Dzenan Loncarevic's Bosnia Concerts Cancelled Over July 11
Organizers in Ilijas and Zavidovici pulled Dzenan Loncarevic's planned concerts after the singer performed at a festival in Surdulica, Serbia, on July 11.
- The Ilijas concert, planned for July 21, was cancelled over Loncarevic's performance in Serbia.
- The town of Zavidovici also cancelled his show scheduled for July 30.
- Loncarevic performed on July 11 at the "Vlasinsko leto" festival in Surdulica.
- The concert of Alen Islamovic was cancelled earlier for the same reason.
Dzenan Loncarevic has had two planned performances in Bosnia and Herzegovina cancelled, and all because of a single date. Organizers in Ilijas and Zavidovici withdrew their concerts after the singer performed on July 11, the day of remembrance for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, at the “Vlasinsko leto” festival in Surdulica, Serbia. Media outlets in both Serbia and Bosnia reported on the case.
The first to fall was the Ilijas concert, which had been planned for July 21. The festival board stated that the singer’s appearance on that date did not align with the values the event upholds, nor with the respect owed to the victims. A decision from Zavidovici followed shortly after, with the town cancelling Loncarevic’s show scheduled for July 30 and citing an identical reason.
Why did one date decide the concerts?
It all comes down to the date. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, July 11 is marked as the day of remembrance for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, and for a large part of the public in that country it is a day of mourning. Performing at a cheerful festival on that very day, even in a neighboring country, was read by organizers in Ilijas and Zavidovici as a move that did not fit the tone of the commemoration.
That is why both local communities reacted in almost identical fashion. Their statements make no mention of details from the Surdulica performance itself, focusing solely on the judgment that the act did not match what the festivals want to represent. The decision, they say, was made out of respect for the victims and for the audiences who attend these concerts.
For Loncarevic, who has a large following in both Serbia and Bosnia, this is a delicate situation. The singer has spent years building a career free of scandal, with the image of a performer of emotional ballads, which made the organizers’ reaction resonate all the more.
A second case in a short span
What sets this story apart is that it does not stand alone. The concert of Alen Islamovic, another performer with an audience on both sides of the border, was cancelled earlier for the same reason. That creates a pattern: organizers in certain communities in Bosnia are pulling the shows of artists who performed in Serbia on July 11.
For a music scene that operates across a wider regional market, this is a signal that is hard to ignore. Concerts in Bosnia are a significant part of the summer season for many singers, and the decisions of local boards and towns show that the date of a performance can become just as important as the repertoire itself. The question of the calendar, which until yesterday was a technical matter, is now taking on symbolic weight.
For now it is not known whether more cancellations will follow, or whether a reaction from the singer himself is expected. It also remains open how organizers across the region will approach dates that carry particular symbolism in the future.
Do you think the date of a performance should influence where an artist chooses to sing?
