Pink Floyd founder
Debate about Roger Waters – Messe sees itself bound
Roger Waters performing in Helsinki (2018). A debate has flared up about the musician from Great Britain. photo
© Onni Ojala/Lehtikuva/dpa
The British musician is said to have anti-Semitic tendencies. Is that why he is not allowed to appear in Frankfurt in May?
In the debate about anti-Semitism allegations against Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters (79) and demands for a concert cancellation, the Frankfurt trade fair sees itself contractually bound. “We are not aware of any judgment against Mr. Waters or any criminal prosecution,” said a spokesman for Messe Frankfurt GmbH on Monday when asked by the German Press Agency. “Accordingly, Messe Frankfurt behaves in a legally compliant manner as the organizer’s contractual partner and as a neutral provider of event space.” Canceling the event is the responsibility of the concert organizer, it said.
A concert by the British musician Roger Waters is planned for May 28 in the Festhalle at the Frankfurt exhibition center. Demands for a concert cancellation had recently increased.
Hesse’s anti-Semitism officer, Uwe Becker, argued that Waters had “developed more and more into a hateful opponent of the State of Israel” in recent years. Waters is “advocating the anti-Semitic boycott movement BDS with increasing aggressiveness.” The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement—BDS for short—calls on musicians, athletes, corporations, and politicians not to invest in or perform in Israel.