(; ), commonly known as and also referred to as simply FiK or Fest, is an annual music competition in Albania organised by the national broadcaster (RTSH). Broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1962, the festival has determined the country's representative to the Eurovision Song Contest since 2004.
Various singing presentations have been used throughout its history, beginning with radio-only performances in the first few years, then expanding to live performances, playback, remakes, and duets featuring other singers. The winners have traditionally been selected by a jury. However, other voting methods have also been applied, such as televoting or regional juries. At times, the head juror has carried twice the voting power of other jurors.
Vaçe Zela holds the record for most victories in the competition with eleven wins followed by Tonin Tërshana with four wins and Aurela Gaçe, Manjola Nallbani, and Elsa Lila with three wins. The most recent winner is Alis, who won the 64th edition of the contest.
History
The first edition of Festivali i Këngës took place on 21 December 1962 at the High Institute of Arts in Tirana and was won by Vaçe Zela performing the song titled "". The contest's entries, under communism, were strictly centered around light music. Over time, neutrally-themed entries started to be used as a tool for the governing Party of Labour of Albania in promoting its ideals.
The 1972 edition was a turning point for the contest, in which dictator Enver Hoxha prosecuted the organisers of after declaring them "enemies of the public". They were accused of endangering the country with "immoral aspects" in their songs and performances. This incident began a period of extreme pressure and censorship, with the ruling Communist Party imposing numerous sanctions on the contest's creativity and strict censorship on anything deemed inappropriate by the government. This ranged from limiting the type of clothes artists could wear, to restricting their range of movement while performing. The main organisers of the show were accused of conspiring against the country and corrupting its youth. The songs were highly monitored and the topics were generally related to the country's development or the government and its main figures.
After Hoxha's death in 1985, the change in lyrics was very abrupt and censorship began to relax. Nertila Koka and Anita Bitri quickly became known for their songs about love, while Parashqevi Simaku, Irma Libohova and Morena Reka also engaged the youth with progressively more liberal political entries year after year. Rock groups such as had a considerable impact with the message of their songs and the introduction of rock music to the Albanian music scene, a genre which has endured successfully to this day and can easily be spotted even in modern FiK entries, many of which feature electric guitars. This liberalisation was allowed by the silent consent of the Communist Party leadership all along, primarily as a result of their realisation that the days of communism in Eastern Europe were coming to an end. The general public, however, was less aware of the imminence of such changes to the political order, making the performances have a puzzling effect that provoked both feelings of outrage and hope. Although Albania was the last country in Eastern Europe to part with communist rule in 1992, FiK entries were ringing the bells of change already by 1988.
After the fall of communism, had a temporary boost in both quality and diversity. The winning songs reflected the transitional period that the country was undergoing. The 1991 winner, Ardit Gjebrea with "Jon", and the 1992 winner, Osman Mula's entry sung by Aleksandër Gjoka, Manjola Nallbani and Viktor Tahiraj titled "" ("The weight of fate") were centred on immigration and freedom, coinciding with the state of affairs in Albania at the time. During this period, the contest was also introduced to the word "God" for the first time. Prior to that, religion was illegal and the word was not allowed to be pronounced in public. The participation of Albanian singers from outside the country's borders was also an addition to the history of the festival during this decade. Before that, the country was in a period of isolation. The clothing and performances of the singers became more extravagant as time went by, with singers such as Bleona Qereti, Ledina Çelo and Adelina Ismajli being among the most notable trendsetters of the new era.
In 1996, the stage of welcomed newcomer Elsa Lila, who won the contest with "" ("I ask the tear") in 1996 and again the following year with "" ("Away from the hatred") in 1997. These songs mirrored the country's difficult reality following the collapse of the pyramid schemes, an event which wreaked havoc all throughout Albania. Despite the difficult times, never stopped its broadcast and went ahead as scheduled during the final weeks of December, as it has done for every year since its inception.
In 1998, Albërie Hadërgjonaj became the first Kosovar-Albanian singer to win the contest with the ballad "" ("Goodness and truth"). The song had a humanitarian anti-war message and is often referred to locally as a song for Kosovo, relating to the 1998–99 war.
Up until 1999, was the biggest music event in Albania. Its popularity began to waver after the introduction of other competitions such as Top Fest and , which were more liberal with their entry and singer selections, and eventually began to produce higher ratings. However, with Albania's introduction to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, quickly began producing a greater degree of national and international interest. The festival also received a boost of audience with the participation of newcomers from said competitions, such as Anjeza Shahini, who had won the (Albanian Idol) talent show a few months prior to competing in FiK and was popular with the public for her voice and stage presence.
