The Uđi slobodno Tour was a tour by Serbian[1] singer Lepa Brena, and was staged in support of her fifteenth studio album, Uđi slobodno... (2008). Comprising 47 shows, the tour visited Europe and Australia. It began on November 1, 2008, in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Club Grodoonia and concluded on May 28, 2011, in Düsseldorf, Germany at Club Ambis.[2] This was Brena's returnee tour. For the first time in 20 years she performed in Zagreb, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Ljubljana and Mostar. It was officially announced in April 2008, with dates for Balkan venues revealed.
| Tour by Lepa Brena | |
 Promotional poster for concert in Munich at Tonhalle, February 2010 | |
| Associated album | Uđi slobodno... |
|---|---|
| Start date | 1 November 2008 |
| End date | 28 May 2011 |
| Legs | 3 |
| No. of shows |
|
| Lepa Brena concert chronology | |
Background
editBrena's latest album, "Pomračenje sunca", published in 2000, has not experienced much success. In order to regain her status as a star in the former state Yugoslavia, Brena collected a team of experts for the new album. She chose Marina Tucaković for writing lyrics for new songs, and for music and production Aleksanar Milić - Mili, who was known for his previous cooperation with Ceca. With the new album, a large returnee tour was planned in all major cities of the former Yugoslavia. Brena also hired a team of stylists who will create a new image for her team that will develop her stage performance.[3]
Protests against concerts
editIn the turbulent years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, ethnic tensions started rising in Yugoslavia and eventually led to the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Brena was one of the main tabloid targets at the time, as she was a Bosnian Muslim who sang and spoke in the Serbian Ekavian dialect and married a Serb man. Several tabloids claimed she had converted from Islam to Serbian Orthodoxy and had changed her name from Fahreta to Jelena. She denied those claims intensely and has never publicly spoken about her religious beliefs although she was raised a Sunni Muslim.[4]
In 2009, Bosniaks and Croats protested her concerts in Sarajevo on 30 May and in Zagreb on 13 June.[5] The reason behind the protests were pictures allegedly shot in 1993 during the Bosnian War wearing the uniform of the Army of Republika Srpska in her besieged hometown Brčko. Croatian and Bosnian protesters were angered that she was performing in their newly established independent countries and called her a "traitor" and četnikuša (feminine version of chetnik). The concerts went ahead as scheduled with no incident and she claimed the uniform was from the set of a 1990 music video for her song "Tamba Lamba", in which she wore a similar uniform while filming at a zoo in Kenya for the movie, Hajde da se volimo 3. Brena also claimed she was only in Brčko in 1993 to rescue her parents.[6][7]
Shows
edit| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe[8][9] | ||||
| 1 November 2008 | Zürich | Switzerland | Club Grodoonia | 3,000 |
| 15 November 2008 | Vienna | Austria | Club Nachtwerk | 3,500 |
| 20 December 2008 | Stuttgart | Germany | Carl Benz Arena | 5,500 |
| 25 December 2008 | Bochum | Taksim Club | 2,700 | |
| 31 December 2008 | Budva | Montenegro | Town square | 20,000 |
| 17 January 2009 | Bansko | Bulgaria | Club Nai | 3,000 |
| 7 February 2009 | Frankfurt | Germany | Union Hall | 4,000 |
| 7 March 2009 | Duisburg | Club Intakt | 3,000 | |
| 14 March 2009 | Zürich | Switzerland | Club Grodoonia | 3,000 |
