The Flamingo Revolution (Albanian: Revolucioni i Flamingove) is a decentralised social movement and series of protests primarily against the Government of Albania. The initial protests took place in Baks-Rrjoll on 2 February 2026 when residents protested against the planned Blue Borgo resort and disputed land ownership. A major wave of protests followed on 16 May at Zvërnec, near the Narta Lagoon, over preparatory works and proposed luxury tourism developments linked to the Sazan Island and Zvërnec resort project, backed by American investor Jared Kushner. Violence against protesters near the Zvërnec project site on 30 May triggered further demonstrations in Tirana the following day. The protests subsequently broadened from Baks-Rrjoll, Zvërnec and Tirana and later spread to other cities in Albania, Kosovo and Albanian diaspora communities abroad.
As the demonstrations expanded, they evolved into broader opposition against the government of prime minister Edi Rama, corruption, state capture, media capture, poor governance and democratic backsliding. On 22 June, protesters formalized five demands: Rama's resignation; the formation of a 12-month non-partisan technical government; constitutional and electoral reforms, including a two-term lifetime limit for the prime minister; the repeal or reversal of disputed laws concerning strategic investments, protected areas, cultural heritage and mountain development; and a new social contract between citizens and the state. Many demonstrations have also criticized leader of the opposition Sali Berisha and the Democratic Party of Albania, with slogans portraying both Rama and Berisha as part of the same political establishment.
The main protests have been centred in Tirana, especially around Skanderbeg Square, the prime minister's office, Dëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard, Parliament and other symbolic public spaces. Daily demonstrations drew tens of thousands of participants, while larger nationwide and diaspora-focused mobilizations were held on 10, 13, 20 June and 4 July. The 20 June protest became the largest demonstration of the movement to date, with Albanian media estimating more than 250,000 participants and describing the crowd as filling much of Dëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard, from Skanderbeg Square to Mother Teresa Square. The movement has been described as part of the Gen Z protests, with Generation Z and Millennial protesters playing a prominent role, alongside civil society groups, environmental activists, local residents, public figures and diaspora communities. By October 2026, the demonstrations would turn violent as part of the student protests.
The flamingo, a wild bird that inhabits the Vjosa–Narta wetland ecosystem, is the main symbol of the demonstrations, giving rise to the name Flamingo Revolution. Protesters have used flamingo cutouts, inflatable flamingos, national flags and modified protest imagery to represent both environmental protection and wider civic resistance.
Rama defended the Sazan Island and Zvërnec resort project as a major foreign investment and rejected allegations of unlawful conduct, suggesting the movement to be influenced by misinformation or foreign interests and later describing it as part of a "hybrid war" used by "enemies of Israel and Albania". The movement has received further criticism from other members of the Socialist Party, Berisha and members of the Democratic Party, and other political figures. The movement has received public support from former officials, dissenters of the Socialist Party and several minor opposition parties in Albania, including the Opportunity Party,Lëvizja Bashkë and Lëvizja Shqipëria Bëhet.
The Flamingo Revolution (Albanian: Revolucioni i Flamingove) is a decentralised social movement and series of protests primarily against the Government of Albania. The initial protests took place in Baks-Rrjoll on 2 February 2026 when residents protested against the planned Blue Borgo resort and disputed land ownership. A major wave of protests followed on 16 May at Zvërnec, near the Narta Lagoon, over preparatory works and proposed luxury tourism developments linked to the Sazan Island and Zvërnec resort project, backed by American investor Jared Kushner. Violence against protesters near the Zvërnec project site on 30 May triggered further demonstrations in Tirana the following day. The protests subsequently broadened from Baks-Rrjoll, Zvërnec and Tirana and later spread to other cities in Albania, Kosovo and Albanian diaspora communities abroad.
As the demonstrations expanded, they evolved into broader opposition against the government of prime minister Edi Rama, corruption, state capture, media capture, poor governance and democratic backsliding. On 22 June, protesters formalized five demands: Rama's resignation; the formation of a 12-month non-partisan technical government; constitutional and electoral reforms, including a two-term lifetime limit for the prime minister; the repeal or reversal of disputed laws concerning strategic investments, protected areas, cultural heritage and mountain development; and a new social contract between citizens and the state. Many demonstrations have also criticized leader of the opposition Sali Berisha and the Democratic Party of Albania, with slogans portraying both Rama and Berisha as part of the same political establishment.
The main protests have been centred in Tirana, especially around Skanderbeg Square, the prime minister's office, Dëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard, Parliament and other symbolic public spaces. Daily demonstrations drew tens of thousands of participants, while larger nationwide and diaspora-focused mobilizations were held on 10, 13, 20 June and 4 July. The 20 June protest became the largest demonstration of the movement to date, with Albanian media estimating more than 250,000 participants and describing the crowd as filling much of Dëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard, from Skanderbeg Square to Mother Teresa Square. The movement has been described as part of the Gen Z protests, with Generation Z and Millennial protesters playing a prominent role, alongside civil society groups, environmental activists, local residents, public figures and diaspora communities. By October 2026, the demonstrations would turn violent as part of the student protests.
