Shkodër na Bojana: Will the Belgrade Philharmonic once again hang on to the building

In its 101 years of existence, Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra she failed to get her own building, regardless of her reputation in the world and her merits in the country.

When its legendary director Ivan Tasovac launched the initiative to build the Philharmonic in 2010, it seemed that it would happen.

The founded hope in this direction appeared for the next time only in 2021, when an international architectural competition for a new building was organized and the work of the British architect Amanda Levitt was chosen. and Ana Brnabić spoke about the new Philharmonic as the project of the year.

And then Vučić came

And then in January of last year he became president Aleksandar Vučić presented Expo 2027 and Leap into the Future to the people, but without the building of the Belgrade Philharmonic. There were various museums and cultural institutions in that jump, but not the Philharmonic building.

That's why it started to be said that nothing would come of it. Maestro Zubin Mehta was coming, possibly the greatest friend of the Philharmonic, spoke with the Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković, but nothing changed.

Then it was officially announced that on April 25, 2023, the Secretariat for Urban Planning of the City of Belgrade issued location conditions for the construction of a new building in Novi Beograd block 13, between the "Serbia" Palace and the Ušće TC, on the foundations of the never-built Museum of the Revolution, which instilled new hope.

Location conditions last for two years. If the application for a building permit is not submitted by then, it is necessary to request it again, that is, to extend the whole matter for another two years.

The Ministry of Public Investments, which submits an application for a construction permit, answered the media's questions about when and whether it will do so - until the end of the year.

It could have been worse.

When they are on February 9, 2024 Philharmonic players began the concert by reading a letter to the audience in which they described the conditions in which they live and work, stating that they do not have adequate space. After that, it was publicly said and written several times that the deadline for submitting a building permit application is leaking and expiring.

Late in the evening of April 24, the day before the deadline, the Ministry of Public Investment submitted a request for the issuance of a construction permit.

And that, in the first moment, was good news, because it could have been worse, the whole story about the new building could have gone back to the beginning and two years could have been lost. After this change, the start of construction should be expected during the next three years - that's what the regulations say.

However, the Philharmonic Orchestra does not hope for him, because this March, the Ministry of Culture told them that there was no money for the new building.

Namely, the realization of Amanda Levit's project is estimated at 120 million euros. That cost estimate is believed to have doubled in the meantime. In three years, by the end of the deadline for the start of construction, it will certainly not be smaller. Especially when you keep in mind the Expo, the growing Belgrade on the water and other state pets.

And that's why the question that the Philharmonic Orchestra doesn't say out loud - whether the building permit is any kind of guarantee that they will get a new building, sounds justified.