Zejna Murkic Blocked at Gate Minutes Before Pride Show
The singer arrived for her own set at the concert following Belgrade Pride, but security would not let her through without accreditation. The organizers sorted it out within minutes.
Singer Zejna Murkic arrived on Saturday, September 5, just minutes before her own performance at the concert following the Pride march in Belgrade, only to be stopped by security at the fenced-off area in Manjez Park. The reason was simple: she did not have her accreditation on her.
She had just five minutes left before she was due on stage.
What happened
Belgrade Pride 2026 was held as part of Pride Week, under the slogan “There’s room for all of us.” Participants began gathering in Manjez Park at 4 p.m., and the march set off an hour later. The procession went from Manjez down Nemanjina Street, through Prince Milos Street and King Milan Street, across Nikola Pasic Square to the National Assembly building, then back along the same route to Manjez. The march wrapped up after 7 p.m.
Once the march ended, the accompanying program in the park continued with concerts and parties. Checkpoints for entering the concert opened at 6 p.m., with the entry window for visitors running until 8 p.m. The area was fully fenced off, and getting in required accreditation, a measure meant to limit the space for any incidents.
According to Telegraf, Zejna arrived looking put together and ready to perform, but police and security staff at the entrance stopped her. She did not have her accreditation with her, so she was left standing outside the fence as the clock ran down toward her stage time.
The singer called the organizers on the phone. They came out right away, brought her accreditation, and let her through. Her performance in Manjez Park then went ahead as planned, with no further delay.
This year’s godmother led the march
The godmother of this year’s Belgrade Pride is journalist Danica Vucenic, who also led the procession through the city center, Espreso reports. This year’s march carried the same demands as in previous years: passage of a law on same-sex partnerships and a law on gender identity and the rights of intersex people. Organizers and participants also stress that Pride is not just a party, but a way of reminding the public of their rights.
A minor incident near the National Assembly
The march itself reportedly passed without any serious incidents, though one small breach was recorded near the National Assembly building. A handful of people, including one wearing a cassock, tried to approach the parliament building. Members of the Intervention Unit stepped in quickly and moved the group away, so no further problems followed.
Streets in downtown Belgrade saw a heavy police presence throughout the day, officers in full gear stationed along the march route and at nearby intersections. Traffic was shut down in several central streets as a result, including part of Prince Milos Street, the intersection past the Slavija roundabout, and the stretch from the Hilton hotel to Terazije.
Why accreditation was required in the first place
The fencing and the strict entry checks were put in place to limit the space for any incidents during the concert part of the program. That is why police and security insisted on checking accreditation without exception, even for a performer who was due on stage within minutes. The rule, it seems, applied equally to everyone, regardless of who was waiting at the gate.
For Zejna, everything ended well. Even though a mix-up over her documentation left her outside right when time was running out, the organizers reacted quickly, the accreditation arrived in time, and her performance was never in doubt. The crowd in Manjez Park, it seems, never even knew about the standoff at the fence. The concert went ahead exactly as announced.
