17. July 2019 - Jazz attracted a record number of domestic and foreign visitors to Gornja Lastva causing more and more attention over the years. In addition to the guests who arrived by transport organised by the NGO "Napredak" Gornja Lastva, using their own or TAXI carriage, a certain number of music lovers came on foot.

The popular Šule Jovović Jazz Band performed with the excellent vocal soloist Sanja Raičković. The special guest was the trumpeter Vladimir Krnetić, a member of the Big Band RTS orchestra. In addition to Milorad Šule Jovović on guitar, Sara Jovović played the piano, Martin Đorđević drums and Mihailo Jovović bass.

Vladimir Krnetić is fascinated by the scenery of Gornja Lastva:                                                                                                                                                                                               

 "Wow, this is a wonderful experience for me! I did not believe that there could be such a beautiful place in the world and that there would be so many people here tonight. This is really a revelation for me and I hope it is not the last time I'm here. Anyway, if they're gonna organize this concert again, I'll come to listen to another band, because it is so beautiful here. This is a million-dollar view for me! "

Milorad Jovović holds jazz guitar lessons at the Vasa Pavić art school in Podgorica. He loves different musical styles on guitar, from blues to funk. His daughter Sara is currently studying at Berklee College in Boston, and  she performed for the third time in Gornja Lastva:

"The place has a beautiful atmosphere and a lot of people just came to listen to the concert because everyone is kind of involved, which is the most important thing," emphasizes Sara. Talking about studying at Berklee, she says she has found there what she expected: "I met so many people and musicians, with whom I've been playing quite a lot. I was at a festival in Italy recently, thanks to the acquaintance with one of my colleagues from the University, so it is a great advantage. I'll be back in late August, and by then I will have more performances in Montenegro. "

Worthy housewives had arranged fruit and made local cakes - priganice, which made the visitors (around 300 for free) of Gornja Lastva even more delighted, as always in this fascinating village. The sponsor of the concert was Adriatic Marinas - Porto Montenegro.

July 17, 2019 - An overview of beaches and their offers in Boka Bay from the point of view of a local who likes to visit different beaches during the summer season.

Being based in Tivat, it is pretty easy to get around if you own a car, or if not, check the bus timelines to the nearby towns/beaches here: https://busticket4.me/EN

If you are looking for beaches for children, i.e., where they can have fun by building sandcastles and more, then “Plavi Horizonti” is the beach for you. There is a ramp at the entrance where you need to pay 3 euros for parking (per day), and if you want a set of sunbeds with umbrella, it is another 15 euros. There is also part of the beach that is not equipped with beach furniture, so you could always put down towels and an umbrella if you have one of your own. The sea is not that clear, it has a yellowish color during the season peak, but it is warm and very shallow (ideal for kids).

“Movida” beach is also close-by, very nicely arranged, and recommended by Trip advisor.

Photo: Facebook page Movida Restaurant & Night Club

Another beach where you can take your children is “Ploce” near Budva. There is no sand, only concrete, but there are several pools for kids and while the sea can be a little bit colder there, the water in the pools is ideal. A set of sunbeds with umbrella are 10 euros here, and parking is free of charge.

Close to this beach is also “Jaz”, where the prices are the same. Another beach in this area, near Budva, is the beach “Malaya” where there are not so many people, mostly because it is a long walk to get there, but there you can rest in the shade of the restaurant or have a swim in the crystal-clear sea.

“Kamenovo” is a great beach also near Budva if you want to chill the entire day listening to the summer hits, while enjoying food and drinks.

In the Tivat area, there is sandy beach “Kalardovo” with warmer water, then “Belane” and “Mimoza” in the center and “Ponta” on Seljanovo with small and smooth stones.  When you pass the ferry there is “Verige” where the water is usually colder than in the rest of the bay, but with a lovely restaurant and view on the two magnificent islands of Perast – “Lady of the Rocks” and “St. Djordje”. Here you can see giant cruisers going to/from the Kotor port passing nearby because Verige is the narrowest spot in the Bay of Boka.

Photo: Facebook page Verige

If you are looking for a fancier but well-arranged beach with white sand and comfortable sunbeds, there is “Waikiki Resort”, also on Seljanovo with the restaurant and a clear sea. Another beach of this type is “Almara”, offering great food and bar with DJs on a daily basis.

