Government confirms 5.5 million euros spent on 35th independence celebrations

The Government of North Macedonia has published a detailed breakdown of spending for the 35th anniversary of the country’s independence, confirming a final total of 5.5 million euros for the celebrations.

Key figures and undisclosed fee

The report shows that total fees for performers and participants reached 2.1 million euros, but the individual fee paid to David Guetta was not revealed, with officials citing a confidentiality clause in the artist’s management contract.

Among the disclosed line items are marketing costs of 46,000 euros, logistics expenses of 951,000 euros and production-related needs amounting to 1.56 million euros. The programme included 18 events staged in 13 cities across the country.

Aleksandar Klimovski, director of the State Lottery, sought to frame the spending by saying the public in North Macedonia for the first time had the opportunity to attend a world-class event such as David Guetta’s performance; when asked by reporters whether that view underestimated the public because it was his first appearance in Skopje, he said the difference this time was that a monolith show had been made possible.

Several experts contacted by reporters responded critically, noting that with the withheld fee for David Guetta and the already high costs for marketing, logistics and production, any internationally known performer brought under the same terms would have appeared equally "world-class" — both because of the artist and because of the scale of the government's staging.

The government’s disclosure leaves one central question open: how much of the 5.5 million euros was paid directly to headline artists. Officials insist the overall total remains 5.5 million euros while defending confidentiality clauses in individual contracts.

Photo: press material from the event