Three climate activists from Extinction Rebellion (XR) interrupted a concert in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam tonight around 8.30 pm. During a performance of Verdi’s Requiem one of them climbed on a chair to draw attention to the climate and ecological crisis in a speech.
The activists want the Netherlands to stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry and become climate neutral as soon as possible. After the action, the activists were ‘forced out of the room by the public’, the action group writes in a statement.
“Sorry, this is an emergency”, activist ‘Sebastiaan’ begins his break as the musicians pause for a moment. “We are in the midst of a climate crisis.” Immediately afterwards, his words are loudly drowned out by loud boos, as can be seen on a livestream that Extinction Rebellion shared on social media.
“Sit down,” a man yells at him.fuck off“boy”, it sounds too. When he is pulled from his chair after a few seconds, loud applause is heard.
A group of concertgoers pulled the activist into the aisle and kicked him out of the building, says Extinction Rebellion spokesperson Jelle de Graaf. According to him, the activists were literally thrown out on the street. “They were pushed out of the room by twenty people and pushed to the ground,” he says. “A dangerous situation, purely for the peaceful expression of their views.”
“Find another place dude”, one of the concert-goers criticized the filming activists. But according to De Graaf, known for the table-sticking incident at Beau’s table, an action during Verdi’s Requim was deliberately chosen. “Very appropriate, at a funeral mass. Because so many people are already dying because of the climate crisis.” He compares the concert with that of a few musicians on the sinking Titanic, who continued to play stiffly while the ship went down. “While the climate crisis is already here, the Dutch elite continue to watch the concert.”
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