The flamingo, a wild bird that inhabits the Vjosa–Narta wetland ecosystem, is the main symbol of the demonstrations, giving rise to the name Flamingo Revolution. Protesters have used flamingo cutouts, inflatable flamingos, national flags and modified protest imagery to represent both environmental protection and wider civic resistance.
Rama defended the Sazan Island and Zvërnec resort project as a major foreign investment and rejected allegations of unlawful conduct, suggesting the movement to be influenced by misinformation or foreign interests and later describing it as part of a "hybrid war" used by "enemies of Israel and Albania". The movement has received further criticism from other members of the Socialist Party, Berisha and members of the Democratic Party, and other political figures. The movement has received public support from former officials, dissenters of the Socialist Party and several minor opposition parties in Albania, including the Opportunity Party, Lëvizja Bashkë and Lëvizja Shqipëria Bëhet.
Background
Sazan Island Resort
Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, first visited Albania on a private trip in July 2021. Trump and Kushner travelled the entire coastline on a yacht owned by Nathaniel Rothschild, a friend of theirs. While out swimming, they encountered the uninhabited, biodiverse island of Sazan, an abandoned military base, and were surprised it had remained undeveloped. Prime Minister Edi Rama met them on the yacht during the trip and discussed investment opportunities with Kushner a year later.
In March 2024, Kushner announced plans to invest in Sazan and the nearby coastal area on the mainland, near the village of Zvërnec. Environmental groups such as BirdLife have connected Kushner's tourism development project to an amendment to Albania's Protected Areas Law, passed shortly prior. It exempted "structures of excellence, 5 stars or more", and related hospitality activities from restrictions on construction in environmentally protected areas, such as where the project was proposed.
The Albanian government granted the Sazan project strategic investment status on 30 December 2025, noting that it would occupy 565 hectares and some 45 hectares would be developed. In 2025, Prime Minister Rama said that Albania "can't afford not to exploit a gift like Sazan" and needed luxury tourism. The land on Sazan was sold in a €1.4-billion deal, which locals and parliamentarians were unaware of until newspapers reported it. Afterwards, Albanians began referring to Sazan as "Trump Island" (Ishulli i Trumpëve).
Kushner also has plans for a larger second site: the undeveloped coastal stretch of Pishë Poro-Narta within the Vjosa–Narta Protected Landscape. It is home to endangered species such as monk seals, sea turtles and more than 200 bird species, including flamingos and pelicans. Over 10,000 accommodation units are planned. Kushner said that he wanted "to create the ideal resort that I'd want to be at with my family and with my friends", and that the government had been very cooperative. According to Rama, the projects together are worth up to €5 billion.
Ivanka Trump is also linked to the project. She mentioned her and Kushner's plans on podcasts, bringing them to wider attention. Her description of Sazan as their "private island" angered Albanians. The project became the subject of public debate. Opponents, including residents and environmental organizations, expressed concerns regarding the potential environmental impact of the development and raised questions concerning land ownership within the project area. Representatives of the project stated that the development was being pursued in accordance with Albanian law and applicable planning procedures.
Corruption and state capture
The resort controversy developed against a broader background of public concern over corruption, state capture and the relationship between political power, private business interests and public institutions in Albania. Freedom House classified Albania as "Partly Free" in its 2025 report and stated that corruption and bribery remained major problems despite reforms in the justice system. The European Commission's 2025 Albania report stated that the institutional framework for fighting corruption was in place, but that preventive measures still needed improvement and that the state police remained highly vulnerable to corruption, while also noting positive results by SPAK in high-level corruption cases.
Commentators connected the protests to wider grievances about oligarchic influence, opaque public decision-making and the use of laws for private or politically connected interests. BiEPAG described the Flamingo Revolution as exposing Albania's "systemic weaknesses", including private security violence, opaque legal amendments and a captured media landscape. Other analysis described the protests as a channel for wider anger at political elites accused of abusing power and institutions, capturing parts of the media landscape and using the law for partisan purposes.
Several high-profile corruption and procurement cases during Rama's premiership contributed to the broader climate in which the protests developed. In the Albanian incinerators scandal, former environment minister Lefter Koka was sentenced to prison on corruption, abuse-of-power and money-laundering charges related to waste-incinerator contracts, while former deputy prime minister Arben Ahmetaj was charged in connection with the same affair and left Albania; Ahmetaj denied wrongdoing. The AKSHI public procurement scandal also became part of wider criticism of state contracting, after SPAK investigated alleged manipulation of public tenders at the National Agency for Information Society (AKSHI), an agency under the authority of the Prime Minister's office that managed major digital-infrastructure and eAlbania contracts.
