STA, 1 June 2021 - The National Assembly passed in a 50:36 vote on Tuesday amendments to the act on road transport that create the legal basis for transportation platforms such as Uber or Lyft, changes that the government argues will facilitate the digitalisation of the transport sector.

The proposal sets down that drivers using digital platforms would need to get a licence, just like regular taxi drivers, whereas taximeters would no longer be mandatory for taxi drivers, who would be allowed to use software instead.

Municipalities would have a say in setting the rules since they would be able to determine the quality standard, including the type of vehicle.

The amendments also include certain provisions making public transport more attractive to users and simplifying procedures for obtaining transit cards for professional athletes.

The legislation received unanimous backing from the coalition as well as the opposition National Party (SNS) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS), and unaffiliated MPs, who argued it would simplify and digitise transportation services.

Mobile applications will bring "much needed transparency" and reduce fraud, said New Slovenia (NSi) deputy Mihael Prevc, with Mateja Udovč of the Modern Centre Party (SMC) adding it would improve drivers' efficiency.

Democrat (SDS) MP Bojan Podkrajšek said the legislation was also a way to prevent monopolies and would not create disloyal competition.

The centre-left opposition decried the bill as written by lobbyists and tailored to the US platform Uber, whose business model, according to Left deputy Miha Kordiš, is not employing workers but hiring staff in precarious forms of employment and not giving them any rights.

The Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) likewise argued the legislation was tailored to Uber and warned about abuse of labour rights, whereas Gregor Židan of the Social Democrats (SD) said workers would be squeezed.

Slovenian tech firms have come out in support of the legislation.

The Slovenian Automotive Cluster and six digital mobility companies said in a public letter in support of the legislation that the solutions would drive progress.

Mobility is increasingly intertwined with digital technology and the amendments will make it possible to create new, user-centric business models, they said.

Similarly, Slovenia's Digital Champion Marko Grobelnik recently told MPs a green breakthrough could only be achieved with the changes given the limits of the existing legislation.

STA, 2 June 2021 - The 27th Tour of Slovenia will start next Wednesday, taking riders, including Slovenia's star Tadej Pogačar, along 800 kilometres in five stages, from north-eastern to central and south-western Slovenia. Preparations are fully under way for the race, which stakeholders also see as an opportunity for the country's tourist promotion.

The tour was presented to the press on Wednesday at Celje Castle, where the 146-km Žalec-Celje stage will finish following a kilometre-long steep climb.

The tour's director Bogdan Fink said the Žalec-Celje stage should be "the first serious test for riders for the overall victory".

"We have a clear favourite in Pogačar, the Tour de France winner, with many other riders who have nothing to lose alongside," he said, hoping the entire race proves interesting.

Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who won the Tour de France last year, will also take part as ambassador of Slovenian tourism.

Expectations are not high only in terms of competition, but also development opportunities the race brings to Slovenia and the regions hosting it.

Slovenian Tourist Board (STO) director Maja Pak said last year the race was watched by ten million people on Eurosport, which raised Slovenia's visibility.

Fink said this year viewers in more than 20 countries would be able to watch the tour, which is second highest ranked by International Cycling Union (UCI) standards.

Pak explained the promotional campaign would feature 230 30-second adds and around 80 adds for micro destinations hosting the tour around Slovenia.

The promotional campaign will also take place on social media, all under the "green" slogan, she added.

The mayors from the region around Celje said the tour was a major opportunity for their development and promotion through cycling as a sustainable means of transport.

Fink stressed the country was still amid the coronavirus epidemic, with riders already in a bubble and many coronavirus tests ahead.

Learn more at the Tour of Slovenia website

STA, 2 June 2021 - The Constitutional Court has declared parts of the communicable diseases act allowing the government to restrict movement and public assembly unconstitutional, and annulled the government decrees that were based on this law. The National Assembly has two months to do away with the unconstitutional rules

STA, 1 June 2021 - A retrial started at the Celje District Court on Tuesday in which Prime Minister Janez Janša is accused of defaming two journalists, whom he called "washed up prostitutes". This comes after the court's suspended prison sentence for Janša was annulled on appeal.

