📍Pristina, Kosovo
2008 – 2010“Dua Lipa was born in London in 1995 to Kosovo Albanian parents, Dukagjin and Anesa Lipa, who had left Pristina in 1992 to escape the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. She spent her early childhood in London, where she studied at the Sylvia Young Theatre School on Saturdays, but home was always half in Kosovo: her parents spoke Albanian at home, and her father, who had been a rock singer and songwriter with a well-known Kosovan band, filled the house with music, from David Bowie and Queen to Albanian rock. In 2008, the year Kosovo declared independence, the family moved back to Pristina, and Dua, then twelve, went with them. The capital was young, busy and hopeful, full of new cafés and building sites, and she has described those years as some of the happiest of her life: learning to read and write properly in Albanian, going to a local school, spending time with grandparents and cousins, and discovering hip-hop and pop through her friends. She also saw how hard the post-war years were for many families, and how much her parents had sacrificed. But she wanted to sing, and Pristina had no music industry. At fifteen, in 2010, she persuaded her parents to let her return to London alone to pursue a career, living with a family friend in Camden, going to school and working as a waitress and model while posting covers online. She signed a record deal in 2015, and became one of the world's biggest pop stars. She has stayed deeply connected to Kosovo, founding the Sunny Hill Festival in Pristina to support young people there.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today