Construction of National Concert Hall of Belgrade Philharmonic Accidentally Left Out of “Leap into the Future”? – Tender Might Be Opened This Year, Responsible Ministry Says

The tender for the construction of the national concert hall of the Belgrade Philharmonic in Block 13 in New Belgrade could be opened this year, as confirmed for eKapija by the Ministry of Public Investment. Although this project was not mentioned by the representatives of the Serbian authorities during the presentation of the “Leap into the Future – Serbia 2027” program, it has not been abandoned, at least judging by the plans of the responsible ministry.

As the Ministry of Public Investment told us, the preparation of the approval planning is in progress, after which the main design is to be prepared and the procedure for the issuing of the building permit is to be carried out.

– We believe that, during 2024, the project could become ready for the realization, that is, for the opening of the construction tender – the ministry says.

The Secretariat for Environmental Protection of the City Administration of Belgrade adopted the decision in mid-2023 saying that the project of the construction of the national concert hall did not require the preparation of environmental impact assessment study.

In August, during the presentation of the plans for EXPO 2027, this facility was also announced by the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. Near the Museum of Contemporary Art in the Usce area in Belgrade, according to Vucic, the first Natural History Museum will be built, and the “museum quarter”, or the “cultural quarter” will be established in this area, because the Philharmonic building is to be raised nearby.

The plans for the future “cultural quarter”, which would also feature the National Concert Hall, was confirmed by the Ministry of Culture at the time.

Still, during the recent presentation of the program of the development of Serbia for the period from 2024 through 2027, called “Leap into the Future – Serbia 2027”, in whose realization 17.8 billion is to be invested, the project was not mentioned, as Hall 1 of the Belgrade Fair was designated as the epicenter of culture.

– We will create three opera halls there, it will be a place for ballet and opera troupes – said the minister of finance of Serbia, Sinisa Mali, talking about the plans for Hall 1 of the Belgrade Fair.

What the project for the national concert hall of the Belgrade Philharmonic entails

The project entails the construction of a cultural facility of national importance, with two basement levels and six floors (including the ground floor), with a total gross developed floor area of 57,911 m2.

Let us remind that Amanda Levete Architects (AL_A) from London won the contest for the preliminary design of the Belgrade Philharmonic Concert Hall.

The Belgrade Philharmonic Concert Hall will consist of four main spatial wholes – a symphonic concert hall with 1,600 audience seats, a chamber hall with 400 seats, a creative center with a studio and an outdoor stage.

These four concert spaces should surround the public social space which will be formed by the middle of the Belgrade concert hall, divided into two levels and connected by the park outside. The shared auxiliary and production features, including the commercial and logistics parts, will be located below the social space.

At the underground level, a single-level public garage with 325 parking spaces is planned.

I. Z.

Ministarstvo za javna ulaganja Republike Srbije

Grad Beograd, Sekretarijat za zaštitu životne sredine

Predsedništvo Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo kulture Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Ministry of Public Investment

Secretariat for Environmental Protection of the City Administration of Belgrade

president of Serbia

Ministry of Culture

Ministry of Finance

Amanda Levete Architects

Siniša Mali

Aleksandar Vučić

National Concert Hall

Leap into the Future Serbia 2027

Belgrade Fair

Concert Hall of Belgrade Philharmonic

Belgrade Philharmonic New Belgrade

new Belgrade Philharmonic building

new concert hall in Belgrade

beginning of construction of new Philharmonic building