Janša said today that he stood by the original defence statement that he had given in the first trial in 2018 over the controversial tweet posted in March 2016.

Janša's Twitter post read: "The FB page of the public house is offering cheap services by washed up prostitutes Evgenija C. and Mojca P.Š. One for 30 euros, the other for 35. #PimpMilan".

Na neki FB strani javne hiše ponujajo poceni usluge odsluženih prostitutk Evgenije C im Mojce PŠ. Eno za 30€, drugo za 35€. #ZvodnikMilan.

— Janez Janša (@JJansaSDS) March 21, 2016

In a recording of the statement given at the time and played at the court today, Janša said that the accusations against him were absurd, and that the tweet from March 2016 was seen only by about 100 people.

He said that TV Slovenija reporter Eugenija Carl, in her report on members of the Facebook group Legion of Death, run in March 2016, had told a series of lies about members of his party, the Democrats (SDS).

He argued that this happened under the mentorship of Mojca Šetinc Pašek, who was the editor of the news desk at the public broadcaster at the time.

Carl and Šetinc Pašek are the persons to whom the initials from the tweet refer to.

Janša said in his original statement that that Carl's report was "the final straw", adding that she and Šetinc Pašek had been spreading hatred towards those who thought differently.

He does not believe that the two journalists recognised an allegation of sexual prostitution in his tweet, while reproaching them for years of alleged negative reporting about the SDS.

In the original statement, Janša also assessed that it was him and not the journalists who had suffered a pogrom over the tweet.

Carl and Šetinc Pašek also stuck to their original statements, in which the former said that Janša tweet was a grave insult and not criticism of journalist work.

According to Carl, it was about public humiliation and insulting, and Janša did this on purpose. She rejected his remark that the tweet was seen by only 100 as evasive.

Back in 2018, Šetinc Pašek rejected Janša's assessment that her reports were insulting and demeaning, adding that Janša had hurt her as a woman, and that she understood his tweet as a threat against her journalist work.

She also rejected Janša's remark that she had been politically appointed at the editor post, adding that Janša had been exerting severe pressure on journalists and that she could not believe he was capable of such a repulsive post.

Janša's lawyer Franci Matoz presented today 25 pieces of evidence, and some additional evidence was also presented by the journalist's lawyer, on which the court will now deliberate

The trial is expected to continue on 29 June without Janša's presence.

Carl told the STA that today's hearing had clearly shown that the defendant would try to discredit and disqualify her work and present himself as the victim.

Šetinc Pašek added that such was the case also during the first trial, when Matoz produced evidence that had nothing to do with the insulting tweet.

Originally, the Celje District Court sentenced Janša to three-month suspended prison sentence on one-year probation. He was also ordered to pay for the costs of the entire procedure related to the defamatory tweet.

In June 2019, the Celje Higher Court quashed the ruling as it found that an unauthorised person had appointed a substitute lay magistrate following a recusal request, and ordered a retrial by a completely different panel.

Check the date at the top of the page, and you can find all the "morning headlines" stories here. You can also follow us on Facebook and get all the news in your feed.

This summary is provided by the STA: 

Janša: Post-Covid recovery and setting strategic goals key EU challenges

BRDO PRI KRANJU - The key challenges for the EU in the coming period are getting back on its feet after the Covid-19 pandemic and setting itself strategic goals, including expansion to the Western Balkans, PM Janez Janša said as he addressed Slovenian diplomats. EU enlargement is particularly important for Slovenia because of its proximity to the region, but it is also a strategic response to security challenges, Janša said. In the post-pandemic period, the EU will have to focus on "how to again put security and the unification of Europe, which will be at peace with itself, at the top of every agenda."

Reynders urges Slovenia to fulfil its obligations regarding delegated prosecutors

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg - The European Commission is in contact with the Slovenian authorities for Slovenia to fulfil its obligations regarding the appointment of its European delegated prosecutors as soon as possible, European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said. "I have had many contacts with the Slovenian authorities at the level of the government to see if it would be possible to appoint the European delegated prosecutors," Reynders said as the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) was launched. He said they had not received a positive answer yet.

