From
Heiner Effern
The city of Munich will not ban Roger Waters’ controversial concert on May 21 in the Olympiahalle. The government of Upper Bavaria explained in a statement to Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) that the necessary instruction to the municipal operating company OMG was not legally permissible. The responsible economics officer Clemens Baumgärtner (CSU) announced that he would change his draft resolution for the general assembly of the city council this Wednesday and refrain from terminating the contract with the musician. The city hall coalition of Greens and SPD will take this decision with their majority, announced representatives of both factions.
Waters’ appearance is politically undesirable because of his proximity to the at least partially anti-Semitic Israel boycott movement BDS and his statements on the war in Ukraine. However, there has been a contract for the concert since last year. On the municipal side, Olympiapark München GmbH (OMG) signed as operator of the hall. Even then, she was of the opinion that there was no legal basis for refusing the municipal stage. Now the city as a shareholder wanted to instruct the municipal subsidiary to terminate the contract. In Frankfurt, the city and state of Hesse, as owners of the Waters performance hall there, decided to do so.
The government of Upper Bavaria does not consider similar behavior in Munich to be possible. Like the lawyers at the OMG and the municipal board of directors, she refers to a judgment by the Bavarian Administrative Court and a confirmation by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. Accordingly, a municipality may not deny BDS-related persons access to its public spaces if the event does not conflict with the dedication of the venue. The purpose of the Olympic Hall is clearly dedicated to concerts. According to the judges, the protection of freedom of expression also includes events in which extremist, racist or anti-Semitic statements may be made.
City politicians now want to react with clear signs of solidarity for Jews, but also for the people of Ukraine. On the day of the concert, for example, the Olympic Park could be flagged accordingly.