Amid a sea of denim shorts, selfies, sequins and thumping bass lines, the setting could easily be mistaken for Coachella or Glastonbury. But the Sunny Hill festival in Pristina is helping turn Kosovo into a go-to destination during Europe’s summer festival season, thanks in large part to its founder: Dua Lipa.

For years, Kosovo was associated with its bloody war against Serbia that pitted ethnic Albania insurgents against Serb forces in the late 1990s, leaving thousands dead and triggering a refugee crisis. But the arrival of Lipa on the international pop scene has helped showcase Kosovo’s other side -- young, talented and full of ambition. With more than 87 million followers on Instagram and more than 25 million albums sold, the British-born singer of Kosovo descent is one of the biggest pop stars in the world.

Alongside an endless tour schedule, film roles and hosting a popular podcast, Lipa remains one of the most vocal promoters of all things Kosovo.

Very happy

Launched in 2018 with her father, the Sunny Hill festival she created has brought some of the biggest names to perform in this tiny corner of the Balkan. Late Thursday afternoon, as the first notes echoed from the main stage, a young crowd passed through the festival entrance, ever grateful to Lipa for bringing another star-studded line up to the capital Pristina.

“I’m very happy that she’s promoting our country with these big, big artists and bringing them to our country,” said Rita Ramadani, 19. For its fifth edition, Sunny Hill boasts a roster of performers that rivals more established festivals.

Headliners this year include British rap sensation Stormzy and the king of afrobeat, Burna Boy. Bebe Rexha -- who is also of ethnic Albanian origin -- electrified the crowd as she sang her global hit “Me, Myself and I”, while speaking Albanian with the audience in between songs.

Albania and Kosovo flags dotted the stages and were scattered across the audience during performances, where festival goers regularly hold two crossed hands in the sign of the Albanian eagle aloft. This is a festival in Kosovo, afterall.

“We are all very happy that this is happening right now and people from all the world got to hear about Kosovo, and about Sunny Hill. Thanks to Dua Lipa,” said festival attendee Nita Krasniqii.

And while the festival attracts thousands of locals, music lovers from abroad are also making their way to Pristina. “We’re here because it’s amazing music,” said Michael Maguire, who travelled to the festival from Brussels with friends.

“Kosovo’s an amazing country, full of young people, and very vibrant.”

‘It is miraculous’

But hosting a concert in Kosovo has not always been easy. “In the first years it was more difficult to invite artists as their managers would look online for information about Kosovo and see it might be risky,” Lipa’s father and festival co-founder Dukagjin Lipa told local media. “Now we don’t have that problem because we have built a name!” According to organisers, around 45 percent of the festival’s tickets this year were sold abroad.

Priced at 200 euros a ticket -- which is nearly half the average monthly salary in Kosovo -- few local youngsters are able to afford entry to the four-day festival. To help control costs, Pristina’s municipal government provided the land, security, transportation and garbage collection for free. “It is miraculous that it happens in Pristina,” mayor Perparim Rama told AFP. “It provides us with the fantastic opportunity to showcase our people, our culture, our heritage.” — AFP