Europe (anthem)

Europe
National anthem of  Kosovo
Also known as "Himni i Republikës së Kosovës"
English: "Anthem of the Republic of Kosovo"
"Evropa"
English: "Europe"
Music Mendi Mengjiqi, 2008
Adopted 11 June 2008 (2008-06-11)
Audio sample
"Europe" (instrumental)
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"Europe" is the national anthem of Kosovo.[1] It was composed by Mendi Mengjiqi. As with the national anthems of Spain, Bosnia and Herzegovina and San Marino,[2][3] it has no official lyrics, but unofficial lyrics have been written for it. It was adopted on 11 June 2008.[4] It was chosen because it contained no references to any specific ethnic group.[5] It was selected by the Assembly of Kosovo, with 72 MPs voting in favor, while 15 voted against and five abstained.[6]

Competition for the anthem

On 12 March 2008 the Assembly of Kosovo announced an open contest to choose the anthem in Prishtina newspapers[7] and on the official website of the Assembly.[6] The rules include:

  • "Composition should be distinguishable: – should be unique and original"[6]
  • "Length of the composition should not last less than 30 seconds or more than 60 seconds."[6]
  • "Texts can be included as well in the application, in any official language of the Republic of Kosovo"[6] however, the final adoption is believed not to include them.[8] Choosing the text for the anthem would have been a difficult task because the majority of the population in Kosovo are Albanians, Serbs being the second largest ethnic group. The government has emphasized that no ethnic group should be discriminated against, declaring the state a "democratic, secular and multiethnic republic"[9] thus making it difficult to find lyrics that do not favor one ethnic group over another one. Similar problems were encountered when choosing the flag.[10] Furthermore, the rules also state that the proposal "Should not present or be similar to the hymn or popular song of any country, or hymn of any political party, movement or Institution of Republic of Kosovo, or to implicate any faithfulness towards any ethnic community of Republic of Kosovo."[6]
  • The proposals must be submitted by 31 March 2008.[6]
  • The composer of the adopted piece will be awarded €10,000 and two other qualified proposals will receive €7,000 and €5,000.[6]

Proposed lyrics

Albanian (Gheg Albanian)English translation

O mëmëdhe i dashur, vend i trimnisë
Çerdhe e dashurisë
N`ty shqipet fluturojnë dhe yjet ndriçojnë
Vend i të parëve tonë

Ti qofsh bekue për jetë e mot
O nënë e jonë
Ne të dalim Zot

O mëmëdhe i dashur, vend i trimnisë
Çerdhe e dashurisë

O beloved motherland, land of bravery
Nest of love
On you eagles fly and stars shine
Land of our ancestors

Be thou blessed for life and years
O our mother
We will protect you

O beloved motherland, land of bravery
Nest of love

Other anthem candidates

Ode to Joy

"Ode to Joy", the European continental anthem, was played at the official declaration ceremonies of the Republic of Kosovo. The Kosovo interim government decided to do this as a mark of respect to the European Union for its efforts on helping in gaining independence.[11]

Himni i Flamurit

"Himni i Flamurit", the national anthem of Albania, has been widely used in Kosovo with other Albanian national symbols.[12] It was also the state anthem of the unrecognized Republic of Kosova that existed from 1990 until 1999 when the province was taken into the control of the United Nations.

Kur ka ra kushtrimi n'Kosovë

"Kur ka ra kushtrimi n'Kosovë", a song composed by Rauf Dhomi, was proposed by the former President of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, as the anthem in 2000. However, no decision was made back then. The anthem has lyrics in the Albanian language.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Kosovo Parliament Adopts National Hymn" novinite.com 11 June 2008 Link accessed 11/06/08
  2. ↑ "Kosovo parliament approves new national anthem" rian.ru 11 June 2008 Link accessed 11/06/08
  3. ↑ "Kosovo MPs choose national anthem" bbc.co.uk 11 June 2008 Link accessed 11/06/08
  4. ↑ "Kosovo Gets National Anthem" redorbit.com 11 June 2008 Link accessed 11/06/08
  5. ↑ "Kosovo adopts wordless national anthem". Hürriyet. Reuters. 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Assembly approves Kosovo anthem" b92.net 11 June 2008 Link accessed 11/06/08
  7. ↑ "Kosovo seeks own national anthem". BBC. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
  8. ↑ "BalkanInsight.com – Kosovo Searches New National Anthem". Balkan Insight. 2008-03-12. Archived from the original on 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
  9. ↑ "Full text: Kosovo declaration". BBC. 2008-02-17. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
  10. ↑ "Competition for the flag and emblem of Kosovo" (PDF). Express. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  11. ↑ "Kosovo declares independence - USATODAY.com". USA Today. 2008-02-17. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
  12. ↑ "Kosovo contest for state symbols". BBC. 2007-06-04. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
  13. ↑ "Himni i Kosovës". Trepca.net. 2002-12-23. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
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