Because of the corona pandemic, the Zurich government canceled the Alba Festival 2021 at short notice. Thousands of Albanians had some catching up to do this year. The anger has not subsided for many.
At the weekend, heavy bass vibrated the former Hardturm football stadium. After the first edition of the Alba Festival 2019, edition number two has now taken place. After 20,000 visitors were counted three years ago, the open-air event for Albanian culture and music attracted even more guests this year.
The event made the headlines several times beforehand. “The bad publicity in this case was perhaps also good publicity,” says influencer Mimoza Lekaj, who acts as host and presenter at the Alba Festival.
The Zurich government canceled the festival at short notice last year. The reason for the withdrawal of the permit was that the major event was aimed at a community “strongly affected” by the corona pandemic. This, although the 3G rules would have applied at the time. The federal commission against racism has meanwhile reprimanded the Zurich SP government councilor and culture minister Jacqueline Fehr; the manner in which the festival was canceled was “discriminatory”, according to the verdict.
Thousands celebrated their stars from Kosovo, North Macedonia and Albania on the Hardturm area.
Many festival-goers are still annoyed about the Zurich government’s intervention a year ago. This is mainly because other events could take place normally at the same time. “As a representative of this ethnic group, I felt discriminated against,” says festival visitor Ardit De Niro. The 28-year-old was all the more pleased this weekend that the Alba Festival could be held with a “terrific mood and perfect weather”.
Dressed up like at a wedding
According to the influencer Mimoza Lekaj, the secret of the occasion has to do with the music and “the many great people”. The moderator speaks of “styled and beautiful” people who celebrated their stars from Kosovo, North Macedonia and Albania. And in fact, the festival partly resembled a catwalk: many women wore elaborate make-up and, depending on the weather, wrapped in light textiles.
The lords of creation also appeared in their best dress, and looking at the beard and hairstyle of many, one had the feeling that they had come straight from the hairdresser to the event. “We always try to show the best side of ourselves,” says Lekaj. From a very young age, people are used to always presenting the most beautiful wardrobe at weddings and other occasions.
“We always try to show the best side of ourselves”: Many visitors dressed up for the festival.
From the VIP grandstand, the participants had the best view of the musicians on stage.
The music on the Hardturm fallow enthused the visitors; many Swiss have probably never heard of her. The best-known musician at the festival was DJ Regard, his hit “Ride it” has 225 million views on YouTube and almost a billion streams on Spotify.
When the pop rockers Elita 5 took the stage on Saturday afternoon, there was no stopping some festival visitors. “These are my absolute favourites,” says 29-year-old Egzona Aliji about the formation founded in 1988. It’s actually music for an older generation. But she would just love the rock songs. “Albanian music makes me dance, move and sing.”
Apparently that’s the case for a lot of people. When the older gentlemen start singing a song about a fallen Kosovo warrior on stage, the whole Hardturm branch sings along at the top of their lungs. “These are our Rolling Stones!” says the 34-year-old City of Zurich FDP President Përparim Avdili, who has already experienced many Elita 5 concerts.
Dhurata Dora (left) and Elvana Gjata are among the best-known musicians from Albania and Kosovo. In Zurich they had a big performance.
The Alba Festival took place for the second time on the Hardturm fallow site in Zurich West. Will there be a third time next year?
Music is very important in Albanian culture, says Egzona Aliji. That is also a reason for the many compatriots in Zurich at the weekend. “You can see how music connects.” The young woman describes herself as a Valaisan with an “Albanian touch”.
Over 200,000 people with Albanian roots live in Switzerland. That must have been the reason why Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani addressed the festival visitors in Zurich West via video message on Saturday. She would wish that people would also have enough energy for the Sunny Hill Festival in the Kosovar capital Pristina. For the time being, the Zurich Alba Festival is the biggest Albanian pop music happening in Europe.
FDP leader speaks of “authority racism”
The FDP politician Përparim Avdili, who was there on both days of the festival, hopes that there will also be a festival next year. The politician now describes the withdrawal of the permit in 2021 as “official racism”. The government councilor Fehr stigmatized an entire population group with her “absurd and arbitrary” decision. This must never happen again. On Monday, Avdili wants to have the issue further discussed in the Zurich Cantonal Council. He demands transparency and an apology from Fehr.
The FDP National Councilor Andri Silberschmidt also wanted to show solidarity with his presence at the Alba Festival on Sunday. He was also very determined about the decision of the Federal Commission against Racism: “The short-term cancellation was not legal. There’s nothing to discuss.”
The Zurich SP – Jacqueline Fehr’s party – has not yet discussed the whole case internally. The social democratic city parliamentarian Reis Luzhnica, who was born in Pristina and came to Switzerland at the age of two, also describes the argumentation of the governing council at the time as discriminatory. In addition, Luzhnica would have liked the Zurich government to understand. Luzhnica could understand the cancellation at the time, but how it happened and the reason for it were incorrect.
These two visitors insisted on taking a selfie in front of the stage.
For those who needed a better overview, there was a Ferris wheel at the edge of the site.
The organizers of the Alba Festival, who do not want to make any political statements, want the big event to continue in the years to come. Location could be a problem. Sooner or later, the new Zurich football stadium is to be built on the Hardturm wasteland. However, construction is currently being delayed due to legal appeals. The Alba Festival organizers are therefore not yet actively looking for an alternative location.