Prosecutors to propose bringing action against govt

LJUBLJANA - The Prosecution Council will propose that the State Attorneys Office file a lawsuit against the government for breach of law to the detriment of public interest after the government annulled the procedure to appoint Slovenia's two European delegated prosecutors (EDP), the chair of the Council Tamara Gregorčič said. The Council reiterated today that the procedure had been in line with regulations and the candidate picks had been based on expert assessment. All available legal remedies will be used, she said.

MPs reject motion for referendum on Demographic Fund

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly rejected in a 46:43 vote a proposal from the centre-left opposition for a consultative referendum on the government-sponsored bill on the national Demographic Fund. The opposition argued that the fund would not shore up the public pension fund as is its stated purpose, but give the government centralised control over ownership and management of state assets. The coalition argued the bill marks clear progress in the management of state assets and would shore up the underfunded pension system.

Parliament passes law on transportation platforms

LJUBLJANA - The National Assembly passed in a 50:36 vote amendments to the act on road transport that create the legal basis for transportation platforms such as Uber or Lyft, changes that the government argues will facilitate the digitalisation of the transport sector. The proposal sets down that drivers using digital platforms would need to get a licence, just like regular taxi drivers, whereas taximeters would no longer be mandatory for taxi drivers, who would be allowed to use software instead.

Tonin says govt decree in the making to tackle STA situation

LJUBLJANA - Defence Minister and Deputy PM Matej Tonin told the commercial broadcaster POP TV on Monday that a government decree was in the making to tackle the situation regarding the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), which has not received state funding for its public service since the beginning of the year. "We've discussed just today that a special decree is in the making where we will solve the situation between the STA and the state," said Tonin without specifying further.

323 new cases, one Covid-19 death on Monday

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia recorded 323 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, as the rolling seven-day average of new daily cases dropped by one to 275. A total of 3,378 PCR tests were performed for a positivity rate of 9.6%. One Covid-19 patient died, while hospitalisations dropped by 18 to 227, government data show. Overnight, 4,265 little Slovenian flags appeared in Ljubljana's Tivoli Park with a sign saying that they stand for Covid-19 fatalities. It is not clear who put them up.

Retrial in Janša journalists' defamation case starts

LJUBLJANA - A retrial started at the Celje District Court in which Prime Minister Janez Janša is accused of defaming two journalists, whom he called "washed up prostitutes". This comes after the court's suspended prison sentence for Janša was annulled on appeal. Janša reiterated his original defence that the accusations against him were absurd, and that the tweet from March 2016 was seen only by about 100 people. The journalists said they perceived it as an attack on their professional and personal integrity.

Top court annuls local decree renaming Tito Road

LJUBLJANA - The Constitutional Court annulled a decree whereby Tito Road in Radenci was renamed Road of Slovenian Independence in December 2020. The court argues that by promulgating the decree before a deadline for a potential referendum request expired, Mayor Roman Leljak acted unlawfully. The city council decided over a year ago to rename the street to no longer bear the name of Yugoslavia's communist leader Josip Broz - Tito, triggering a legal battle with the locals who opposed the move. They also challenged the decree renaming the street.

Presidents inaugurate Slovenian-Portuguese friendship bench

KRANJ - Slovenian President Borut Pahor and Portugal's Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa unveiled a friendship bench in front of Prešeren Theatre in Kranj, the latest in a series of such benches that Pahor has installed with foreign heads of state. The location was picked because the celebrated Slovenian Romantic poet France Prešeren, after whom the theatre is named, took inspiration for some of his sonnets from Luis Vaz de Camoes, who is considered Portugal's greatest poet, Pahor wrote on Twitter.

Diaspora minister visits Trieste

TRIESTE, Italy - Minister for Slovenians Abroad Helena Jaklitsch visited Trieste on Monday for to meet Trieste Mayor Roberto Dipiazza, Slovenian municipal councillors and other representatives of the Slovenian community. The talks focussed on the restitution of National Hall (Narodni Dom) to the Slovenian community and on Slovenian schools and kindergartens. Jaklitsch thanked the Trieste mayor for his personal engagement in the return of National Hall, which he said would proceed as agreed by Slovenia and Italy last year, on the centenary since the hall was burnt down by the fascists.

