EKV Adds Second Concert at mts Dvorana on December 2 and 3

When Ivan Rankovic Raka spoke at the Dzez Kantina Lisabon conference about his years in Ekatarina Velika, he started with silence: audiences reacted strangely at the time, and people sometimes watched the band’s shows in complete quiet. “When I was in the band, we were very misunderstood,” he said. Today the same band cannot fit into a single night, so the EKV tribute concert at the mts Dvorana has been given a second date.

When is the EKV concert at the mts Dvorana?

Instead of the single concert first announced, the audio-visual show “We Can Do It Together” will be held on December 2 and 3, 2026 at the mts Dvorana in Belgrade. The second date was added because of demand, and it was announced on October 15, a day after the press conference where the band’s former members gathered. The organizers gave these details:

• the concerts are organized by the Milan Mladenovic Foundation, in cooperation with the mts Dvorana
• former members of Ekatarina Velika and of the band Krug will perform, along with a number of guests
• the audio-visual part of the concept is the work of Ivan Sijak and Izvanredni Bob
• ticket prices have not been published in the announcements

The foundation is named after the band’s singer and leader. It singled out the visual part of the event in particular, which, it said, Sijak and Izvanredni Bob are preparing with dedication.

What did the band members say at the press conference?

Speaking on October 14 were Srdjan Zika Todorovic, Ivan Fece Firci, Marko Milivojevic, Ivan Rankovic Raka and Dragisa Uskokovic Cima. Todorovic spoke the longest, and this is what he said about watching old recordings:

“I often watch old recordings of me playing with EKV and only now do I see how good it was. While I was in the band, I didn’t realize it. And I don’t think any of us expected that after 30 or 40 years people would still be listening to Ekatarina Velika songs.”

He added that from the stage he sees girls and boys in the first five rows who were not yet born when those songs were written, yet know every lyric.

Marko Milivojevic described the bond with today’s audience through the message of the songs: “EKV was always, and remains, the sound of change, the sound of freedom. We have been entrusted with continuing to spread that energy.” Cima spoke about what it personally meant to be a member of the band:

“For me, EKV was as if a spaceship had landed in my life. My personal experience of being a member of EKV is such that I believe the music of Ekatarina Velika stands above each of us individually.”

Firci avoided pathos and steered the conversation back to rehearsals and friendship. “There is that old forgotten word, ‘comradeship.’ We all honestly loved each other and could hardly wait to get together and play. That is still what I look forward to most. There will be lots of guests, people… everything! I can’t wait,” he concluded.

How many tickets are left?

According to the portal Balkanrock, tickets for December 2 are almost sold out, while sales for December 3 have only just begun and are available at the mts Dvorana box office. Another announcement, on Nova.rs, mentions only great public interest, with no sales figures, so the exact number of remaining tickets cannot be established from what has been published.

For a band that, in the words of one of its members, once met with incomprehension, this is a reversal: the first date is close to selling out, and the second was opened because of demand. The announcements do not name the guests or give a detailed program.