The famous Joyful Rafting on the Ibar River has this year grown into more than just a traditional celebration – it has become part of the fight to protect rivers. For the first time in 30 years, the event included a clear activist dimension.
Banners were displayed on the bridges in Bogutovac and Mataruška Banja with messages reading “Save Studenica – STOP Small Hydropower Plants” and “Kraljevo Will Protect Its Rivers”, alongside the names of nine Ibar tributaries currently trapped in pipes.
This year, the Ibar River is shallow, slow, and tired. The rafting was challenging, not because of paddling, but due to the lack of water and the increasingly visible effects of drought and upstream small hydropower plants. Photos and videos clearly show the seriousness of the situation, as well as the energy of the participants – joyful and angry, fighting for their rivers.
The 2025 Joyful Rafting has proven that rivers are more than just sport and recreation – they are symbols of life and freedom, and there are people ready to fight for them.