Fundraising campaign for STA ending

LJUBLJANA - A month-long fundraising campaign by the Association of Slovenian Journalists (DNS), which has raised EUR 264,500 for the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), is coming to a close. Donations via SMS are no longer possible, but if anyone wishes to donate, they could still do that by bank transfer until the end of June. The amount raised has exceeded expectations, the DNS said, thanking all those who have made a donation.

PEN writers to discus future of freedom

BLED - The 53rd International Writers' Meeting will open in the Alpine town of Bled on 9 June under the slogan The Future of Freedom, bringing together around 50 writers in-person and at least as many virtually. The meeting, organised by Slovenian PEN, will for the first time feature a walk for peace around Lake Bled. A reading of poems by late Slovenian poet Tomaž Šalamun (1941-2014) and a screening of a film on PEN International's centenary will be at the heart of the opening event.

Netrebko and Domingo to perform at Ljubljana Festival

LJUBLJANA - The 69th Ljubljana Festival, starting on 1 July, will feature international stars, including Anna Netrebko, Placido Domingo and Martha Argerich, as well as Slovenian performers. The Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev, will perform on the opening night, paying a piece by Slovenian composer Marjan Kozina (1907-1966). A new composition by Vito Žuraj will be performed by the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra at the closing event on 8 September.

Pandemic brings net loss for Goodyear Slovenija

KRANJ - Tyre maker Goodyear Slovenija last year generated EUR 195.01 million in net sales revenue, which is 13.7% less than in the year before. While the company posted a EUR 8.02 million net profit in 2019, it recorded a EUR 80,000 loss last year. The total number of produced tyres followed the trends in the European market, dropping by 15% to 5.99 million units, the company said.

BTC reports almost EUR 6m net profit for 2020

LJUBLJANA - The BTC group, the operator of Ljubljana's shopping and logistics hub BTC City, saw its net sales revenue drop by 7% last year to EUR 66.5 million, and net profit shrink by 19.5% to EUR 5.9 million as shopping malls were closed for six months. This was offset by the logistics segment, which exceeded the planned profit. The BTC group said the closure of its shopping malls at the height of the Covid-19 epidemic had cost it some EUR 6 million in revenue.

Slovenia's bathing waters among best in EU

LJUBLJANA - Slovenia is among the eleven EU member states where all bathing water sites, on the coast and inland, are suitable for bathing, a report on European bathing water quality for 2020 shows. Presenting the report, Slovenia's Environment Agency (ARSO) said that 85% or 40 of a total of 47 bathing sites in Slovenia were excellent, 8.5% good, 6.4% satisfactory and none poor. First test results from this year indicate that bathing waters will also be very good this season.

New direct bus lines for Ljubljana hospital staff

LJUBLJANA - Employees of the UKC Ljubljana medical centre and the Institute of Oncology will now be able to use a direct bus link from two parking zones on the outskirts of the city. The two lines, operated by the Ljubljana public transport company, will take passengers directly from Stožice and Barje to the UKC and back. The EUR 1.20 fare also includes all-day parking. On 1 July, an electric vehicle will start driving around the hospital's campus free of charge for patients and staff.

STA, 1 June 2021 - The Prosecution Council will propose that the State Attorneys Office file a lawsuit against the government for breach of law to the detriment of public interest after the government annulled the procedure to appoint Slovenia's two European delegated prosecutors (EDP), the chair of the Council Tamara Gregorčič said on Tuesday.

Discussing the government's decision to annul the appointment procedure and start a new one, the Council reiterated today that the procedure had been in line with regulations and the candidate picks had been based on expert assessment.

The State Attorneys Office will be thus urged to bring action against the government before the Administration Court. The Council will also put forward a proposal to file a request for a suspension of a new call for EDP applications, which the Justice Ministry has been tasked with publishing.

Gregorčič highlighted that the Council had not been formally acquainted with the government's decision so far. The prosecutors have seen a press release published on the government's website, but they have neither been informed about the manner in which the decision was made nor about the legal basis for it, she said.

Responding to the government's statements that the Council should have presented at least six candidates instead of just two, Gregorčič said that the law was crystal clear and the procedure in question completely transparent and in line with the law. All legal experts agree on that, she added.

