ALBANIANS GEAR UP FOR CELEBRATIONS
By now, they are halfway through the rehearsals of the 28 compiting songs in the Festivali I Këngës and at the same time the Festivalis celebrating its 50th anniversary. Given this Jubilee celebration, the orchestra is receiving a lot of attention both from local authorities and also from foreign ambassadors based in Albania.
This week, the group of 503 instrumentalists received the visit of the American Ambassador , Mr Alexander A.Arvizu while they were rehearsing the song of the newcomer Toni Mejmetah.
The Festivali I Këngës has had a light and shadow history, often accused of lack of transparency and polically driven, the festival was losing audience and popularity in Albania until the yar 2003, when the figure of Anjeza Shahini appeared and conquered the audience with her voic, her style and attitude. It was also a good move to convert the festival in the filter for Eurovision.This decision boosted the audience of the festival at the same time that neutralised the competition of other shows such as Top Fest.
As a curiosity, it is significant the fact that up until 1992 the word “God” was forbidden in any song participating in the festival, as until that year, religion was illegal in Albania.
