At least 14 students from the Petro Nini Luarasi high school in the capital found themselves on Wednesday included in a WhatsApp group called “Kaney West,” opened by a school teacher, in which a list containing their names was posted.

The list sent to the group includes the students’ names, along with their ID details, as well as an offer to attend the “Kanye West event in Tirana” free of charge.

The teacher assigned to accompany the group of students, Altin Lika, who teaches Physical Education at the school, told BIRN that he had been instructed by the school leadership to notify and accompany the students selected by the school administration.

“As far as I know, they were selected based on their contributions, outstanding students or talents,” he said, adding that “I don’t even know how many students will take part, since some of them are on vacation.”

This is not the only school where students have been mobilized through an unclear legal mechanism to fill the stands at the concert of the controversial American rapper, which has been heavily promoted with public money by Prime Minister Edi Rama and Culture Minister Blendi Gonxhe.

BIRN learned that the same mobilization method to secure attendance at the concert was being used by all schools in the capital, as part of a broader effort undertaken by the Albanian government to secure tens of thousands of free participants in the 60,000-seat stadium.

In addition to the capital’s schools, BIRN learned that invitation lists for attendance at this concert are also being distributed within the public administration.

The principal of Petro Nini Luarsi school, Elsa Lici, was not reachable for comment on the basis of what instructions and criteria the school had undertaken this initiative.

Meanwhile, in a response to BIRN, the Ministry of Education said that the distribution of invitations was done within the framework of an inter-institutional initiative with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Social Welfare, under which a limited number of invitations were made available to institutions to distribute, according to their own criteria, to high-achieving pupils and students, young people in social or development programs, and groups with limited economic means.

“This initiative aims to support access to cultural and artistic activities for groups that, due to economic or social conditions, have fewer opportunities to take part in such events, as well as to recognize the engagement and achievements of young people,” the Ministry of Education said.

‘He is a neo-Nazi’

Although the Albanian government had considered it a private event and had declared that it would provide no financial support from the state budget, on July 6 it suddenly decided to use the emergency fund to allocate 400 million lek to its organizers to compensate for losses from unsold tickets.

Justified as a decision to avoid risking the cancellation of the concert, Prime Minister Rama himself said on Wednesday that the decision was taken “so as not to embarrass Albania in the eyes of nearly 25 thousand foreigners from 80 countries who, up to yesterday, had bought tickets in advance.”

Like the Ministry of Education, the Council of Ministers also acknowledged that the free attendance at the concert by students and other groups is part of an inter-institutional commitment and that it is being made possible thanks to this financial support from the state budget.

“The government considers it an important event for tourism and for Albania in the international arena. In these conditions, when half the tickets have been sold to buyers from all over the world, we cannot risk cancellation and at the last moment the government’s commitment was also needed to make the event possible,” the media office of Prime Minister Edi Rama told BIRN.

For months, Albanian institutions and their heads have been engaged in promoting this concert, calling on their social media accounts for people to buy tickets.

American artist Kanye West, also known as ‘YE’, is seen as a highly controversial figure on the international stage, and some of his concerts in Europe have been canceled following widespread boycotts and criticism linked to public statements with antisemitic content, the use of Nazi symbols, and the use of hate speech.

Several final-year high school students in Tirana, whose anonymity BIRN decided to protect, admitted that they would not attend this event even though they could easily obtain a free invitation because of the public positions the artist has held.

“He is a neo-Nazi, do you know that?” one student replied when asked whether he would attend West’s concert.

A teacher at Petro Nini Luarasi school, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she viewed students’ participation in such an event with concern, adding that she herself “would advise students only on events directly related to the school.”

West has denied the criticism that he is antisemitic, while apologizing for his previous antisemitic statements. In an open letter published in January 2026, the rapper declared that he was not “a Nazi or antisemite” and that he loved Jews, while also saying he was “deeply ashamed” of his actions and taking responsibility for the offensive language used in the past.

Private concert, state-organized

For civil society activists working to improve education, the involvement of schools in distributing tickets for a private concert constitutes a misuse of the education system and public resources.

Kolindo Verdha, from the organization Civic Resistance, described as problematic both the financing of the concert with 4 million euros from the Emergency Fund and the involvement of public institutions to boost attendance at the event.

“Even more worrying is that the government is using public institutions to promote a private profit-making activity by distributing tickets through schools,” Verdha told BIRN.

According to him, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture should not function as “concert agencies,” while teachers cannot be turned into marketing instruments for private organizers. Verdha argued that the case shows that public funds are mobilized quickly when there is political will, while education continues to face infrastructure shortages, combined classes, school dropouts, and insufficient support for students with disabilities.

In the same vein, Ermelinda Hoxhaj from the Parents’ Community for Quality Education called it unacceptable to use schools to fill the stadium with students, while also raising concerns about Kanye West’s public profile.

“Sending students to such an event in a compulsory form is a misuse of the education system as a tool to fill the stadium,” Hoxhaj said.

She said that many parents have expressed reservations both about the artist’s controversial statements and about the possibility that children’s images could be used in an activity taking place in a tense political climate, amid anti-government protests.

Hoxhaj argued that public funds would have a greater impact if they were invested in psychologists and security officers in schools, sports grounds, or scholarships for high-achieving students.

“If you support talented students in science, art or sport with merit scholarships, you create a long-term impact on the development of education. Financing a concert has a temporary effect and brings no benefit to the education system,” she said.

A teacher accompanying students from the “Petro Nini Luarasi” high school, on the other hand, told BIRN that he saw no problem with the artist’s profile or his music, as long as the students’ participation took place with parental approval.

The Albanian government was likewise unconcerned by the criticism of YE, as long as he has international fame.

“Because we do not judge artists, everyone has their own controversies; for the government Kanye West is an international artist,” the media office of the Prime Minister said./BIRN

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