Tour start by Roger Waters: protests in Cologne announced

This Sunday (May 7th) Roger Waters is coming to Germany with the “This Is Not a Drill” tour – the first of several concerts in German cities will take place in Hamburg. While no official demos have yet been announced there, protests have already been publicly called for in Cologne. “No stage for anti-Semitism” – that is the motto of a Cologne initiative criticizing Roger Waters’ planned concert in the Lanxess Arena. Roger Waters will perform there on May 9, 2023, but apparently not without a headwind.

The co-founder of Pink Floyd has repeatedly made anti-Semitic statements in the past – the 79-year-old also propagates a sometimes drastic pro-Palestine policy. In the past few weeks, members of the city council have therefore spoken out in favor of canceling Roger Waters’ concert in Cologne. However, the musician had resisted and turned on his lawyers. The Lanxess Arena announced that there was no legal basis for an extraordinary termination of the present lease.

Information about the planned protest action

Therefore, on May 8th at 5 p.m., a rally will take place on Roncalliplatz near Cologne Cathedral as a protest against the forthcoming concert. Also present: Mayor Henriette Reker. According to “Express”, the protest action is being organized by the Cologne Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation, the Cologne Synagogue Community, the German-Israeli Society in Cologne, the Evangelical Church Association in Cologne and the region, the Catholic City Deanery in Cologne, and the EL-DE-Haus Cologne association and the Cologne-Tel Aviv-Yafo town twinning association. In addition, political parties and the alliance “Cologne stands cross” are committed to the campaign.

Criticism of Roger Waters: “Jewish hostility has no place in our city”

Bettina Levy from the synagogue community in Cologne found clear words for Roger Waters’ radical attitude: “There is no place for Roger Waters in Cologne. We don’t allow anti-Semitism to find a platform under the cover of artistic freedom.” “We mustn’t remain silent, we have to name anti-Semitic ideas. Clarity should contribute to sensitizing people to anti-Semitism. Jew-phobia has no place in our city,” said Bernhard Seiger from the Evangelical Church Association during a press conference that took place on May 4th. “Waters is a role model for many people. He has to take responsibility for his message. How does it feel for Jewish people to feel such hatred?”