Roger Waters should not be allowed to perform in the Frankfurt Festhalle. The city of Frankfurt and the Hessian state government have announced that the controversial singer’s concert, which is scheduled for May 28 this year, is to be cancelled. For this purpose, the trade fair management should be instructed by shareholder resolution to “exercisely terminate the contract immediately for good cause”. The fair, in which the city holds 60 percent and the state 40 percent, rents out the festival hall.
The move is justified by the former Pink Floyd frontman’s “continued anti-Israel behavior”. He has repeatedly called for a cultural boycott of Israel. A balloon in the shape of a pig with images of the Star of David was part of previous stage shows.
In Frankfurt, the venue is also pre-loaded. After the pogrom night in 1938, Jewish men were brought to the festival hall, abused and later deported to concentration camps. “The magistrate therefore feels called upon to send a clear signal against anti-Semitism that is supported by society as a whole,” the city said on Friday. However, this is a case-by-case decision and not a precedent.
As part of the tour, five concerts are planned in Germany in May. There are also calls in Berlin, Munich and Cologne for the concerts to be canceled. However, lawyers consider bans on performance to be difficult to enforce.