will not have the status of one of the best European festivals" nor the support of the city of Niš, and Serbia and the entire region "will miss a unique cultural, tourist and economic opportunity".
The Nishville Jazz Festival is an international festival that takes place every August in Niš, and was founded in 1995.
The organizers supported the protests
As "Vreme" wrote earlier this year, the organizers of the Nashville festival in January supported the student protests.
"Nishville pays tribute" student protests which led to dismissal of Prime Minister Miloš Vučević whose work Nishville was extremely dissatisfied with, and he pointed that out several times, but without results," said the jazz festival organization at the time.
The promo price for this year's Nashville set of tickets ended on February 5th, except for students who could use the benefit until the end of the protest by showing the index.
No Serbian minister or prime minister of any Serbian government in the previous 30 years of existence has visited Nishville, said the organization.
