Albania's 'Flamingo Revolution' protests Ivanka Trump resort project

In an Albanian nature reserve, U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner plan to build a luxury resort. The project has sparked widespread protests.

Published: June 14, 2026, 5:27 PM

For the flamingos: Demonstration against Trump and Kushner's construction project; Tirana, June 13. Photo: Hameraldi Agolli / AP

From Athens | By Ferry Batzoglou

Thousands of Albanians — some having flown in from abroad specifically for the occasion — gathered on Saturday evening on Skanderbeg Square in the capital Tirana to protest against a planned luxury resort. Waving the Albanian national flag and holding up cardboard models of flamingos, they marked the 14th consecutive day of demonstrations with banners reading: "Albania is not for sale."

"This is a historic moment," said Fatos Lubonja, one of the country's most prominent writers. The 75-year-old stood alongside the mostly young demonstrators on Saturday evening. "This is a revolution, a peaceful revolution," he added.

The Project

The protests were triggered by a tourism project on Albania's largest island, Sazan. The project also includes the Narta Lagoon and the Pishë Poro beach on the mainland opposite, both located within a nature reserve.

In 2024, long-standing building regulations were relaxed. Subsequently, plans emerged that Ivanka Trump, daughter of U.S. President Donald Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner intend to build a luxury resort there. The project comprises:

• A $1.4 billion hotel complex on the uninhabited island of Sazan
• A $4.7 billion construction project near the town of Zvërnec

The area is one of the most ecologically significant coastal sections in the Mediterranean. It serves as a resting place for migratory birds en route to Africa and provides habitat for more than 200 species, including pelicans and flamingos.

It has now come to light that the government in Tirana approved the project in early 2025 — without transparency and without public input.

"I will make Albania the princess of Mediterranean holiday destinations." — Edi Rama, Albanian Prime Minister

Protests Spread

The "Flamingo Revolution" began on May 23 on the coast of Zvërnec. When demonstrators gathered peacefully again on May 30, they were attacked by private security forces. The protests quickly spread to other cities.

Anger is no longer directed solely at the controversial tourism project. Demonstrators are furious with Prime Minister Edi Rama and his socialist ruling party. Former president and prime minister Sali Berisha, the conservative leader of the largest opposition party PD, is also criticized — along with the rest of the political and economic elite. The demonstrators' demand: the old must go, the new must come.

On Friday, the Albanian Special Prosecution Office against Corruption (SPAK) requested the arrest of 20 nationals on suspicion of drug trafficking and money laundering. According to local media reports, some of the suspects may be connected to the Trump family's tourism project.

Longtime Prime Minister Rama, who began his fourth term after a clear election victory in the May 2025 parliamentary elections, is sticking to the plan. But the protests continue — every evening in Tirana and in various Albanian coastal towns.

Meanwhile, residents of the village of Riol, in a region of sandy beaches and pine forests in northwestern Albania, are also demonstrating against a tourism project. An Albanian company is building a five-star resort there. As with the Trump family project on Sazan Island and in Zvërnec, the Riol project has received "special investor status" from the Rama government. However, residents say it will be built on their expropriated land.

"What is happening in this country is madness," said Nikolín Markpál, a 60-year-old local landowner. "Do they think..."