The Domovinski pokret (DP) party of Split-Dalmatia County has published a statement on social media criticising the Ultra Europe electronic music festival and declaring that the co-financing of such an event with public funds is unacceptable.

According to them, the Ultra Europe festival has caused a number of problems, including a large number of arrests for drug abuse and hundreds of overdoses, including one death. “We want to send a message that it is unacceptable for us to support this type of event through state, county and city institutions,” the party said in a Facebook post.

Ultra Europe would not survive without the financial injections from the various tourist boards, the state, the county and the city. The indirect implication, then, is that the state institutions are promoting a form of tourism very similar to that in Thailand and Southeast Asia, the party said.

“Therefore, in the coming period, we will do everything we can to ensure that the state and county institutions do not continue to support this form of tourism. We are not in favour of a ban, but this form of festival and tourism is not suitable for the city centre, and its co-financing with public money is completely unacceptable,” said the Split branch of the Domovinski pokret.

Split would be a more desirable and better holiday destination without a noisy festival with crowds of drunks and drug addicts in the city centre, according to the Domovinski pokret of Split-Dalmatia County.