Pink Floyd legend’s views on the war may have upended two concerts in Krakow.
At the beginning of September, the politically engaged Waters wrote an open letter to Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska. Norgsachtwill Waters wrote to her that “Ukraine’s ultra-nationalists led their country into this disastrous war.” The 79-year-old accused her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, of failing to fulfill his election promise: to bring peace to the Donbass region.
Of course, he was not popular.
The first lady responded on Twitter, reminding Roger Waters that it was Russia that invaded Ukraine and is now destroying cities and killing civilians.
“Roger Waters, you should ask peace from a president of a country different from ours,” she wrote.
On the way to Fornebu
Then one thing led to another. Waters was scheduled to play two concerts in Krakow, Poland, from April to next year. The show is part of his “This Is Not a Gambit” tour, which will stop at Telenor Arena on April 11-12, 2023.
But he could already note the cancellation twice in his seventh sense. Krakow concerts will not bear fruit. Calls for cancellation came very quickly after the musician’s open letter. City councilman Lukasz Wantuch was one of those who advocated making Roger Waters persona non grata in the Polish city, and city leaders were supposed to vote on him next week.
“It would be a shame for our city to allow Roger Waters, an outspoken supporter of Putin, to play here,” said Wantuch. He might prefer playing in Moscow.
He was supposed to play at the Tauron Arena, but on Sunday there was a message on the venue’s website that the concerts had been cancelled. “Live Nation Poland and Tauron Arena Krakow have canceled Roger Waters’ concert,” the newspaper said. Later, the Polish news agency PAP reported that it was the artist himself who canceled, without giving any reason.
– big loss
That forced Waters off on Facebook. On the site, he wrote: “Correction: Roger Waters has not canceled the Krakow concerts.” Accusing Lukasz Wantuch of not knowing his musical history, of being undemocratic, he opens the entire post with the phrase HEY! ŁUKASZ WANTUCH, “Leave the children alone!” , a clear reference to the timeless line from “Another Brick in the Wall”.
If none of the concerts took place, it would be a great loss for me, because I was looking forward to sharing a message of love with the Polish people, as the Pink Floyd legend wrote.
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