North Macedonia's PM said Independence Day events cost citizens 'zero denars'; the state lottery paid EUR 4.9 million of the EUR 5.5 million bill
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North Macedonia's government spent weeks organizing 35th-anniversary Independence Day celebrations, including a September 8, 2026 David Guetta concert, while officials repeatedly declined to disclose the cost. After a BIRN Macedonia report on September 9 revealed the state-owned Lottery's role, the government said on September 10 that the events cost about EUR 5.5 million, of which about EUR 4.9 million came from the Lottery's undistributed 2024 profits and about EUR 650,000 from corporate sponsors. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski had said the events cost the budget and citizens 'zero denars'; the government argues Lottery money is not taxpayer money. The State Anti-Corruption Commission is examining whether outside evaluator Nikolche Micevski had a conflict of interest after he performed in the program; the commission says it is not investigating the full spending. The opposition SDSM has asked prosecutors to investigate the financing and organization.
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- Balkan Insight
total cost 5.5 million euros, State Lottery funding 4.9 million euros
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