This Tuesday, the renovated Blue Hall in Sava Center will be opened, the main cultural part of one of the three zones of this congress, cultural and business center in Belgrade. The first two were opened last year.
Since November 2020, the owner of the Sava Center is the company Delta Holding, which bought this still the largest congress center in the country for 17,54 million euros at a public auction. Delta Holding was the only bidder during the third attempt at the sale advertised by the City of Belgrade.
120 million euros invested
Also, Delta Holding accepted the obligation to invest at least 50 million euros in the renovation of the Sava Center within five years. According to the information on their website, that amount now amounts to 120 million euros.
Delta Holding immediately began the reconstruction, adhering to the obligation not to change the purpose of the building and everything else that entails the status of cultural property, which Sava Center received in April 2021.
On that occasion, it was said that the Sava Center is one of the most successful and expressive examples of contemporary European architecture in the 70s and is the most functional congress-hotel, business and cultural center in Belgrade.
About 400 new seats
The reconstruction which, with the opening of the Blue Hall this Tuesday, will complete the reconstruction of the cultural zone of the building, is the only one in its 47-year long life.
For now, only the basics are known about the renovated Blue Hall: the seats are still blue, but there are more of them - with the addition of VIP boxes, there are now 3.672 instead of 4.050. It is also rumored that there is nothing missing in terms of technological possibilities, but specific details will be announced only on Tuesday
History.
It could be said that the Blue, or Congress, Great Hall was also the reason for the construction of the Sava Center.
In March 1976, the Construction Directorate of Belgrade received a request for the construction of a space where the Conference on European Security and Cooperation (CESC) will be held the following year. Such an international event could not be supported by the then conference halls and business premises, and it was decided to build a modern, separate facility - a 50.000 square meter congress center.
Photo: TanjugThe current appearance of one of the halls
Architect Stojan Maksimović, the chief designer of the Directorate and his team completed the Sava Center project in a month, while the construction of the first phase was completed in 11 months.
The next phase involved the construction of accompanying hotel accommodation. The fully constructed complex, which has over 120.000 square meters, was built over a period of two years.
The new century of Sava Center
The life of the Sava Center began in 1977 with the aforementioned KEBS international conference, and it continues to this day. Since then, more than 120.000 million visitors have passed through its 10 square meters, 8.000 gatherings, 20.000 manifestations with 1.600.000 visitors have been held.
The congress-concert hall of Object B, the Great Hall, is the one we flock to at the Fest, which has hosted from Pavarotti to Miles Davis, from Nina Simone to Sting and Jefro Tull, from Moksovski to the Ohazu Philharmonic Orchestra, folklore and Zdravko Čolić, Euro-, Beo- and other visions, festivals, film reviews, world ballets, numerous congresses - from bankers, through Interpol to the League of Communists, and some would also said that it was there that the turning point took place when Yugoslavia fell apart (the 14th Congress of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, 1990, the delegation of Slovenia left the congress and the Communist Party disbanded, followed by Yugoslavia.
Delta Holding now announces the new century of Sava Center.
Last year, during the opening of the congress and business zone, the vice president of Delta Holding, Angelina Nekić, pointed out that the renovated Sava Center kept the best of the old and got the best of the new, as well as that the company saw this facility as what it is - a kind of symbol of Belgrade. and Serbia.
It is estimated that their investments in the Sava Center will pay off in 15 to 18 years.
The first concert in the new Blue Hall will have Konstrakt & Zemlja Gruva on September 19.
