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EXIT Festival Lost Government Funding After Supporting Protestors – Now, It May Leave the Country Entirely

Serbia's long-running EXIT Festival says this year's edition might be its last, as the event has been stripped of its government funding.

The electronic event reports that its government funding and cultural grants have been revoked due to the festival publicly aligning with student-led anti-corruption protests that happened after the Novi Sad railway station collapse in November 2024, a tragedy that killed 15 people. “We have brought numerous European festival awards to our country and region, along with hundreds of millions of Euros in tourism revenue and international recognition that global experts consider invaluable. “However, ever since we publicly stood with the students of Serbia in their fight for a freer and more just society, we have been subjected to immense financial and political pressures aimed at stripping us of our fundamental rights to freedom of thought and expression.

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