Albania’s PM Defends €4 Million Kanye West Concert Spending
Rama said the event will draw nearly 25,000 ticket holders and generate at least €100 million in revenue for Albania.
- On Saturday, July 11, Kanye West arrived in Tirana for a concert held in a makeshift stadium, as Prime Minister Edi Rama defended the event despite sharp reactions to West's controversies in other European countries.
- Prime Minister Edi Rama defended the government's decision to spend €4 million to prepare the venue, adding heat to daily protests over controversial plans for a luxury resort by Jared Kushner.
- Rama claimed the event would generate at least €100 million in revenue for Albania, while nearly 25,000 foreign visitors from 80 countries purchased tickets, prompting the last-minute government allocation to avoid embarrassing the country.
- Footage released online showed Prime Minister Edi Rama giving West a museum tour; both figures, who face ongoing protests, were seen meeting warmly despite West's history of praise for Adolf Hitler and Nazi imagery.
- West is set to take the stage in Albania, transforming Tirana into a global capital of musical spectacle, following his ban from performing in several European countries due to remarks praising Hitler and featuring Nazi imagery.
23 Articles
23 Articles
For weeks, tens of thousands in Albania have been demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. He now wanted to improve his image with a performance by Kanye West – but that doesn't seem to have worked out very well.
Kanye West draws massive crowds for concert in Tirana
Tirana became the center of the music world on Saturday as world-famous rapper Kanye West performed a concert that had attracted widespread attention, as well as considerable controversy, for weeks. It was clear from the afternoon that the Albanian capital was preparing for one of the biggest music events of the year. Special shuttle buses branded with Kanye West transported fans to Eagle Stadium, while huge queues had already formed outside the…
The protests put Prime Minister Edi Rama in an increasingly uncomfortable position of provocation.Edi Rama, challenged by a wave of protest that has only swelled for six weeks, the Albanian Prime Minister wanted to welcome in person the very controversial American rapper Kanye West, who was banned in concert in most European countries because of his anti-Semitic and Islamophobic provocations, as well as his declared admiration for Adolf Hitler.
The country's Prime Minister, Edi Rama, announced on July 6 that he would "urgently" approve a grant of 4 million euros to ensure that Kanye West's concert takes place. The post After the flamingos, Kanye West lights bonfires in Albania - Rama's "gift" of 4 million euros for the concert appeared first on in.gr.
berlingske.dk
The demonstrations against a tourism project in a nature reserve were expanded on Saturday to include a concert.
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