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The Kosovo that Dua Lipa doesn't show us

2026-08-02 22:33:55Pikëpamje SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Nature is not fought and Pristina has no sea. However, between the July heat and the competition to attract tourists, the city offers festivals, music and perfect Instagram photos. Unfortunately, that's often all that remains. For a few days, the talk is about Dua Lipa, the stages, the lights and the party, and then it seems like summer ends with the festival.

Just a few kilometers from the festival site is the center of Pristina: Skanderbeg Square, government institutions, the theater, the pedestrian zone. But there another reality awaits you. Dust, garbage, and a city that seems neglected. People rushing through the heat, throwing plastic bottles, paper, and cigarette butts everywhere. Overflowing trash cans, smoke that mixes with the air and makes breathing difficult.

One gets the impression that the country has not only been without a functioning government for months, but as if everything has been left in shambles. Unfinished roads, half-built buildings, piles of garbage where flies fly, facades covered in graffiti and political or offensive messages, concert posters plastered everywhere, and roundabouts overloaded with traffic.

Perhaps this explains the nervousness you sense in many people. From the waiter who serves you your morning coffee without a smile, to the policeman who seems annoyed when you ask for an address.

If you want to understand a city, just talk to the taxi drivers. They know the streets, the people, the problems and the pace of life better than anyone. They spend hours every day in Prishtina traffic and listen to the stories of hundreds of passengers. My two taxi rides, to and from the festival, gave me a panorama that speaks louder than any report.

The first taxi driver was a supporter of Albin Kurti. “He protects us from the Serbs and doesn’t let anyone take our land,” he told me. But when I asked him about hospitals, kindergartens, schools and public institutions, he was silent for a few seconds. “It’s become a den everywhere,” he admitted. “Perparim Rama works, but he can’t do miracles. There’s been almost no work for years. Most of us are paid illegally, the salaries are low, but we still don’t have anyone better than Albin.”

On the way back, the political landscape was completely different. The second taxi driver worked two jobs and was eagerly awaiting Hashim Thaçi's release. "Only he makes Kosovo," he said with conviction. According to him, Pristina is going through difficult times, but people are already used to politics and have high hopes for immigrants, not only for the money they bring, but also for the atmosphere and vibrancy that events like the Dua Lipa festival create.

When I asked him about the cleanliness of the city, he didn't want to elaborate. With a bitter smile, he said that every evening he had to waste about 30 minutes just to find a parking space near his house.

I left Prishtina with a sense of regret. It is a city that I love, but this time I found it more tired than I had imagined. Paradoxically, many of the residents seemed to have come to terms with the unfinished streets, the missing schools, and the garbage that the wind scatters across the squares and pedestrian areas.

For many of them, only two main concerns remained: to reconcile Albin Kurti with Vjosa Osmani as soon as possible and to release Hashim Thaçi.

This is the Kosovo you won't find on Dua Lipa's Instagram. It presents an image that is undoubtedly good for Pristina and its promotion. But before festivals bring tourists, the city needs to wake up, organize, clean up and seriously invest in public spaces. Because the challenge is not just to bring visitors for a weekend, but to make them want to come back.

Dua Lipa did her part. Now it's politics' turn.

The Kosovo that Dua Lipa doesn't show us

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This article is exclusive to Vox News, and is copyrighted under Law No. 35/2016, "On Copyright and Related Rights". The article may be republished by other media only by citing Vox News and including a link to the source at the end, otherwise any violator will be held liable under Article 178 of Law No. 35/2016.


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