“Zanjice” is also a popular beach in the area of Lustica, where you can find a lot of nice restaurants, like “Ribarsko selo”. This beach is most easily approached by boat from Herceg Novi, and Tivat by car or also speed boats. In the Herceg Novi area, I have only visited the beach “Zmijice” in Zelenika, which is very nice and popular among the locals. The sea is clean, and the bar offers a variety of food and drinks so you can hang out there the entire day.

An interesting day can be spent if you go from Budva by boat (there are many in the town’s marina) to the small island “Hawaii” i.e., “St. Nikola”. The price of a return boat ticket is 4 euros per person. There you can spend an entire day on the beach, have lunch in the restaurant in the shade and take beautiful photos.

Photo: Facebook page Beach bar Hawaii

If you like to watch kite surfers while sipping a cocktail, then the beach “Dolcinium” in Velika plaza in Ulcinj is perfect for you.

Photo from website http://kitesurfclub.me/

There are many houses for rent in Ada Bojana, Ulcinj, one of the sites to find a place is https://en.adabojanafor.me/.

Once you are there, you can pick among many smaller beaches on the long Velika plaza/Ada Bojana.

This is only a short summary because it is only a share of the experience and I hope to visit more of the great places on the Montenegrin coast.

For all the mentioned beach you can easily find the contacts/info on the web and social media.

Azmont Investments Company announced today that it has sold its 100% stake in “Nova Banka” AD Podgorica, to the company “Adriatic Capital LLC” from the United States. Azmont investments is a company with Azerbaijani ownership and are well known for the construction of the tourist settlement Portonovi at the location of the former barracks in Kumbor. As they stated, they sold this youngest Montenegrin bank, founded three years ago, for EUR 7.1 million. The bank's capital is 11.9 million euros.

Azmont said in a statement on the stock exchange that "in the forthcoming period, in accordance with the Montenegrin laws, activities will be carried out to obtain all the approvals and permits from the competent authorities necessary for the realization of the said act of sale". Any takeover of banks in Montenegro must first be confirmed by the Central Bank of Montenegro.

The new buyer, according to the company register, has its headquarters in Miami, Florida, at the same address where there are 13 other companies. It was founded three years ago as Florida Limited Liability, but in the meantime changed its name. Its registered agent is the United States Corporation Agents INC, and the official director is Gianni Persich. According to the data from the registration site, its capital is estimated at $ 88,000. The company “Adriatic Capital LLC” is registered for "holding business and other investments".

Text by Goran Kapor, on July 16th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

"Mali pirat" (8+), directed by Milan Karadzic, won a particularly valuable prize, the "Dragan Radulovic" award, last night at the completed 27th Kotor Children's Theater Festival. The performance, done by the City Theater in co-production with the “Center for Culture” Tivat, shares this recognition equally with the Spanish piece "2062."

"Since the city's key has been in the hands of children for the past 12 days, we have given ourselves the right to change the rules of the game. We decided to share the Children's Jury Award on two performances this year for the first time. For our childhood, it is important that we live the fairy tales in the theatre, but also that the theater sometimes encourages us to think about the world in which we live. Therefore, the Award of the Children's Jury, which carries the name of our Dragan Radulovic, this year will be equally shared by the plays: "Mali Pirat", by Podgorica City Theater and the Culture Center Tivat, and "2062" based on the concept and performance of our dear guests from Spain, Karla Krac and Andres Beladiez," stated the explanation of the Children's Jury.

This year, the children in Kotor enjoyed a variety of professional performances for kids and youth, of different genres, from 1 to 12 July, and 12 of them were in the competition segment of the festival. The award of the Professional Jury this year was won by the Scottish performance "Feral" by Rosa Mekeja, in the co-production of the Tortoise In A Nutshell theatre and Cumbernauld Theater, while the award of the “Kotor Jury” for the best performance as a whole went to the Youth Theater from Novi Sad for the performance "Beauty and the Beast ".

The play "Mali pirat" is an adventure story, which, according to the motives of the novel by Anto Stanisic, was dramatized by Aleksandar Glovacki. The performance was made in the form of a musical with elements of comedy and melodrama. The action took place in the 18th century when pirates were raiding the sea. In the play, among other things, the life of the sailors from Boka and their customs from that time were depicted. In addition to exciting and dramatic events, the story also sends a strong message of love, both towards other people and nations and to the family.