| 21 March 2009 | Ljubljana | Slovenia | Tivoli Hall | 10,000 |
| 4 April 2009 | Kotor | Montenegro | Club Maximus | 3,000 |
| 24 April 2009 | Malmö | Sweden | Amiralen | 3,500 |
| 25 April 2009 | Stockholm | Gamla Tryckeriet | 3,000 | |
| 30 May 2009 | Sarajevo | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Olympic Hall Zetra | 15,000 |
| 11 June 2009 | Mostar | Stadion pod Bijelim Brijegom | 15,000 | |
| 13 June 2009 | Zagreb | Croatia | Arena Zagreb | 16,500 |
| 8 July 2009 | Banja Luka | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Gradski stadion | 20,000 |
| 5 September 2009 | Portorož | Slovenia | Amfiteter Auditorija | 3,600 |
| 7 November 2009 | Vienna | Austria | Club Nachtwerk | 3,000 |
| Australia[10] | ||||
| 28 November 2009 | Sydney | Australia | Withlam Centre | 5,000 |
| 4 December 2009 | Perth | Herb Graham | 3,000 | |
| 5 December 2009 | Melbourne | Springvale Hall | 6,000 | |
| Europe[11] | ||||
| 9 February 2010 | Ptuj | Slovenia | Karnevalska Dvorana | 5,000 |
| 27 February 2010 | Munich | Germany | Tonhalle | 4,000 |
| 3 April 2010 | Düsseldorf | Club Ambis | 3,000 | |
| 1 May 2010 | Pforzheim | Flash Club Lounge | 2,000 | |
| 8 May 2010 | Montlingen | Switzerland | Club Flash | 3,000 |
| 18 May 2010 | Tinjan | Croatia | Gradski stadion | 5,000 |
| 10 September 2010 | Mostar | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Club Bidge | 3,000 |
| 24 September 2010 | Malmö | Sweden | Slagthus | 4,000 |
| 25 September 2010 | Norrköping | Folkets Park Borgen | 3,000 | |
| 1 October 2010 | Horsens | Denmark | Torsted Hallen | 3,500 |
| 2 October 2010 | Gothenburg | Sweden | Hogsbohallen | 5,000 |
| 10 December 2010 | Nuremberg | Germany | Club Bodrum | 3,000 |
| 11 December 2010 | Berlin | Universal Hall | 5,000 | |
| 18 December 2010 | Riazzino | Switzerland | Club Boomerang | 2,000 |
| 25 December 2010 | Hamburg | Germany | Club Balkannight | 3,000 |
| 29 January 2011 | Littau | Switzerland | Club Perosa | 3,000 |
| 5 February 2011 | Munich | Germany | Inclub Munich | 3,500 |
| 5 March 2011 | Rijeka | Croatia | Dvorana Mladosti | 5,000 |
| 8 April 2011 | Salzburg | Austria | Diskoteka Triebwerk West | 3,000 |
| 9 April 2011 | Frankfurt | Austria | Union Halle | 4,000 |
| 16 April 2011 | Skoplje | Macedonia | Boris Trajkovski Sports Center | 12,000 |
| 30 April 2011 | Härkingen | Switzerland | Diskoteka Atlantis | 3,000 |
| 7 May 2011 | Pforzheim | Germany | Flash Club Lounge | 2,500 |
| 27 May 2011 | Baar | Switzerland | Club Diamonds | 3,000 |
| 28 May 2011 | Düsseldorf | Germany | Club Ambis | 3,500 |
| Total | 250,300 | |||
References
edit- ^ "Serbian Folk Legend Lepa Brena: Borisov Is Phenomenal!". novinite.com. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
- ^ Schindler, Felix (2010-08-25). "Balkan-Disco Grodoonia ist pleite". Tages-Anzeiger.
- ^ "Lepa Brena opet kreće na turneju po bivšoj državi". 21 April 2008.
- ^ "Lepa Brena u Centralnom Dnevniku 1 dio". YouTube. May 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ^ "Lepa Brena zapjevat će 13. Lipnja u zagrebačkoj Areni". 8 April 2009.
- ^ "Lepa Brena u uniformi Vojske Republike Srpske u Brčkom". 24sata. 13 May 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ "Branitelji dijele slike Lepe Brene u srpskoj uniformi". Jutarnji. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
- ^ "Lepa Brena 'zapalila' publiku u Sarajevu".
- ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
- ^ "24sata.info - Turneja po Australiji: Lepu Brenu dočekala 15-metarska limuzina".
- ^ "Lepa Brena-Kurentovanje Ptuj 9.2.2010;Oskar Mile voli disko.avi". YouTube.