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SAVA CENTRE

WHERE IS IT?

Sava Center is situated near the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, in the 9 Milentije Popović street. It is located just five minutes from the city centre and fifteen minutes from the Nikola Tesla airport. It is also visible while crossing the Gazela bridge.

THE HISTORY

The Sava Center is an international congress, cultural and business center intended for various activities. The hall was ceremoniously opened by the President of the SFRY, Josip Broz Tito, on May 15, 1977, and the following year, 1978, the 11th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia was held in it. The construction of the Sava Center lasted for three years, from 1976 to 1979, and it was built according to the idea of the architect Stojan Maksimović, who was also the head of the construction team. When we talk about the architect Stojan Maksimović, it is often mentioned that the Sava Center is his life's work. The works had to be accelerated outside the scheduled deadline, due to the already scheduled annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund, which was supposed to be held at the Sava Center, which caused the abandonment of the plan for the main hall to have a rotating stage.

EXTERIOR

The Sava Center is a complex of various buildings, and the most important is the congress and concert center. The cascading form of the building fits into the natural environment and contributes to the dynamic structure of the complex, which consists of more business buildings and a hotel. The congress and concert center is a fragmented structure built in the style of high-tech architecture in the 70s of the 20th century. The architectural building made of steel and glass, which is supported by reinforced concrete girders, is one of the most beautiful examples of this style of postmodern architecture.

INTERIOR

The Sava Center has 100,000 m2 of total space, 15 conference halls, exhibition spaces, business and office premises, restaurants and bars spread over two levels. Today's interior of the Sava Center has been partially changed due to various interventions in the 90's of the 20th century. The building of Sava Center was declared a "cultural asset" on April 8, 2021. and is under the protection of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of the City of Belgrade.
In Sava Center there are about 150 concerts, 320 congresses, more than a hundred film premieres, as well as two hundred film screenings every year. About 500.000 visitors see cultural programs every year and there are usually 450 participants on congresses.
The Center has hosted many important international congresses and gatherings such as: OSCE, Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, 55th Annual General Assembly of Interpol, 6th UNCTAD, General Assembly of UNESCO, FOREX, FISIT, 9th Summit of the Non-Aligned. It is estimated that the Center is visited by 3000 people a day. In the past three decades 20.000 cultural events and programs have been organized in the Sava Center, with more than 10.000.000 visitors. The renovated parking space, opened in 2006, has a capacity of 410 parking spaces.

Written by  Jana Azanjac i Ana Serafijanović

Translated by Ana Serafijanović