Suzana Jovanovic in Tears at Tasmajdan After 27 Years
The Juzni Vetar festival packed Tasmajdan, and the most emotional moment of the night was Suzana Jovanovic returning to the stage for the first time in 27 years and the first time since her husband Sasa Popovic died.
- Suzana Jovanovic returned to the stage after 27 years on the opening night of the Juzni Vetar festival at a packed Tasmajdan.
- It was her first performance and first public appearance since the death of her husband Sasa Popovic.
- The singer broke into tears before going on, fanning her face and hiding her eyes as the crowd applauded.
- The show ran for about five hours, with more than 20 stars and nearly 100 songs.
Suzana Jovanovic returned to the stage after 27 years on the opening night of the Juzni Vetar festival, held at a packed Tasmajdan before tens of thousands of people. It was her first performance in front of an audience in almost three decades and, hardest of all, her first public appearance since the death of her husband Sasa Popovic, the man who ran this very festival for decades.
Moments before she walked out, the emotions caught up with her. According to outlets that covered the night, she fanned herself, hid her tears and could barely keep her composure as the crowd was already chanting her name. When she finally stepped into the light, the applause refused to stop, and only then did she let the tears flow. Many in the audience cried along with her.
Her set was built around timeless hits. She sang “Poslacu ti ljubav”, “Nema kajanja”, “Ko me jednom prevari” and “Rodjeni u pravo vreme”, songs an entire generation grew up on. Each one landed as if it had been released yesterday, and the crowd sang every line back to her.
Why did this comeback move the whole region?
For years Suzana Jovanovic stood beside Sasa Popovic, but away from the spotlight. The Juzni Vetar festival was his life’s work, a brand he built over decades and used to launch some of the biggest names on the regional scene. Her return on that exact stage, at the festival that carries the stamp of their shared life, gave the whole evening a weight a routine concert announcement could never have.
That is why this was not just another slot on the bill. It was a personal farewell and a personal new beginning at the same time, the gesture of a woman who chose to come back to the place where it hurts most but where she most belongs. The audience felt it, which is why the tears on stage and the tears in the crowd were part of the same story.
Who else performed that night at Tasmajdan?
The evening gathered nearly the entire pop-folk elite. Dragana Mirkovic arrived in a limousine with Kemal Malovcic and Mile Kitic, while Marta Savic and Anica Milenkovic, who flew in all the way from America just for the occasion, also took the stage. The spectacle ran for about five hours, with more than 20 stars and close to 100 songs performed.
One of the strongest moments was an emotional tribute to the late Sinan Sakic, which gave thousands at Tasmajdan goosebumps. It was a night that celebrated music but also memory, leaving the audience feeling they were witnessing something to remember rather than simply hear.
After all of it, one question lingers, and many are already asking it: was this a one-off, farewell appearance by Suzana Jovanovic, or the start of a real return to the stage?