Any ruling out of state prosecutors from the appointment procedure at either national or EU levels is unwarranted and unlawful, she noted.

Asked whether the candidates put forward, Matej Oštir and Tanja Frank Eler, are still in the running for Slovenia's delegated prosecutors, Gregorčič said that "according to the Council's opinion the decision has not been made as it should have been in a way".

"Naturally they are the candidates according to the first call for applications. I see no reservations about this."

All available legal remedies will be used, the chair of the Council said, adding that it was telling that it had taken the government almost six months to make the decision.

After months of delay in the appointing of Slovenia's delegated prosecutors, the government decided last Thursday to repeat the call for applications, arguing that the Council had not put forward enough candidates.

The experts dismissed such reasoning as Justice Minister Lilijana Kozlovič stepped down, saying she saw no justified grounds for the step.

Unofficially, Oštir and Frank Eler were deemed unacceptable by Prime Minister Janez Janša and his Democrats (SDS).

European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said today that the European Commission was in contact with the Slovenian authorities for Slovenia to fulfil its obligations regarding the appointment as soon as possible.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office was launched today after all participating countries bar Slovenia and Finland had appointed their delegated prosecutors.

STA, 1 June 2021 - Slovenia is among the eleven EU member states where all bathing water sites, on the coast and inland, are suitable for bathing, a report on European bathing water quality for 2020 shows. The group also features Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Croatia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Slovakia.

Europe had almost 22,280 bathing sites last year. In 2014-2020, the share of "excellent" bathing sites stood at 85-87% for coastal sites and at 77-81% for inland waters.

Slovenia's Environment Agency (ARSO) said as it presented the data that water quality is always a bit better on the coast due to the sea's greater capacity to self-clean.

ARSO said Slovenia was also one of ten EU member states which provided a sufficient number of water measurements during the bathing season.

Slovenia's bathing waters on the coast had been above EU average for years, because they were all of excellent quality until two years ago.

Following a pollution in 2019, one site, Žusterna, is now rated "satisfactory", lowering the excellence status to 95.2% for 2019 and 2020, ARSO said.

The share of excellent inland bathing sites in Slovenia in 2020 was at 76.9%, on a par with EU levels.

There were meanwhile 296 sites with poor bathing water in Europe in 2020, meaning bathing is not allowed. This is 1.3% of all sites.

The bulk were in Italy (93), followed by France (78), while Italy also led the way in terms of the number of sites where bathing was permanently banned over five years.

ARSO's report for 2020 shows that 85% or 40 of a total of 47 bathing sites in Slovenia were excellent, 8.5% good, 6.4% satisfactory and none poor.

First test results from this year indicate that bathing waters will also be very good this season.

Explore an interactive map of all Slovenia’s bathing water sites, and if you like the look of the bay at the top of the page, learn more about Strunjan here

STA, 31 May 2021 - The head of the national advisory group for Covid-19 vaccination, Bojana Beović, has said that following the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children aged 12 or more, the group will recommend vaccinating children, especially children suffering from chronic diseases. 

The vaccination advisory group will meet this week to adopt recommendations for vaccination of children, Beović said at Monday's coronavirus news conference.

The infectologist said that she could see no reason not to use Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine for children after it was approved by the EMA.

The vaccine had earlier been already approved for children aged at least 16.

Beović believes it makes sense to immunise them as Covid can also prove to be rather serious in children, while following the disease, they can suffer from Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).

Another reason to vaccinate them is to provide for collective immunity to contain the epidemic, she added.

Children could already get registered for vaccination on the eZvem portal as part of the general population, she said.

Looking at the summer months ahead, Beović said normal life without coronavirus restrictions could be possible once herd immunity had been achieved.

Current age breakdown of those with one or two vaccinations: www.cepimose.si

For the Wuhan strain of the coronavirus, this means 66% of the population, while more virulent strains require higher rates.

If immunity rates are lower, restrictions will have to remain in place, she said.

Beović warned the epidemic was still quite widely spread in Slovenia, noting that the country had many more infections per number of residents than Austria or Italy.

From this aspect, she expects the restrictions to have to be in place for quite some time.

