Mayor of Tirana

The ruins of the National Theatre of Albania on May 18 2020. Photo: Gjergj Erebara/BIRN

An excavator removed rubble from the site on Monday morning, forming a contrasting image to billboards still inviting theatre-goers to come and see stage plays.

"The European narrative has been wounded," Veliaj, 39, told BIRN in an interview in July hours before he was sworn in for a second term as mayor of the Albanian capital.

"Telling Albania and other countries in the Western Balkans 'we'll consider next year, you still have some work to do' and once you fulfil that list, you see you are not being rewarded, is disappointing," he said.