Previously, comments by the artist about the war in Ukraine had sparked criticism. Waters should have performed in Kraków in April 2023. According to Reuters, Polish media took a stand after Waters wrote an open letter to Olena Selenska, Ukraine’s First Lady.
In this he called on them to persuade Volodymyr Zelenskyj to take “a different path” and criticized the West for supporting Ukraine with weapons.
“Live Nation Polska and Tauron Arena Kraków have canceled Roger Waters’ concert,” the organizers said in a statement on their website. On Saturday, the Polish state news agency PAP reported that Waters’ management had canceled the concert without explanation, according to Tauron Arena.
persona non grata
In further response to Waters’ letter, Kraków City Council is scheduled to vote on Wednesday on a resolution declaring Waters “persona non grata”. Poland sees itself as one of Kiev’s closest allies.
Waters said in a social media post that neither he nor his management had canceled the concerts and criticized City Councilor Lukasz Wantuch for voting to declare him undesirable in the city. He wanted to urge everyone involved in the Ukraine war to work towards peace and was now being attacked for doing so. “If Mr Wantuch achieves his goal and my concerts in Kraków are cancelled, it will be a sad loss for me because I was looking forward to sharing my message of love with the people of Poland,” the musician was quoted as saying by Reuters .
Source: Nachrichten
