Skopje, 16 October 2024 (MIA) – The country and the Balkan region are remembering the late pop star Toshe Proeski, who died 17 years ago on this day in a car accident near Nova Gradisha in Croatia en route to Zagreb.

One of the annual events commemorating Toshe’s death is a marathon with runners running from Nova Gradishka to Krushevo. This year, the 17th marathon in honor of Toshe takes place with fourteen participants.

Kicking off on Monday in Nova Gradishka outside a memorial dedicated to Toshe, the marathon runners are expected on Wednesday on his death anniversary to arrive in Krushevo.

To mark the 17th anniversary of Toshe Proeski’s death, Skopje Brass Quintet will hold two concerts in Croatia – the first concert on Wednesday at the St. Zlata Meglenska Macedonian Orthodox Church in Zagreb, and the second in Rijeka on October 18.

On October 12, Estrada Multimedia Center organized in Skopje an international singing concert titled “Toshe Proeski’s Songs”. It brought together young musicians from North Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, Ukraine, Malta and Israel. 

Toshe Proeski’s life ended whilst being an established pop singer with a ten-year music career, which was becoming international. His English language album “The Hardest Thing” was released posthumously. 

Born on January 25, 1981, he started singing as a child, making his first appearance as a fifth-grader in 1992 at the famous children’s music festival “Golden Nightingale”. 

In 2004, Proeski represented the Republic of Macedonia at that year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Istanbul. He was also appointed UNICEF ambassador that year.

He released seven albums, including several in Serbian and Croatian. His last album “Igri Bez Granici (Games Without Borders)” was launched two weeks before the deadly car accident.

His last performance, on October 5, 2007 in Skopje, was a charity concert with money from ticket sales intended to improve conditions in the educational system in Macedonia. 

MIA file photo