Global pop superstar Dua Lipa has thrown her public support behind Albania’s growing environmental protest movement, dubbed the “Flamingo Revolution,” which opposes a $1.6 billion luxury coastal development tied to the Trump family that would tear into one of the country’s most ecologically vulnerable protected landscapes.
The British pop icon, who has Kosovo Albanian heritage, shared her praise for the grassroots demonstrators during an episode of her Service95 book club podcast, in a conversation with prominent Albanian academic and author Lea Ypi. With grassroots protests entering their 46th consecutive week, Lipa emphasized that she finds the demonstrators’ unwavering commitment deeply inspiring.
“ I find it so inspiring to see how much people really care. Day after day they’re hitting the streets, because the government has opened up this part of a beautiful nature reserve to a high-end beachfront development,” Lipa said in comments shared widely on social media following the podcast recording.
Lipa’s high-profile intervention has already shifted global attention back to a months-long movement that Albania’s ruling government has been unable to suppress or dismiss. The protests were ignited by plans for the massive luxury development project led by Affinity Partners, the private investment firm founded by Jared Kushner, former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior White House advisor. The project calls for construction of roughly 10,000 hotel and resort rooms across a largely untouched stretch of Albania’s Adriatic coastline, spanning ecologically sensitive Sazan Island and the Zvernec Peninsula, adjacent to the protected Vjosa-Narta wetland landscape.
This coastal wetland system is a critical protected habitat for a wide array of vulnerable wildlife, including greater flamingos, Mediterranean monk seals, endangered sea turtles, and dozens of species of migratory birds that rely on the undeveloped ecosystem for breeding and resting along intercontinental migration routes.
Critics, including Lipa, have singled out the opaque and controversial process that cleared the way for the development. In 2024, Prime Minister Edi Rama’s administration pushed through amendments to Albania’s national protected areas legislation that rolled back longstanding construction restrictions in environmentally sensitive zones. After the regulatory changes, the government granted Affinity Partners’ project formal “strategic investor” status, which fast-tracked all approval processes and cut down on opportunities for public input and environmental review.
“What I actually find concerning is the principle that the government could just change the law to remove the environmental protection without any kind of public consultation,” Lipa said, echoing a core grievance held by the protest movement.
Rama has remained unyielding in his support for the project, dismissing widespread opposition and framing the investment as “a gift to Europe” and “an economic blessing” for Albania. He has repeatedly rejected calls to pause or cancel the development, stating publicly: “There is absolutely no chance that the investment will stop as long as I am here.”
Lipa’s decision to speak out has been widely celebrated by social media users and activist communities, many of whom have praised the pop star for using her global platform to highlight grassroots environmental action at a time when many A-list celebrities avoid taking public stances on contentious political and environmental issues. One widely shared post on X noted that Lipa “really does shatter the imaginary belief that once someone attains a certain level of superstardom, they can’t talk about current events anymore because it’s ‘too complicated.’” Another commenter added that Lipa is proof celebrities can comfortably speak openly on pressing global and local issues, from policy to human rights to environmental protection, a step many in the entertainment industry refuse to take. The renewed global attention brought by Lipa’s endorsement has reignited pressure on the Albanian government to reconsider the project, as demonstrators continue their daily protests to protect the unique coastal ecosystem.