The Government plans to organize the 20th anniversary of independence for 1.9 million euros without public calls

The Coordination Body for the organization of the 20th anniversary of Montenegro’s independence has annulled two public calls for the selection of an organizer for the celebration of this jubilee.

They proposed to the Government that, due to the urgency of selecting an organizer, it should consider assigning the General Secretariat of the Government to negotiate with companies that submitted the best bids in the annulled public calls, in order to correct deficiencies and conclude contracts for the organization, Pobjeda has learned.

As stated in the document adopted by the Government, based on information from the submitted bids, the estimated cost of organizing the ceremonial part planned for May 20 and June 4 amounts to up to 500,000 euros, while the cost of organizing celebrations planned for May 20, 21, and 22 would amount to a maximum of 1,400,000 euros.

- Given the scope of work required for organizing the celebration of the 20th anniversary of independence, and the fact that the public calls have been annulled, the Coordination Body proposes that, due to the urgency of selecting an organizer in order to ensure successful implementation of the jubilee program, the Government consider assigning the General Secretariat to procure event organization services through two negotiated procedures, without the need to amend the Public Procurement Plan. This is because the procurement in question was not planned for this year by the proposed contracting authority, as it was intended to be carried out through a public call which has now been annulled. Given the scope of the procurement, the very short implementation deadline, and the evident urgency not attributable to the contracting authority, we consider it justified and the only legally possible solution to approve this type of procedure - the Government explained.

They added that the Coordination Body would negotiate with the company „Exacta Agency“ LLC Podgorica to improve the terms of its bid and conclude a contract for organizing the ceremonies on May 20 and June 4.

- As stated in the report on the review and evaluation of submitted bids under the public call for selecting an organizer of the ceremonial celebration marking Montenegro’s Independence Day, which relates to the organization and implementation of ceremonies on May 20 and June 4, out of three submitted bids, two did not meet the basic requirements of the call, while one bid was recognized as high-quality and creative in concept, with adequate organizational and technical capacity for event implementation, and aligned with the character and importance of the state jubilee. In line with the recommendations of the Commission for determining criteria and evaluating bids, the Coordination Body proposes inviting „Exacta Agency“ LLC Podgorica to negotiations in order to improve the bid and conclude a contract for organizing the ceremonial celebration marking Montenegro’s Independence Day - the document states.

Regarding the celebration at Independence Square, planned for three days, the Coordination Body proposes inviting the consortium of companies „Sky Music Montenegro“ LLC Bar and „Skyevents“ LLC Belgrade to „improve their offer“ and conclude a contract.

- As stated in the report on the evaluation of bids under the public call for selecting an organizer of the Independence Day celebrations, relating to the organization and implementation of events on May 20, 21, and 22 at Independence Square in Podgorica, out of two submitted bids, one did not meet the basic requirements, while one was recognized as high-quality and creative, with adequate organizational and technical capacity, and aligned with the character and importance of the state jubilee. In line with the Commission’s recommendations, the Coordination Body proposes inviting the consortium „Sky Music Montenegro“ LLC Bar and „Skyevents“ LLC Belgrade to negotiations to improve the bid and conclude a contract for organizing the celebrations - the Government stated.

They emphasized that, considering all of the above, it is necessary to reallocate funds from the current budget reserve to the General Secretariat of the Government in the total amount of 1,900,000 euros.

Why the public calls were annulled

In the first part of the document, they explained that the public calls were annulled because none of the bids met all the required elements.

- The subject of the first public call was the selection of an organizer who, in cooperation with the Coordination Body and relevant institutions, would ensure the complete organization and implementation of ceremonial celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the restoration of Montenegro’s independence, to be held on May 20 and June 4. Within the deadline, three bids were received - from „Exacta Agency“ LLC Podgorica, „Easy Production“ LLC Podgorica, and „MM Hub“ LLC Podgorica. The Commission evaluated the bids and determined that none contained all the elements required by the call, after which the Coordination Body annulled the public call. The subject of the second public call was the selection of an organizer who would ensure the complete organization and implementation of celebrations to be held on May 20, 21, and 22, 2026, at Independence Square in Podgorica. Two bids were received - from „Culpoint“ LLC Podgorica and the consortium „Sky Music Montenegro“ LLC Bar and „Skyevents“ LLC Belgrade. The Commission again determined that none of the bids contained all required elements, and the Coordination Body annulled the public call - the Government explained.