Europe (anthem)

Europe

National anthem of  Kosovo^[a]
Also known as	Himni i Republikës së Kosovës Evropa
Music	Mendi Mengjiqi
Adopted	2008
Music sample
Europe (instrumental)

Europe is the national anthem of the Republic of Kosovo.^[a][1] It was composed by Mendi Mengjiqi. As with the national anthems of Spain, Bosnia-Herzegovina and San Marino,^[2][3] the anthem 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 favour, 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 anthem of the European Union, 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 anthem of the unrecognized Republic of Kosova that existed from 1990 until 2000 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]

Notes

a.

^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the Brussels Agreement. Kosovo has been recognised as an independent state by 108 out of 193 United Nations member states.

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. "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. 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.

External links

• Complete official rules of the competition
• Reuters video news report about the competition
• Orchestral Version of Kosovo National Anthem
• Sheet Music