TIRANA — Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has defended the government's decision to allocate roughly €4 million from a state emergency fund to finance a Kanye West concert scheduled for Saturday in a makeshift stadium just outside Tirana.
Rama argued the event would generate at least €100 million in revenue, largely from accommodation bookings. The spending has drawn sharp criticism, however, because West has been banned from performing in several European countries this summer following antisemitic remarks, praise of Adolf Hitler, and use of Nazi imagery.
The controversy has intensified existing domestic pressure on Rama, who is already facing daily protests demanding his resignation over a separate luxury resort project linked to Jared Kushner.