Prishtina, July 21, 2025 – As global icons like Dua Lipa, Shawn Mendes, Peggy Gou, and Fatboy Slim prepare to take the stage from August 1 to 3, the Sunny Hill Festival returns to Prishtina not just as a music event, but as a powerful cultural movement that symbolizes Kosovo’s voice on the world stage.
In a feature by Newsbreak, U.S. media praised the festival as “more than just a music event – a movement that reflects the aspirations of a nation.”
Founded in 2018 by Dua Lipa and her father Dukagjin Lipa, Sunny Hill has helped put Kosovo on the global cultural map. The festival has tackled more than just music — from correcting Kosovo’s exclusion on digital platforms, to raising funds after the 2019 Albania earthquake, to amplifying calls for visa liberalization for Kosovo citizens.
In 2022, the festival became a vital part of the campaign for visa-free travel, with moments like J Balvin draping himself in the Kosovo flag and delivering powerful messages of hope, going viral across social media and generating significant international pressure. That campaign ultimately bore fruit: on January 1, 2024, the EU lifted the visa regime for Kosovo citizens.
Due to growing popularity, the 2024 edition moved to a purpose-built park in Bernicë, designed to host up to 100,000 attendees, placing it on par with global events like Coachella — not only in scale, but in cultural and economic impact.
Today, Sunny Hill generates over $50 million annually for Prishtina’s economy and has transformed Kosovo into a key cultural and tourist destination in the region.
When Dua Lipa takes the stage this summer, she will not only perform as an artist — but as a symbol of hope, identity, and future for a nation that continues to turn its dreams into noise heard across the world.
