Dukagjin Lipa publishes the letter sent to Albin's Vjosa after the failure of the Sunny Hill Festival.

Organisers have announced to state leaders and ministers that they will not hold the festival in Pristina.

Dukagjin Lipa has also published the letter he delivered to the president, prime minister, foreign minister and minister of culture.

“Sunny Hill brings some of the world's greatest names of music to Pristina, creates massive publicity for our country worldwide (the value of international publicity created only by the latest edition is estimated at the value of 23m euros as direct benefits to the state image), has brought up to 10 (ten) million euros to the capital economy, and promotes the best values of our culture, music and youth around the world. Furthermore, tens of thousands of people, or over 50 percent of participants in the Sunny Hill Festival in every edition have come from outside Kosovo, from more than 40 different countries in the world, the letter of Dukagjin Lipa sent to the state.

This international festival will now be held in Tirana.

Full letter:

Dear President of the Republic of Kosovo, Mrs. Vjosa Osmani Sadriu,

Honored Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr. Albin Kurti,

Honored ministers Krasniqi and Ceku,

Dear Minister Gervalla-Schwarz,

Honored Head of Pristina, Mr. Progress Rama,

Through this announcement, with great regret and despair, we warn you that due to the numerous delays caused by the lack of response and the final decision to provide space use for the festival, on the part of the MAPL, this year's edition of the Sunny Hill Festival will not be held in Pristina.

Even though we are entering the third year of waiting for final answers and finalisation of the process for determining and providing a space for the use of the festival platform, to create a wide beneficial ecosystem for the strategic interests of our state worldwide, all this time has been insufficient for relevant institutions to make a final decision that will allow the Sunny Hill festival to prepare for maintaining a dignified edition in Pristina.

Instead of backing, the festival's demand has been politicised, all legal deadlines and competencies of the MAPL on the Pristina municipality have been overlooked, the decision of the majority of the Communist Assembly has been exercised directly warned about the MAPL on the part of the municipal opposition assemblyists, and therefore we today, after all this time, do not have a final decision that would enable us to hold the festival in Pristina.

As for clarification, identical demand, at the end of past municipal mandate had been voted Unanimously by all party assemblyers, but has now returned for fulfillment, since former Mayor Ahmeti had not prepared the documentation in the right form.

Now, the same demand, although completely met by law and conforming to MAPL criteria, became political battle between the parties in the Municipal Assembly, at the expense of the festival and the benefit that the same creates for the state image and values we represent as society, including the direct and chain effect the festival creates for the capital economy, but also the positive echo worldwide, which in this period is essential for our country.

The need for small political victories on the part of municipal asambitists, unfortunately, remained on state interest and the possibility of increasing an important platform of cultural diplomacy and cultural tourism.

In the letter sent to MAPL, Sunny Hill Festival has shown no need for public property for 99 years. We do not need state land, but Pristina needs space which meets the conditions required by world-class performers and the festival needs permanent housing in its town.

Since Pristina does not have such a space, we have expressed willingness that the space shared by the Pristina Community, (earth of the wilderness today) to turn into a PARK PUBLIC, accessible to all citizens, money and after use for the festival's needs and under the supervision of the Sunny Hill organisation.

Sunny Hill brings some of the world's greatest names of music to Pristina, creates massive publicity for our country worldwide (the value of international publicity created only by the latest edition is estimated at the value of 23m euros as direct benefits to the state image), has brought up to 10 (ten) million euros to the capital economy, and promotes the best values of our culture, music and youth around the world. For more, tens of thousands of people, or over 50 percent of participants in the Sunny Hill Festival in each edition, have come from outside Kosovo, from more than 40 different countries in the world.

In every edition of Sunny Hill Festival, our young people and their peers from different parts of the world come to Pristina to see their favorite artists performing at the biggest music scene in our country.

The festival's social, cultural and economic effect is undeniable. The more we know the size of our diaspora around the world and the need that we as a state and society have to create our youth abroad additional reasons to visit their homeland on regular annual grounds.

We see that in every edition, Sunny Hill is making positive news in the world's most relevant media (including many states that have not yet recognised its citizenship), and since its first edition, our festival has become synonymous with Western Kosovo efforts and its new demographic, as a very significant value with which we are represented internationally.

With Sunny Hill Festival, a new cultural moment exists in Pristina, where the newest state in Europe brings the most popular names of music of our time to the most isolated capital in Europe.

Pristina was a host of some of the world's greatest names of music, including Michael Cyrus, I want Lipa, Calvin Harris, Martin Garrix, Action Bronson, and dozens of foreign and local artists who get together create synergy and enable Kosovo to become a global diet in dozens of different countries of the world.

Our state, Pristina as the capital and youth of Kosovo, has so far appeared over 500 million times in digital channels, to international audiences through Sunny Hill. In the previous edition alone, over 557 positive articles have been published in international media, including various American national televisions, which are viewed by hundreds of millions of people a day throughout the world.

On the other hand, economically small and medium-sized local businesses are presented to a massive audience that has tremendous demand for their consumption, and new experience of local consumption. Private hotels and hotels complement 100 percent of their capacity of rooms and other services offered to guests who come to Pristina and other surrounding towns.

As music crosses all borders, we aim to constantly invite world-renowned music players and performers to Pristina to improve intercultural exchanges and networks with local artists. Kosovo cultural events grow with the festival, as local artists exchange contacts with world famous musicians and producers, and create new opportunities for co-operation and penetration in major world music scenes.

The engagement of minority groups as well as people of different social and cultural backgrounds will help create a diverse and comprehensive environment. The Sunny Hill Festival promotes democratic values, as the character of the festival itself is strengthening the democratisation of the country through the power of music, culture and art.

Our mission is to further evolve our festival, massify it, so that it becomes the best symbol of Kosovo's youth and culture, remodating the image of our country and the values we represent as society, and making Pristina and Kosovo one of the top destinations in Europe for modern music.

Our goal is to create a positive effect on society, increasing multiple value through large numbers of visitors, increase incomes in the country's economy, as well as tourist activities, from which our state, our society and local businesses benefit directly.

As a great platform, with extraordinary promotions, we strongly believe that our mission is in full compliance with the goals of the institutions you run, so we seek the support of all relevant institutions in the Republic of Kosovo for the quick finalisation of the space-making process in exploitation, so that Sunny Hill Festival 2023 in the next year will continue to be held even in Pristina, whose city even belongs.

As a special event, Sunny Hill Festival brings Kosovo more attention, massive publicity and measurable positive value from all parts of the world than any other private or state project that occurs in Kosovo. In this respect, I'm not counting on my and my family's commitments to promoting the state, heads of state and youth, and the values we have.

We trust in the hope that our response gets your attention so that the credibility of my own festival and my family's personal credibility does not fall into the hands of asmblists who put us in such situations outside of sound logic, and lead us to the loss of the best opportunity to promote, diplomacy and cultural tourism that Kosovo has and may have for a very long time.

With Honor

Dukagjin Lipa

founder and organizer of Sunny Hill Festival