Prime Minister Edi Rama has acknowledged that the state has put up €4 million for the organization of the concert where Kanye West is expected to perform, even though he described the activity as an “entirely private event.” The statement was made during an inspection at the stadium being built for the show, at a time when there have been public accusations over the cost and the use of public money.
The official version: not tens of millions, but €4 million
According to Rama’s statements, the Albanian state has not spent “tens of millions of euros” as was claimed during the protest, but intervened with €4 million. The prime minister said this amount was provided to guarantee that the event could go ahead and, according to him, to avoid the blocking of an activity that would bring visitors from abroad.
The question that remains: how “private” is an event financed by the state?
The point that stands out most in the head of government’s statement is the contradiction between labeling the concert as “entirely private” and admitting that €4 million has been provided by the state. Up to this stage, the official version has not made public in the source material any further details on the mechanism of this intervention or the full financial reasoning behind it.
Rama linked the concert to tourism and Tirana’s economy
During the inspection, Rama argued that thousands of people have bought tickets from Europe, the United States, Australia and 80 countries, presenting the event as an economic opportunity for the capital. According to him, the impact would be comparable to the effect brought by the Conference League final in Tirana, which, according to the government’s version, had a positive impact on tourism and the economy.
Comparison with the Conference League final
The prime minister also claimed that more tickets have been sold for this concert than for the Conference League final held four years ago in Tirana. The source material does not provide verifiable data or detailed figures for this comparison, so the claim remains part of the political statement made during the inspection.
For the moment, what emerges clearly from the statement is that the government acknowledges a financial commitment of €4 million for an activity that continues to be presented as private.
The real debate remains transparency: what exactly this public money covers, through what procedure it was provided, and what documentation justifies this intervention.