The debate over Kanye West’s concert has moved even deeper into the territory of public money. After accusations online and in political debate over a bill of €50 million, Prime Minister Edi Rama personally issued a public response to deny that figure. But together with the denial, he also acknowledged something essential: according to his version, the government put in €4 million to prevent the concert from being canceled.
Rama’s version: not €50 million, but €4 million
In a video published on Facebook, Rama described as “slander” the claims that the state financed the concert with €50 million. According to him, the event had been planned to be funded by sponsors and ticket sales.
According to the prime minister, the government’s intervention came only at the last moment, with €4 million, to avoid the cancellation of the concert and, as he put it, the “humiliation of Albania” in front of thousands of foreign ticket buyers.
The question that remains: why was public money needed?
Although Rama insists that this is a “reasonable” amount, his statement itself raises a strong public question: if the concert was an entirely private organization, why did it become necessary for the state to inject €4 million?
In his response, the prime minister said that initially the government had signed only a letter of readiness as host, without taking on financial commitments. Later, according to him, the situation changed “in extremis,” forcing the executive to intervene financially.
The prime minister attacks critics and links the debate to protests
Beyond the figures, Rama used the response to attack political opponents and critical voices, accusing them of disinformation, manipulation, and inciting a boycott of the concert.
He also linked this climate to the protests that have been taking place for more than a month, claiming that the genuine concerns of protesters are being used by political actors for power-related purposes. At the same time, Rama said he does not question the reasons of citizens who protest over concrete problems or for the protection of nature.
Promised benefits, transparency still unconfirmed
According to the prime minister, the €4 million provided will return to the capital’s economy many times over through spending by foreign visitors and Albania’s international exposure. He compared the concert’s potential to the benefits that, according to the government, were generated by the Conference League final in Tirana.
However, at this stage, Rama’s public response remains a political declaration. He said that the truth is illustrated with documents, but in the material made public the core remains the acknowledgment of the use of €4 million from the state, while the debate over the justification, procedure, and transparency of this intervention is expected to remain open.
In trying to knock down the €50 million figure, the prime minister ended up officially confirming another figure: €4 million from the public budget for a concert that, according to the government, was private.
It is precisely here that the core of the public debate begins: not only how much the event really cost, but under what procedure, with what justification, and with what accountability the state stepped in to cover an organizers’ crisis.