About us

Unique and multifunctional

Sava Center is a multipurpose congress center in the heart of the business part of New Belgrade and is in the immediate vicinity of the largest hotels.

With its functional concept, it occupies a unique position on the map of European congress centers, because in one place you can experience three different experiences: congress, business and cultural.

With its area of 100.000 m2, Sava Center is also one of the biggest sights of Belgrade in the field of modern architecture. Designed by architect Stojan Maksimović and opened in 1977, it was nominated for the prestigious Pritzker Prize - the so-called "Oscar of Architecture".

Entrances and parking

History

How did it all begin?

Opened in 1977

The year is 1976, and Yugoslavia was chosen as the host of the first summit of the CSCE, today known as the OSCE. In the absence of a space of adequate size, equipment and aesthetics, domestic engineers and architects led by Stojan Maksimović embarked on an undertaking that the country had never seen before.

It was necessary to conceive, design, build, equip and open the first congress center in Belgrade within only 12 months. As the weeks and months go by, what seemed impossible at the beginning slowly becomes a reality. The congress part of the Sava Center was opened in May 1977, within the deadline. It was a heroic endeavour.

Masterpiece

Nominated for a Pritzker Prize

The reactions exceeded all expectations. The professional public around the world compared the Sava Center with facilities of similar purpose in Europe, often emphasizing that the concept and solution in Belgrade are the best among them.

The main recognition came already in 1978 - Sava Center was nominated for the Pricker Award, the so-called Oscar of architecture. With its grandiose size and futuristic shapes, the so-called The "Glass Palace" of New Belgrade has rightly earned the epithet of a masterpiece of Yugoslav architecture.

The Golden Age

40 years of existence

During its more than 40 years of existence, 10 million visitors passed through the Sava Center, as part of 8.000 gatherings and 20.000 events, and the Blue Hall became synonymous with FEST, Bemus and Bitef.

The 1980s were a sort of golden age for Sava Center. From Miles Davis, through Ray Charles, to Bryan Ferry - there are few important artists and musicians of that era who did not perform in front of the audience at the Blue Hall.

Witness of history

"Simply, Magnificent"

In addition to the artistic program, the Sava Center is an authentic witness to the history that was created in it during its entire existence.

After the aforementioned OSCE summit, the annual meeting of the IMF, several congresses of the SCJU, the general assembly of UNESCO and the 9th Summit of Non-Aligned Countries were held in the congress halls of the Sava Center.

As part of these events, Sava Center was visited by historical greats such as Indira Gandhi, who described it as 'simple, magnificent.'

Nineties and early 2000s

Still unsurpassed

The 1990s and early 2000s brought economic and political turbulence that left their mark on the Sava Center. As it is an extremely complex facility that requires maintenance, it was operating at a reduced capacity during this time. However, this was compensated by the undiminished professionalism and dedication of all the people who worked there and cared for it.

2020.

Reconstruction of Sava Center

Finally, in 2020, Sava Center becomes part of Delta Holding's portfolio. The reconstruction started almost immediately after the takeover.

Although the initial estimate of the reconstruction costs was EUR 20 million, the total volume of the investment now amounts to EUR 118 million, which is almost six times more than the initial estimate.

Due to its (deserved) status as a cultural monument, the reconstruction was carried out with special attention to all architectural features, but also to the emotions of the citizens of Belgrade.

Many of them who remember the opening of the Sava Center, assessed that it now looks more beautiful than ever before.

New era

Sava Center today

Today, Sava Center is a multipurpose congress center that consists of several different functional units, including the Great Hall with 4.050 seats.

Special attention has been paid to energy efficiency and the arrangement of green areas - electricity consumption today is reduced by as much as 50%, while green areas are increased by 30%.

Just like in 1977, the Sava Center is equipped with the most modern technology - from cooling and heating systems to stage equipment and equipment.

In November 2023, a completely new era of the largest congress, cultural and business center in Southeast Europe began.

Sustainability

We lead by example.

Social responsibility, commitment to the community we live in, and environmental sustainability are key elements of the identity of the new Sava Center.

With a history of more than 40 years, Sava Center has been setting standards from the very beginning through innovative architectural solutions and state-of-the-art technology that have made it always one step ahead of its time.

Inspired by its rich history, we continue to set even more ambitious goals and standards, focusing on the same approach to social responsibility and environmental sustainability.

Today, we lead by example.

Energy sustainability

The glass palace, as Sava Center is often called by our fellow citizens, is decorated with over 7.000 m2 of glass facade, which in the period before the reconstruction represented a great challenge from the point of view of maintenance and thermal insulation.

By installing the most modern three-layer carpentry, we managed to significantly improve the thermal insulation of the entire building. During the winter months, the modern glass envelope retains heat inside the building, while during the summer months it lets in a significantly smaller amount of sunlight, which reduces the negative impact on the temperature in the building itself.

Due to its geometry, as well as the area of 100.000 m2, Sava Center has incredible potential when it comes to solar panels and generating electricity through the sun's rays. As part of the reconstruction, it is planned to install 912 solar panels on the large flat surfaces of the roofs of the Sava Center, which will generate around 600 megawatt hours per year, which will save as much as 226 tons of CO2.

Overall, with the implementation of the most modern technological solutions, the electricity consumption of the reconstructed Sava Center is reduced by as much as 50% compared to the period before the reconstruction.

BREEAM certificate

This certificate represents one of the most important systems for ranking the impact that a building has on the environment.

Although it is most often awarded to newly built buildings, the scope of the reconstruction was such that the measurement criteria were adapted for the purposes of Sava Center certification. Special, completely individual analyzes were created and conducted. It can be said that completely new certification parameters of this type of facility were created during the reconstruction of the Sava Center.

EU Taxonomy

This set of criteria of the European Union significantly contributes to the energy efficiency of the Sava Center, but also to its high positioning on the list of socially responsible congress centers in Europe. These criteria were applied in all phases of the Sava Center reconstruction.

Green oasis

The surroundings of the Sava Center are filled with carefully designed green areas, which are now 15% more than the original project from 1976. Their total area is as much as 18.000 m2, and together with the greenery in the interior, they will make the Sava Center a real green oasis in the center of Belgrade.

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