Eurovision Song Contest
Anjeza Shahini won the 42nd edition of , placing hopeful professional singer Mariza Ikonomi in second place. Mariza boycotted the stage when the results were announced in a sign of disappointment. Much was at stake in this edition, as the winner would be the first ever representative of Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest. Anjeza went on to sing at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, finishing in 7th place with the song "The Image of You". Ever since, more international interest in the festival has emerged, with Eurovision fans from Europe and beyond increasingly following the contest through live internet streams and satellite feeds. Every year, hashtags related to have trended on Twitter in many European countries during the live final. is usually the first national selection process of the Eurovision season, where countries reveal their competing entries for the main contest in May. Due to it commonly being held around Christmas week, Eurovision fans refer to this time period as "FiKmas".
Albania's Eurovision journey has produced many memorable entries and performances by both established and emerging musicians. Its best result to date has been by Kosovo-Albanian singer Rona Nishliu with the song "Suus", ranking 2nd in the semi-final and 5th in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.
YearArtist(s)SongFinalSemiPlacePointsPlacePointsAnjeza Shahini"The Image of You"71064167Ledina Çelo"Tomorrow i Go"16 53colspan="2" Luiz Ejlli""rowspan="2" colspan="2" 1458Frederik Ndoci"Hear My Plea"1749Olta Boka""17 55967Kejsi Tola"Carry Me in Your Dreams"17 48773Juliana Pasha"It's All About You"16 62676Aurela Gaçe"Feel the Passion"colspan="2" 1447Rona Nishliu"Suus"51462146Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko""rowspan="2" colspan="2" 1531Hersi Matmuja"One Night's Anger"1522Elhaida Dani"I'm Alive"17341062Eneda Tarifa"Fairytale"rowspan="2" colspan="2" 1645Lindita"World"1476Eugent Bushpepa""111848162Jonida Maliqi""1790996Arilena Ara"Fall from the Sky" colspan="4" data-sort-value="-9999" Anxhela Peristeri"Karma"215710112Ronela Hajati""colspan="2" 1258Albina & Familja Kelmendi""2276983Besa""colspan="2" 1514Shkodra Elektronike""82182122Alis""131457158
Trivia In the early editions of , each song would be interpreted two or three times by different singers. However, only one of the versions sung would be declared the winner. In 1980, it was rumoured that the government had intervened in the selection of the winner, giving the victory to "" ("Our illegal friends") by Vaçe Zela over "" ("People of the mornings") by Alida Hisku. While the first is a song honouring undercover friendships among partisans during the time of the national liberation of Albania from Nazi forces, the latter makes strong references to intellectual awakening and enlightenment ideas, concepts deemed strongly in contrast with the philosophy of Enver Hoxha's dictatorship. In 1987, it was said that Kozma Dushi with the song "" ("Hey boy we cry with you") was set to be declared the winner, however minutes before the jury made their decision, Hoxha's wife Nexhmije said that she did not want that song to win, so another song was chosen. In 1994, Mariza Ikonomi became the youngest singer to compete in the festival at the age of 12, in a duet with Françesk Radi and their song "" ("Phone call of hearts"). In 1995, the song "" ("Do you want love") by Luan Zhegu and Ledina Çelo was reported to be the most applauded song in history to date, with a total applause time of 7 minutes and 11 seconds. In 1998 the first Kosovar-Albanian singer, Albërie Hadërgjonaj, with the song "" ("Goodness and truth"), was declared the winner. In 1999, the song "" ("The Apocalypse") by Irma and Eranda Libohova was initially declared the winner instead of Aurela Gaçe's "" ("I'm not a tribute") due to a miscalculation of the jury votes. In 2016, hologram technology was used to bring back a performance by Vaçe Zela as a tribute, almost three years after the singer's death. In October 2023, Kosovan broadcaster RTK launched a format with the same title, with the long-term aim of also using it as their national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest in case the country becomes eligible to compete.
Incidents In 1963, Besnik Taraneshi was the first singer to be prosecuted by the dictatorship, ahead of many to come throughout the history of the festival. This was due to his mispronunciation of a word in the song "" ("The boy and the rain"). In 1964, head of the jury Llazar Siliqi decided that no first place would be awarded, due to the low quality of the songs. Instead, "" by Vaçe Zela was awarded second place, and two other songs awarded third place. In 1972, Enver Hoxha called the organisers of "enemies of The people", a name given to all the subjects who he considered a danger to the country. Many of them were prosecuted after being accused of endangering the country's mentality by introducing immoral aspects to the show, and plotting against the government by influencing the Albanian youth of the time. RTSH general director Todi Lubonja, the festival's director Mihal Luarasi and singer Sherif Merdani were sentenced and would remain imprisoned for sixteen years until 1989, while many of the others involved were banned from working in television and/or were deported to remote Albanian cities. The claims were out of context and the punishments were used as an example for future organisers. Skifter Këlliçi wrote a book about this, titled (The 11th Festival). In 1997, Alma Bektashi had a wardrobe malfunction on stage when her dress fell off, revealing her breast. The cameras managed to avoid the incident. In 1999, Irma and Eranda Libohova left the Palace of Congresses early, thinking that their song "" would not win. The song was initially declared as the winner, however, a miscalculation of the jury votes announced the following day by head juror Vaçe Zela revealed that Aurela Gaçe's "" had won instead.