Dua Lipa Wants the World to Come to Kosovo
The pop star is on a mission to increase the visibility of Europe’s youngest country.
By Andrea Dudik
Kosovo Levitating
Dua Lipa has done more for Kosovo’s PR than many others combined, and now the pop star has plans to open the tiny nation even more to the world as part of its journey from Balkan trouble spot to European acceptance.
Tension with Serbia and a struggle to alleviate poverty have blighted a country whose sovereignty five European Union members still don’t recognize. But Europe’s youngest population has demographics — and energy — on its side.
Dua Lipa and her father, Dukagjin, set up the Sunny Hill festival in Pristina in 2018, bringing international performers including Katy Perry, Lewis Capaldi and Martin Garrix, who appeared alongside Albanian and emerging Kosovar artists, as my colleague Gresa Kraja reported. Visitors flocked to Pristina from over 60 countries and numbers over the three days reached 120,000, the most ever. 
Dukagjin Lipa, who is also his daughter’s manager, said in an interview he wants to double nightly attendance to around 70,000 in the next five years. That goal could be reached even faster with some government support, he said.
For Kosovars, London-born Dua Lipa is not just a pop star. She’s also an advocate who pushed against Kosovo’s isolation.
The festival provides “a huge boost” by raising standards and bringing artists and industry insiders together, according to performer Arbër Salihu. For him, that opened doors to other international events that probably would have otherwise remained shut. Yet the key goal remains: Can it transform the image of Kosovo?