Roger Waters’ May 28 concert in Frankfurt, Germany, has been cancelled, the city announced in an official statement last week. “The background to the cancellation is the persistent anti-Israel behavior of the former leader of Pink Floyd, considered one of the most widespread anti-Semites in the world,” the city wrote, according to a translation by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “He repeatedly called for a cultural boycott of Israel and drew comparisons to the apartheid regime in South Africa and pressured artists to cancel events in Israel.”
Waters continues his lengthy This Is Not a Drill Tour in Europe in March. He is currently scheduled to perform in Hamburg, Cologne, Berlin and Munich and, according to the Frankfurt statement, there are calls for the cancellation of all Waters shows in Germany.
In an interview with Rolling Stone Last year, Waters referred to Israel as “an apartheid state” and compared the country to apartheid-era South Africa. He has also criticized other musicians, including Madonna, Radiohead, Nick Cave and the Chemical Brothers, for performing in Israel.
Waters is a supporter of Palestine and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which advocates for Israel to change its policies toward Palestinians. Consequently, Waters has supported artists like Lorde who have given up concerts in Israel.
The Frankfurt concert is not the first time in recent years that a Roger Waters show has been canceled due to his political views. Last year, Krakow canceled two performances because of Waters’ views on the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.
Pitchfork has reached out to representatives for Roger Waters for comment and more information on the Frankfurt concert.