Cast: Pavle Popović, Goran Slavić, Miloš Kašćelan, Jelena Đukić, Miloš Pejović, Marija Maša Labudović, Dubravka Drakić, Pavle Ilić, Sanja Popović, Branko Ilić, Marija Đurić, Jelena Simić, Katarina Krek, Branka Femić-Šćekić, Omar Bajramspahić, Ivan Kašćelan; girls from weddings / slaves: Vladana Mišević, Mia Kuč, Dušica Rovčanin, Stefanija Brčić, Đorđa Čolo, Borjana Obrenović, Jelena Knežević; ; boys from the wedding / sailors / pirates: Aleksa Balević, Filip Petrović, Antonio Grgurović, Nikola Mrvaljević, Mirko Ognjanović.

In addition to the directors Milan Karadzic and Aleksandar Glovacki, the author's team included costume designer Dragica Lausevic, composer Irena Popovic-Dragovic, assistant composer Aleksandar Zavisin, choreographer Nebojsa Gromic, scenographer Boris Maksimovic and dramatist Dubravka Drakic. The lighting design was done by Radomir Stamenkovic, and the songs written by Dubravka Drakic and Neven Stanicic. The lector is Neven Stanicic.

Text by CdM, on July 13th, 2019, read more at CdM

Young NGO volunteers “Nasa akcija” collected 20 cubic meters of waste only on one beach in the bay Traste, while numerous other locations, such as Gurdic spring and the river Skurda in Kotor, were cleaned. This is only part of the results of the "Youth for the Clean Adriatic" project that this NGO has been implementing since March this year.

In addition to shore and river cleaning, this project deals with youth education through interactive workshops, and points to the problem of pollution of the sea with plastics in various creative ways, and also through art installations.

"Such activities have been previously greeted by many citizens and tourists in the city of Kotor, and also received a lot of praise and support for this organization. More actions are planned in early autumn. Besides the cleaning actions, youth educators NGO “Nasa akcija” were in charge of the Children’s Volunteering club within the Festival of Children's Theater in Kotor, in which workshops were held twice a day for children aged 7 to 12, focusing primarily on culture, protection of the sea, recycling and reuse of plastic objects," said NGO "Nasa akcija ".

Some of the activities (Photo: NGO Naša akcija)

Through the workshops of the club, the youngest volunteers of the festival made pots and other plastic items, learned how to make and ride the SUP board of plastic bottles, created murals related to the sea with plastic plugs, learned about the pollution of sea with plastic and the impact on the animal world and eventually participated in Hawaiian ceremony for sea preservation.

The greatest attention was drawn to this year's installations realized through the project "Youth for the Clean Adriatic".

Installation "Dragon on the walls" (Photo: NGO Naša akcija)

"The installation of the dragon on the walls was done in cooperation with the artist Mijo Martinovic, and the installation “Plastic Jellyfish”, together with the already existing installations, “Fish from Plastic” and “Fish from the Net” gave a strong message to all passers-by about the need to protect the sea from plastic. In the following period, volunteers will devote themselves to further activities of the project funded by “Beyond plastic Med” and the foundation “Prince Albert II of Monaco”, which lasts until March 2020, "they said from “Nasa akcija”.

Text by Vijesti online, on July 16th, 2019, read more at Vijesti

The first solar and hybrid trimarans for passenger transport in Boka Kotorska will be officially launched at 7 pm on Pine boardwalk in Tivat, as announced from the United Nations Development Program UNDP. 

The minister of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Pavle Radulović, minister of Transport and Maritime Affairs, Osman Nurkovic, the representatives of UNDP Montenegro and the representatives of Bokelian municipalities will participate in the ceremony.

As highlighted, the solar vessel Elettra and hybrid Graciano are part of the Bella Boka project, and have been built by the same company, with the support of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, the Chamber of Commerce and the United Nations Development Program.

"The Bella Boka project - Sustainable water transport by solar trimarans in Boka Kotorska will establish public transport through the Boka Kotor Bay, which will positively influence the problem of congestion in road traffic, especially during the summer season, when due to traffic jams the ride from Kotor to Herceg Novi takes an hour and a half, up to two hours. By ships, the duration of this journey will be halved, " the UNDP pointed out.

The total value of this project, unique in the Mediterranean, is €4,259,000, while co-financing through the UNDP project for Low carbon tourism in Montenegro amounts to 150,000 euros.

