SNS rally in Novi Sad: tractors, six trains, police
Tractors line Mihajla Pupina Boulevard, Srbijavoz adds six extra trains and some schools cut classes short ahead of the 6 p.m. rally on Freedom Square.
The “Aleksandar Vucic - United Serbia” list holds its rally today, October 16, at 6 p.m. on Freedom Square in Novi Sad, by the monument to Svetozar Miletic. The city has been preparing since morning: columns of tractors arrived under police escort, part of the center is closed to traffic, and Srbijavoz is running six extra trains from Belgrade. Aleksandar Vucic’s speech is still to come, so this text does not cover its content.
It is the ruling side’s first big rally in Novi Sad since the canopy collapsed at the railway station on November 1, 2024, killing 16 people. SNS president Milos Vucevic and Novi Sad mayor Zarko Micin invited people to attend, and the Serbian Radical Party also issued an invitation through its account on X.
Where are the tractors and which streets are closed?
According to RTV, columns of tractors from Temerin, Becej and Srbobran entered the city early in the morning under police escort. They are parked along Mihajla Pupina Boulevard, from Norko to the Varadin Bridge.
Traffic has been changed in several places:
- Mihajla Pupina Boulevard is closed from Banovina to the intersection with Jevrejska Street
- Trifkovic Square is also closed to traffic
- JGSP “Novi Sad” buses coming off the Varadin Bridge turn right onto Unknown Hero Square, then onto the quay, and continue to their terminals
A stage and stands have been set up on Freedom Square, with tents and stalls nearby. Mobile toilets stand in the surrounding streets, and security is handled by the police and a private agency.
The program begins shortly before 5 p.m. Garavi Sokak, Ivan Milinkovic, Nela Vidakovic and the Gobovic sisters are performing, along with a cultural society presenting Vojvodina folklore. Objektiv announces that “thousands of people” are coming to the city. There is no independent estimate of attendance so far.
Which trains were added, and what about power and schools?
The daily Danas reports that a document from Serbian Railways Infrastructure, which it saw, provides for six additional trains between Belgrade and Novi Sad on October 16, at the request of Srbijavoz. It has not been officially confirmed that they were added because of the rally. From Belgrade Centar, trains leave at 2:50, 3:05, 3:25 and 4:02 p.m., and the return services are a train from Novi Sad at 9:02 p.m. and one from Petrovaradin at 9:45 p.m.
The same paper recalls that rail traffic was halted over bomb threats before the student rallies in Belgrade on March 15 and June 27, 2025, and before the anniversary of the disaster on November 1, 2025.
On October 15, around noon, Elektrovojvodina postponed all work planned for October 16 in Novi Sad, Petrovaradin, Begec and Cenej. The “Josip Slavenski” music school canceled its afternoon shift, while the “Branko Radicevic” school and the “Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj” Gymnasium shortened classes, at the Zmaj Gymnasium by the principal’s decision. Classes at the “Svetozar Markovic” Gymnasium are running as normal.
According to Danas, all special units of the Interior Ministry (MUP) have arrived in the city. Gendarmerie vans stand by the police station on King Petar I Boulevard and near Banovina, and eyewitnesses said “a couple of hundred” gendarmes entered the Banovina building.
What did the organizers say, and what did the critics say?
Vucic announced the rally on Instagram:
“For a free Serbia! For a strong Serbia! For a united Serbia! See you Friday in Novi Sad!”
In a video call recorded on October 15, Vucevic said: “We are looking at Novi Sad, how it has developed, how beautiful it is.” Micin joined him with the line: “All for one. One for all. See you tomorrow in Novi Sad.”
Students in blockade at Novi Sad faculties called on citizens to ignore the rally. “No reaction, no gathering, no giving it importance. Sometimes the strongest message is precisely the one we decide not to send,” they said on social media, adding that energy should be directed to the October 25 election. Vojvodina Assembly member Radivoje Jovovic told Danas, as relayed by Vreme: “Vucic’s attention-seeking is not a topic for us.”
The rally has a backstory. According to Istinomer, Vucic has announced a big rally in the city seven times over the past year and a half and none took place, and he canceled the one scheduled for September 4, citing security reasons. The weekly Nedeljnik writes that SNS has announced rallies in Novi Sad on several occasions that never took place. The rally is set for tonight, and how many people come to Freedom Square will only be known in the evening.
