On March 17, 2023, Roger Waters’ big tour, who will be 80 this September, will start in Lisbon under the title “This Is Not A Drill” (roughly translated: “This is not an exercise”).
The “non-exercise” leads through the largest halls in Europe. A multi-million dollar business, economically secured by special insurance, as is usual in the industry.
Meanwhile an excitement in the very top cabin, which is likely to escalate further in the weeks leading up to the first German shows in Hamburg (May 7th) and Cologne (May 9th). In Zurich, Switzerland, the BDS supporter Waters is already a guest on April 25 with his elaborate mega production. There, too, there is all sorts of political and media turmoil in the run-up to the event.
In Cologne, with its up to 20,000-seat arena, also called “Henkelmännchen” because of the arched roof, a majority of the local city council has asked the management of the multifunctional hall to cancel the Waters concert. A corresponding letter with the decision was sent to those responsible this Tuesday (February 21). A situation similar to that in Munich, where the Mayor there, Dieter Reiter, has been at odds with the Pink Floyd founding member (once revered by him as a music fan) for years.
Political statements are not enough for a concert ban
The local “Abendzeitung” (AZ) quotes the Giessen legal scholar Maximilian Roth in this case. He sees no possibility of banning the concert. According to Roth, it is “under no circumstances” enough to accuse artists of making political statements. “Only when the statements, attitudes and symbols become part of the art can this legitimize the intervention of the authorities”. Instead of a complete ban, he proposes certain restrictions (similar to the ultras in football stadiums). With Waters, one could “decree” that he was not allowed to present any “anti-Semitic symbols” in his stage show.
In the course of this escalating excitement, it is no wonder that Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Die Grünen) made a clear statement about the “Fall Waters” for the first time. Since the Documenta 2023 affair about works of art interpreted as anti-Semitic, coupled with my chaotic structure in the management of the happening in Kassel, Roth has been under particular pressure. Parliament experts regard the 67-year-old ex-band manager as “counted”.
In a conversation with the newspaper “Jüdische Allgemeine” on February 9, Roth said: “I extremely regret the development of a musician who was of great importance to many with the group Pink Floyd. Roger Waters has now notably become an active BDS supporter as well as a conspiracy theorist. As Minister of State for Culture, I cannot and do not want to ban a concert. Again: The fight against anti-Semitism is a task for society as a whole. That’s why I would wish that organizers would refrain from holding concerts with Roger Waters, and if they should take place anyway, that he would play to empty halls.”
With the Augsburger Puppenkiste you could now say “Gut Gebrüllt. lion!” whisper. However, a cancellation of the “This is not a drill” tour seems absurd. Only in the Polish city of Kraków was the Waters guest performance canceled due to his statements on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The Briton, who is always ready for arguments, wants to take legal action on his part.
As the saying goes: The pressure on the Waters boiler is increasing!