Sarajevo Mayor Benjamina Karić held a press conference in the City Hall today where she confirmed that the band Dubioza Kolektiv will perform at the Public New Year’s Eve in front of the Eternal Fire in Sarajevo.
“I want to tell all citizens and tourists that with Dubioza Kolektiv we will have an unforgettable New Year. I will take this opportunity to invite everyone to enjoy and rejoice together. We started early with the organization of this welcome, and I am sure that is why we have the opportunity to promote the Public Welcome of the New Year 2023 in the region. It makes me especially happy that restaurateurs and hoteliers will have the opportunity to earn funds – said Karić.
In addition to the City of Sarajevo, the Public Welcome was also supported by the Government of the Sarajevo Canton, and Cantonal Prime Minister Edin Forto pointed out that Duboiza Kolektiv is making Sarajevo a cultural center.
“We open the infrastructure to bands. Dubioza Kolektiv is a band that needs to be paid to play. Investing in this event is investing in the economy. It has been shown that every BAM invested in culture more than triples back to the budget,” said Forto.
Mirela Džehverović, Deputy Chairperson of the City Council of the City of Sarajevo, emphasized that Dubioza Kolektiv is an example of a work ethic worth emulating.
The President of the Tourism Association of CS, Kenan Magoda, expressed his pride that the implementation of the New Year’s celebration was started on time.
“Dubioza Kolektiv is the best musical product and the best option to welcome the year 2023. The largest number of tourists come from the region and that is why Dubioza Kolektiv is the target, because we are targeting tourists from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia who will be visitors to the Public Welcome in Sarajevo. According to average indicators, for the New Year holidays in CS we expect 15,000 tourist overnight stays, which is 30,000 BAM in tourist tax and between a minimum of 15 and 22 million BAM in income from tourism. It should be taken into account that every fourth job is directly related to tourism, which means that the entire tourism industry and all related activities will feel the benefits,” stated Magoda.
At the end of the press conference, the author of the analysis on the justification of the investment of budget funds in the organization of the Public Welcome of the New Year, Maja Arslanagić-Kalajdžić from the Institute of Economics, confirmed that 350,000 BAM will be invested in the Public Welcome.