STA, 31 May 2021 - The Hungarian OTP Bank Group announced on Monday it had signed a contract to acquire the outright stake in NKBM, Slovenia's second largest bank. The deal is expected to be finalised in the second quarter of next year as the acquirer is waiting approval from relevant regulatory authorities.

Owned by the US fund Apollo (80%) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (20%), NKBM controls 20.5% of the Slovenian market and is the second largest bank in the country.

OTP already owns SKB Banka, which it acquired from France's Societe Generale for EUR 323 million under an agreement signed in 2019.

Combined with NKBM, the new bank would control some 29% of the market measured by total assets to leapfrog the current market leader, NLB.

The price of the NKBM acquisition remains confidential. The Reuters news agency reported in April that it could be worth nearly a billion euro.

OTP was an early favourite to acquire NKBM, though the business newspaper Finance, which first reported today about the deal, says several other bidders expressed interest as well, among them Erste Group from Austria and Belgium's KBC.

NKBM was sold to Apollo and the EBRD in 2016 for EUR 250 million, and NKBM purchased the Abanka bank in mid-2019 for EUR 444 million, when the OTP Bank Group was also in play to buy Abanka.

NKBM and Abanka were among the banks that the state bailed out at the end of 2013 and beginning of 2014 after difficulties brought about by the economic and financial crisis.

Slovenia promised to the European Commission, in return to approval of state aid, that it will privatise the banks. In the case of Abanka, the condition was also that it is merged with the Banka Celje bank before privatisation.

NKBM ended 2020 with a net profit of EUR 208.9 million, and its total assets stood at EUR 9.17 billion.

STA, 1 June 2021 - The 69th Ljubljana Festival, starting on 1 July and running until early September, will feature international stars, including Anna Netrebko, Placido Domingo and Martha Argerich, as well as Slovenian performers, said the organisers on Monday when they unveiled the festival's programme.

The Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, based in Saint Petersburg and conducted by Valery Gergiev, will perform on the opening night. The orchestra will play, among others, a piece by Slovenian composer Marjan Kozina (1907-1966) titled Bela Krajina after a region in the south-east of the country.

The closing evening, on 8 September, will also feature music by a Slovenian composer. Visitors will be able to hear for the first time a new piece by Vito Žuraj, born in 1979, which will be performed by the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.

69. LF from Festival Ljubljana on Vimeo.

Other acts include, among others, Russian soprano Netrebko, Spanish tenor Domingo, Slovenian soprano Sabina Cvilak, German tenor Jonas Kaufmann, Argentine-Swiss classical concert pianist Martha Argerich, Slovenian flautist Irena Grafenauer, the Vienna Boys' Choir, the Amsterdam-based Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra led by Daniel Harding, the Baltic Sea Philharmonic and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Choir.

The Maribor opera and ballet ensembles will stage Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Peer Gynt by Edward Clug, the ballet ensemble's artistic director and star choreographer. Both performances of his Peer Gynt were sold out at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 2019.

Those craving tango will be able to enjoy a performance by Slovenian Andreja Podlogar and Blaž Bertoncelj. Moreover, music lovers who were disappointed last year when Lolita was cancelled could rejoice as the musical is part of this year's programme as well as another audience darling Chicago.

The festival will also provide two delights for theatregoers - And the Century Will Blush. The Kocbek Case, a play about Edvard Kocbek, an acclaimed Slovenian poet, author, intellectual and anti-fascist, based on the book by Andrej Inkret and directed by Matjaž Berger, as well as Birds of a Kind, a co-production directed by Ivica Buljan and written by Wajdi Mouawad, a Lebanese-Canadian author famous for politically engaged works.

The head of the festival Darko Brlek said at Monday's press conference that the festival had been deemed a cultural event and not a gathering, so the cap on visitors will be milder this year compared to 2020 with a 1-metre distance being enforced between seats.

Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković meanwhile announced that the renovation of the Križanke open-air venue had been given a green light. A roof over the venue will be set up already this year in a move that will enable performances also in the event of rain.

The festival will be an opportunity to help revive the cultural and hospitality sectors, the mayor noted.

See the full schedule and get tickets