Natasa Bekvalac Hands Mic to Girl on Zvornik Beach
The singer performed over two hours Wednesday at Zvornik's city beach on the Drina, then mid song handed the microphone to a girl in the crowd. The show was part of the 25th Zvornik Summer festival.
Natasa Bekvalac performed on Wednesday, August 5, at the city beach on the Drina in Zvornik, and one moment from that show is now circulating online. Mid song, the singer handed her microphone to a girl in the crowd and let her sing part of it.
The girl sang her part, and the crowd answered with applause. Bekvalac then carried on with the concert to the end.
The show ran for more than two hours. The set list that night included these hits:
- “Ponovo”
- “Mala plava”
- “Dođi mami”
- “Original”
- “Nikotin”
On “Nikotin,” the crowd sang along from the first line to the last, phones and lights raised. That was also the song that drew the loudest reaction from the beach.
Several thousand people came to the concert, from Zvornik, Loznica, and nearby towns. Security was handled by officers of the Interior Ministry of Republika Srpska (MUP), who also covered the wider area around the stage. The evening passed without a single incident.
Who Else Is Performing at Zvornik Summer?
Bekvalac’s concert is part of the 25th, anniversary edition of Zvornik Summer, running from August 2 through August 8. This year’s program carries more than 30 events, all free to attend.
Jelena Rozga opened the festival on August 2, and YU Grupa closes it on August 8. Stoja is also billed to appear in the coming days. Most of the program runs at the city beach and the Kasina plateau, the two spots that have been, for this week, practically the only address in town.
Bekvalac’s set was among the best attended shows of this year’s edition.
Why Zvornik Waits All Year for This Week
The festival has run for a quarter century and stopped being just a local celebration for Zvornik residents long ago. Crowds come from both banks of the Drina, from Loznica and Mali Zvornik, and free admission is why the beach fills up even for performers who normally charge for tickets elsewhere in the region.
Zvornik Mayor Bojan Ivanovic announced the program at a press conference:
“Zvornik Summer moved past local boundaries long ago. The organizing committee worked hard again this year to put together a rich, quality program with about 30 events. I invite all our residents and guests from the region to be in our city and enjoy the program. Many thanks to all the sponsors who secured record funding for the festival this year.”
Preparations, as stated at the same press conference, had been underway since last year. The Zvornik Tourist Organization keeps an information center open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and launched a photo contest called “Catch the Moment of Zvornik Summer.”
The week opened with the Drina Regatta, held on Saturday, August 1, under the slogan “The Drina Is Just One.” Zvornik, Loznica, and Mali Zvornik jointly organize it. It started at 10 a.m., with the finish at the beach in Sepak. The regatta and the beach concerts tell the same story: the river is both stage and border, and crowds from both sides mix on the same sand.
The footage from Bekvalac’s show fits that picture. The girl who got the microphone was not announced, was not part of the program, and did not sing from the stage but from the crowd, right in front of the first row. For a festival that markets itself as free and open, it is hard to picture a better image than that.
Two days of programming remain before Zvornik Summer ends. The final night, August 8, is reserved for YU Grupa, and organizers are not currently announcing any changes to the schedule.
