The concert by the American artist near Tirana is turning into a serious political crisis for Prime Minister Edi Rama, while for the protest movement, the debate has now gone far beyond the initial discontent.
The event was covered by Nicole Anliker in the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
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Last Saturday, controversial American rapper Kanye West performed for more than two hours on a stage near the Albanian capital, in a show financed by the country’s taxpayers.
The executive led by Edi Rama transferred €4.2 million to the private organiser. The intervention was made out of fear that the heavily promoted concert could be cancelled due to the slow pace of ticket sales.
In a video posted on Facebook a few days ago, Rama, visibly irritated, said that through this financial support he had prevented an embarrassment for Albania.
According to the prime minister, the so-called Flamingo Revolution protesters were responsible for the low interest in tickets.
He accused them of sabotage and defamation, claiming that the spread of panic was keeping music fans away.
Meanwhile, protests against the government have been taking place every day in Albania for several weeks.
Because of Kanye West’s repeated antisemitic and racist statements, the artist now known as Ye has had his concerts cancelled by many European countries.
Despite this, Rama, who is considered a politician with pro-Israel views, had a temporary stadium called Eagle Stadium built specifically for the rapper’s performance, with a capacity of 60,000 spectators.
The prime minister saw the event as an opportunity for a major marketing success, but the effect proved to be entirely the opposite.
A concert that was already the subject of moral debate turned into a political scandal after it emerged that the government had made €4.2 million from the Albanian state budget’s Emergency Fund available through an emergency law. The original text mentions “€4.2 billion,” but this does not match the amount stated earlier or the known facts.
The money in this fund is in fact intended to deal with unforeseen natural disasters. For this reason, its use to save the organisation of a concert is considered a legal violation.
Following this, the Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Special Prosecution Office Against Corruption and Organised Crime, SPAK, against Rama and his culture minister. They are accused of abuse of office and violating the principle of equality in public procurement procedures.
Beyond suspicions of legal violations, citizens’ anger is particularly linked to the arrogance attributed to the government: spending public funds on a pop concert at a time when the country is facing high inflation and deep structural problems.
Rama’s intervention came at the most inappropriate moment and is seen as evidence that the prime minister has lost touch with the mood of the population. The financing of Kanye West’s concert has once again reignited Albanians’ deep dissatisfaction with the government.
Since the end of May, thousands of citizens have taken to the streets every evening, demanding Rama’s resignation.
The protests were sparked by a €4 billion tourism project in a protected area along the Adriatic coast. The project belongs to investment company Affinity Partners, owned by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
To clear the way for construction plans, the government stripped the area of its protected status through a controversial legal amendment adopted in 2024.
What initially began as a limited environmental protest against the project quickly expanded into a mass movement against the entire political system. From the left to the right, the government faces accusations of corruption and abuse of power.
For weeks, Rama has reacted unwaveringly and with an aggrieved attitude. He has attacked the protesters, calling them foreign agents or insulting them.
However, during a joint press conference in Brussels on Tuesday with the European Union Commissioner for Enlargement, the prime minister suddenly changed his tone. He promised to review the disputed law on protected areas, with the aim of bringing it into line with EU standards.
Rama’s goal is for Albania to become a member of the European Union by 2030. The country ranks among the candidates that have made the greatest progress in accession negotiations.
It is still unknown what consequences the announced legal changes will have for Kushner’s project. So far, Rama has made it clear that he wants to move the investment forward.
He has repeatedly presented the construction project as a historic opportunity for tourism development and as a major economic benefit for Albania.
He used the same economic reasoning to justify the payment of more than €4 million to the organiser of Kanye West’s concert.
According to Rama, around 25,000 visitors from 80 countries would come specifically to Albania for the concert, while expected revenues would reach at least €100 million.
Observers consider this forecast unrealistic. Doubts are further fuelled by Albanian media reports that the state distributed a large number of tickets free of charge to fill the stadium.
The government’s explanations have not convinced the protesters. On the contrary, the latest revelations by Reuters have strengthened their belief that the criticisms raised are well-founded.
Reuters obtained access to SPAK court documents, as the office is investigating Kushner’s construction project over suspicions related to corruption and abuse of office.
According to these files, an Albanian businessman living in the United States is suspected of having forged the title deed for one of the plots where the resort is planned to be built.
The businessman sold the land to the investment company in April.
SPAK has charged him and issued an arrest warrant for international drug trafficking, money laundering and document forgery.
Reuters reports that he is specifically accused of trafficking cocaine from South America to Europe and laundering the proceeds through Albania’s real estate market.
According to the report, the indictment contains no charges against Jared Kushner or other investors involved in the luxury resort project.
The suspect has denied all allegations. Meanwhile, residents of the coastal area have been challenging his land ownership claims in court for years.