"The project will also help reduce the level of harmful gas emissions, including CO2, and offer visitors an exciting and inspirational ecological experience, but also support the development of Montenegro as an environmentally friendly tourist destination. There are plans to build four more hybrid vessels, with a capacity of 60 people per ship and five fully electric vessels of 30 persons per ship," emphasized UNDP, concluding that this project revives the tradition of using waterways in Boka Kotorska for the transportation of citizens and tourists, which has been almost forgotten during the past decades.

15 July 2019 - Prime Minister of Montenegro Duško Marković hosted the delegation of the European Forum of Medical Associations, who are staying in Montenegro in order to prepare the 34th Annual Meeting of the Forum scheduled to take place in Podgorica in late August.

The Prime Minister welcomed the delegation, led by Secretary-General Dr Otmar Kloiber, and thanked the Forum for deciding to organise, in collaboration with the Medical Chamber of Montenegro, this year’s meeting in our country. 

Prime Minister Marković told the European Forum of Medical Associations delegation that health is in the focus of the Government and that the Government and the ministry have been working on boosting citizen’s healthcare and living standards of healthcare employees. As a confirmation, the Prime Minister presented the facts implying that in the past four years, modern medical equipment worth more than 9 million EUR has been purchased, that more than 8 million EUR have been invested directly in the reconstruction and renovation of health facilities and through the programme of the energy efficiency improvement, as well as that 234 doctors returned to the healthcare system as specialists, while 430 doctors have been sent to specialisation, for which the funds were provided from the Budget.

Prime Minister Duško Marković also noted that in the past two years alone, 160 medical workers have solved their housing issue and that the Government together with the unions signed an agreement on providing funds for solving housing issues of the healthcare employees by 2020 worth 1,2 million EUR, as stated in the announcement by the Government of Montenegro.

Both sides agreed on the further improvement of Montenegro’s health care system, as one of the preconditions for even better positioning of our country as a luxury tourist destination, emhasising that Montenegro has great potential for the development of health tourism. 

In that regard, Dr Kloiber congratulated the Government on the current reforms of the health system and society as a whole, and on the successful development policy, noting that Montenegro is already seen as an integral part of Europe. 

President of the Medical Chamber of Montenegro Dr Aleksandar Mugoša also attended the meeting.

Read more news about lifestyle in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

15 July 2019 - Crnogorska komercijalna Bank., the Montenegrin subsidiary of OTP Bank, purchased 87.602 shares (90,55%) of Societe Generale Bank Montenegro, at the Montenegro Stock Exchange, reported CdM.

“The total value of block transaction amounted to 35.629.692,37 euro, i.e., 406,72 euro per share,” Montenegro Stock Exchange said in a statement.

It is also announced that Crnogorska komercijalna Bank is going to offer redemption of its shares to all the remaining minority shareholders, in accordance with the law and secondary legislation.

The Central Bank of Montenegro approved the merger of Crnogorska komercijalna Bank and Societe Generale Montenegro Bank in May this year, and also by Competition Protection Agency.

On this occasion, it was stated that Montenegro’s Agency for the Protection of Competition has provided a positive opinion on the request for merging Crnogorska komercijalna Bank and Societe Generale Bank Montenegro, and forwarded it to the Central Bank of Montenegro. Central Bank of Montenegro later made the final decision on the request for merging based on collected data, while the opinion of the Agency for the Protection of Competition was also one of the conditions even though it is not mandatory.

With a market share of 11.5%, Société General Bank Montenegro was the fourth-largest bank in the Montenegrin market and as a universal bank was equally active in the segment of citizens and enterprises.

Until all the final steps are taken, Société General Bank Montenegro will continue to service the population and corporate clients with a high level of quality and commitment while preparing a smooth transition for clients while ensuring the stability of their relationship with the bank.

Read more news about business in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.

Tivat World Music festival is getting closer to its third edition and almost all the participants who will unite people with music in September are now known.

Femi Kuti, the prince of "Afrobeat" and the worthy successor to his father, Fela Kuti, will open the third edition of the festival on September 12th at the Pine boardwalk. Each festival allows Montenegrin citizens and guests from all over the world free enjoyment of quality authentic music with the best performers from the country, the region and the world.

The founder, director and the soul of Tivat World Music festival, Dalibor Ševaljević, reveals the names of the other participants for TMN: “We have almost all the participants now. From the region, we will welcome the band Irfan from Bulgaria, who will play in Montenegro for their first time. It is a band that has been on the scene for a long time and is one of the ethno music models in the Balkans. From Croatia comes the ensemble Atma Mundi from Rijeka, who plays ethno jazz. From Serbia this year, we have two bands: Bilja Krstić & Bistrik orchestra, who have been together 18 years, and the EJO band, short for ethno jazz orchestra. All together, we have four bands from the region, like last year. In my opinion, it's the best combination in the region.

