rock musician
Udo Lindenberg receives Hamburg honorary citizenship
The musician Udo Lindenberg received honorary citizenship from the city of Hamburg in September. Photo: Michael Matthey/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Uwe Seeler already has it, John Neumeier too: the honorary citizenship of the city of Hamburg. Now follows Udo Lindenberg, who has been at home in the Hanseatic city since the late 1960s.
The self-proclaimed panic rocker Udo Lindenberg (76) is to receive honorary citizenship of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg on September 7th. The Senate press office announced on Friday that a ceremony is planned for the day after the citizenship vote on a corresponding Senate motion.
Hamburg’s Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) had proposed Lindenberg as an honorary citizen on the occasion of his 75th birthday in May 2021. Due to the long-lasting corona restrictions, the award can only be handed over now.
Lindenberg was born on May 17, 1946 in Gronau (North Rhine-Westphalia). He has lived in Hamburg since the late 1960s and in a suite in the Hotel Atlantic since the 1990s. His biography and his work are closely linked to Hamburg and northern Germany. “Udo Lindenberg helped German-language rock music to break through and made it successful for decades with distinctive language and time-related texts,” the Senate announced last year. His efforts to achieve understanding within Germany are part of the history of reunification.
Honorary citizenship is the highest award that the city of Hamburg can bestow. Most recently, honorary citizenship was awarded to the Hamburg children’s book author Kirsten Boie (“Wir Kinder aus dem Möwenweg”) in 2019, and ballet director John Neumeier and football idol Uwe Seeler are also honorary citizens of Hamburg.