Democratic backsliding and concentration of power
The protests also took place in the context of concerns about democratic backsliding, concentration of power and long-term political polarisation. The Socialist Party, led by Edi Rama, has governed Albania since 2013 and won a fourth consecutive parliamentary election in 2025. Freedom House described Albanian politics as competitive but highly polarised, with political parties often organised around leading personalities.
Analysts argued that the dominance of the Socialist Party under Rama and the Democratic Party under Sali Berisha had left limited space for credible political alternatives and had contributed to a toxic political environment. In this interpretation, the protests expressed not only opposition to the resort project, but also fatigue with both the government and the established opposition. The chants "Rama to prison, Berisha to prison" ("Rama në burg, Berisha në burg!") reflected this broader rejection of the two dominant political camps. Criticism of Berisha was also reinforced by the Rrjoll dispute, where resort developer Bashkim Ulaj had been described in Albanian media as close to the Berisha family and residents publicly questioned Berisha's lack of support for their protest. Rama's governing style was also described by critics as increasingly associated with concentrated decision-making and reduced space for parliamentary dialogue or civil society consultation.
Election-related controversies under Rama also formed part of the protesters' wider criticism of state institutions and political power. In 2019, Bild published audio recordings connected to the 2017 parliamentary elections, including conversations involving Socialist officials and local power brokers that opposition parties and critics described as evidence of vote-buying, intimidation and links between politics and organised crime. The Patronageists scandal in 2021 raised further concerns about the use of personal data and party-linked voter monitoring, after Lapsi.al reported that a database allegedly connected to the Socialist Party contained personal information and political-preference notes for around 910,000 voters or residents of Tirana. The OSCE/ODIHR final report on the 2025 parliamentary election later stated that the vote was competitive and professionally managed, but that contestants did not enjoy a level playing field and cited allegations of intimidation, misuse of public resources, pressure on public employees and vote-buying.
Concerns about the separation of powers also grew in 2026 after Rama announced plans for legislation that would prevent courts from suspending ministers under criminal investigation. Reuters reported that opposition parties said the proposal would undermine judicial independence and protect Rama's allies, while Rama accused the judiciary of overreach. The proposal followed corruption proceedings against senior government figures, including Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Belinda Balluku, who denied allegations over the alleged manipulation of public tenders.
Media capture and government influence
Concerns over media capture and political influence over public information also formed part of the background to the protests. The 2026 World Press Freedom Index, issued by Reporters Without Borders, ranked Albania 83rd out of 180 countries, stating that press freedom and media independence were threatened by conflicts of interest between business and politics, a flawed legal framework and partisan regulation. It also stated that journalists who were critical of the authorities were often subjected to discrediting attacks, that access to state-held information was difficult, and that self-censorship was widespread.
Transparency International EU similarly noted concerns about concentration of mass media ownership, lack of transparency in mass media ownership, and the independence of public service media, while also reporting an increase in attacks against journalists in 2025.
During the early phase of the protests, media capture became one of the issues raised by commentators and activists. BiEPAG argued that several mainstream outlets had ignored live coverage or spread disinformation about the protests, including by amplifying claims that the demonstrations were externally sponsored or motivated by foreign interests. Reporter.al also described the use of artificial-intelligence-generated images and police-camera material against the protest narrative, linking the information campaign to attempts to discredit the movement. The reliance of protesters on social media, livestreams, memes and diaspora networks was therefore partly framed as a response to distrust of traditional media and perceived government influence over national broadcasters and major private outlets.
Earlier media-freedom disputes under Rama also shaped the protest movement's distrust of mainstream media and official narratives. In 2019, Rama's government proposed changes to Albania's media legislation, known by critics as the "anti-defamation" package, which would have allowed the Audiovisual Media Authority to fine online media outlets and order the removal or blocking of content. Albanian and international media organisations criticised the draft laws as a threat to free expression and online journalism. The Albanian Ombudsman said the draft laws did not meet international standards, while the Venice Commission later identified several flaws and recommended changes intended to protect freedom of expression.
Rama has also clashed publicly with Reporters Without Borders over assessments of media freedom in Albania. After Albania's fall in the World Press Freedom Index, Rama dismissed parts of the organisation's criticism as "lies" and "fantasies". Reporters Without Borders responded by criticising his treatment of journalists and by pointing to political attacks and pressure on critical reporters.
Beginning of the protests
Residents of Zvërnec were not informed about the development and became aware almost exclusively through media reports. At the end of April 2026, the company Zvërnec South Adriatic Development fenced off part of the protected coastal area of Zvërnec-Portonovo as part of the preparations using a disputed work permit. Residents, such as village headman Kostaq Konomi, said that the beach contained ancestral properties claimed within cadastral zone 3951; for two decades, locals have been involved in legal land disputes with businessmen such as Artur Shehu.