It has been widely reported that Roger Waters has cancelled concerts planned in Poland ahead of City councillors in Kraków voting next week on a proposal to name Waters as a persona non grata, over the his stance on the war in Ukraine.
Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has cancelled concerts planned in Poland amid outrage over his stance on Russia’s war against Ukraine, Polish media reported on Saturday.
An official with the Tauron Arena in Kraków, where the musician was scheduled to perform two concerts in April 2023, said they would no longer take place.
“Roger Waters’ manager decided to withdraw – without giving any reason,” Łukasz Pytko, from Tauron Arena Kraków, said in comments reported by Polish media outlets.
The website for Waters’ This Is Not a Drill concert tour did not list the Kraków concerts previously scheduled for 21 and 22 April.
City councillors in Kraków were expected to vote next week on a proposal to name Waters as a persona non grata, expressing “indignation” over the musician’s stance on the war in Ukraine.
Waters wrote an open letter to the Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska, early this month in which he blamed “extreme nationalists” in Ukraine for having “set your country on the path to this disastrous war”.
The 79-year-old also criticised the west for supplying Ukraine with weapons, blaming Washington, in particular. Waters has also condemned Nato, accusing it of provoking Russia.
Waters himself has reacted to the reports, denying he cancelled the gigs but admitting the meeting to declare him “Persona non grata” may go ahead:
What Waters’ rambling post does not explain is where the Poland tour dates went. They certainly no longer appear as part of his tour:
So he is either lying, or he needs to hire a new manager. Given his history of lying, option 1 seems more likely.
Also, what is “not democratic” about urging people not to buy tickets to his show? Sounds very democratic to me – certainly more so than demanding people boycott an entire country.
How rich of him to also complain that this is “draconian censoring” of his work that “will deny” them the “opportunity to make up their own minds.” This is exactly what Waters is advocating when he demands people boycott Israel.
And funny how Waters expresses his sadness over not being able to perform in Poland since he has “been looking forward to sharing my message of love with the people of Poland” and that “it will deny the people of Krakow the opportunity to see my current show… which is an important addition to a lifetime’s body of work.” It seems Jewish Israelis are not worthy in his eyes to receive this message of love.
I am glad more and more people are seeing Waters for the vile person he is.