Coming from the wider world, apart from Femi Kuti, we will have the Tanini Trio from Turkey and a rather exotic band from Portugal, Alba Luna, who also does world music, and a rather exotic band from Portugal Alba Luna, who also plays world music. As for the domestic bands, Glembajev from Podgorica will participate and we will have another pair of performers.”

The organizers were very proud at the end of the last Tivat World Music festival, wondering how to be even better next time. Ševaljević comments that: “The idea is that we are at least a little better every year, which means a bit more money. In the previous years, we have shown production perfection, where we used exclusively domestic power and the guests were exquisite. This year I think Femi Kuti's arrival is an excellent move to surpass both festivals. In my opinion, this is the best name in the kind of music that has ever appeared in Montenegro."

The moto of Tivat World Music Festival is "Feel it, taste it", and the gastro segment will be dedicated to Montenegrin cuisine this year.

The sponsor of the festival is the Tourist Organization Tivat. "They liked the idea and supported us from the beginning," says Dalibor.

"Porto Montenegro and Luštica Development are supporting us, too. They will have one stage each for a night of the festival. JU Museum and Gallery is also with us and there will also be an acoustic stage, so we will have a total of 4 stages. That is more than at previous festivals, and it also shows we are growing in every way. We also expect financial support from the Tivat Municipality, and we hope that some other companies will stand behind this project."

Femi Kuti and his band’s performance will probably cost half of the estimated amount of 50 thousand euro for the festival, which has not yet been covered, but the organizers hope that it soon will be, since this is the event that brings a great number of tourists to Tivat and Boka kotorska, so it certainly gives back to sponsors and the local economy.

16 July 2019 - Representatives of the Italian company Pizzarotti said they hope that the Government of Montenegro will choose them for the realization of the other sections of the Bar-Boljare motorway. They presented their experience on similar projects to the Minister of Transport and Maritime Affairs of Montenegro, Osman Nurković, who said that "there will be no privileged players in that match".

Nurković recently had the opportunity to host the representatives of the Italy-based company Pizzarotti, who showed interest in continuing the implementation of the Bar-Boljare motorway project.

Minister Nurković informed the Pizzarotti representatives about the current status of activities related to the construction of other sections of the Bar-Boljare motorway project, and expressed satisfaction with the growing interest of European companies in relation to the implementation of the most important Montenegrin infrastructure project.

Representatives of the Pizzarotti company highlighted their rich experience with the implementation of smaller projects, expressing hope for prospective cooperation with the Government of Montenegro concerning the motorway project.

"Montenegro is committed to improving its transport infrastructure and we called on all potentially interested parties to express their interest and propose their conditions and models for the construction of other sections of the Bar-Boljare motorway on the principles of private-public partnership, based on the best international practice, respect of the principle of equal treatment, free competition and non-discrimination. There will be no privileged players, and the price and deadlines, as well as the quality of work, experience and references will be the only recommendations that we will appreciate as an Investor in a transparent procedure for selecting a contractor to continue the construction of the motorway," Minister Nurković pointed out during the meeting.

Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. is a construction and civil engineering company with its headquarters in the Italian city of Parma. Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. has a history stretching back 100 years. It was founded in 1910 by Gino Pizzarotti as a sole trader, since when it has undergone process of evolution that has never stopped. Converted in 1945 into a limited liability company by Pietro Pizzarotti, father of the current Chairman, Cavaliere del Lavoro Paolo Pizzarotti, in 1961 it became a joint-stock company with a share capital of 250 million euros.

Over the years, Impresa Pizzarotti & C. has been involved in a continuous evolution, and since the late 50's has consolidated its presence in the construction sector and large public infrastructure works on behalf of government agencies and most important Italian private companies. Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A is amongst the leading Italian and European construction sector companies operating in the design and construction of major civil and infrastructure works, such as buildings, hospitals, roads and motorways, rail works and underground works. Transport infrastructure (roads, highways, railways, underground railways, airports and ports) are Pizzarotti Group's primary area of activity, both in Italy and abroad.

Read more about the business environment in Montenegro at TMN's dedicated page.