There will be no organized celebrations for New Year's Eve or Serbian New Year in Belgrade

At a press conference held at the Old Palace, Šapić explained that the decision was made because, as he put it, he does not want any child to be put at risk, as happened during the 2025 New Year celebration.

“Most of the attendees at these concerts are children aged 13 to 15, mostly girls. Last year, a group of people tried to break through the barrier and confront concertgoers. Our security and the police held the line, and the group later moved toward Students’ Square,” Šapić said.

He emphasized that the situation will remain the same until they are able to safely organize New Year’s celebrations.

“We will not organize a New Year’s event until we are sure that 500 or 1,000 people won’t try to storm the concert and traumatize the children. I have no intention of dealing with that, so there will be no New Year’s concert,” Šapić said.

He added that there will still be plenty of other events in the capital, as there are every year before New Year’s Eve.

When asked whether other organized New Year’s celebrations would take place in Belgrade, Šapić replied that Belgrade Waterfront has independently been organizing New Year’s events for years.