Media expert Samvel Martirosyan took to Facebook to question the government’s decision to allocate millions from the state budget for Jennifer Lopez’s concert in Yerevan.
"Lopez’s arrival could even merit $60 million from the budget—if you knew it would boost tourism, increase the country’s visibility, or launch a planned concert series that would grow GDP by several percentage points. That kind of thing does happen," he wrote.
"But in this case, have you seen any calculations or forecasts? It would also be good to know what the outcome was. I asked the Asian Development Bank about Lopez’s fee. Armenia appeared as a separate line item and was the most expensive—perhaps because she’s coming via Lars highway and it’s costly," he added.
He concluded with a pointed remark: "Six million—that’s 100–200 apartments for Artsakh Armenians. That’s how I view state expenses these days."
Only two days before the Yerevan concert, it was revealed that funds for organizing Jennifer Lopez’s performance came from the Armenian state budget. On July 31, the government decided to reallocate the $6 million initially reserved for Snoop Dogg’s canceled 2023 concert to cover the costs of Lopez’s event.
The government decision disclosed that over 1 billion AMD (about $2.5 million) would be paid directly to Lopez. Food delivery services alone were allocated 14.4 million AMD ($37,000), with an additional 6 million AMD for her team’s meals and 3.8 million AMD for dressing room staff.
