Roger Waters denies that he’s cancelled Poland shows over Ukraine comments
Former Pink Floyd creative director Roger Waters has released a statement denying reports that he has cancelled the Polish stop of his 2023 world tour. He has instead accused a Krakow councillor -the city he’s scheduled to perform next April – of attempting to censor him.
As part of his lengthy 2023 tour, Waters is booked to perform at the Tauron Arena in Krakow on April 21 and 22, but interest was sparked when the dates were removed from his website. Following this, a report in The Guardian claimed they were cancelled after he made what were perceived by some to be divisive comments on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The report states that Lukasz Pytko, a representative for the Tauron Arena, claimed that Waters’ management “decided to withdraw [from their scheduled booking] without giving any reason”. Furthermore, it suggests that the city councillors in Krakow are preparing to vote on a proposal that would view the former Pink Floyd man as a “persona non grata”, because of their collective “indignation” at his comments on the war in Ukraine.
Now though, Waters has hit back. He denies the report and maintains that he and his team have not cancelled the scheduled shows in Krakow and that he is very much looking forward to playing in the city.
He wrote: “It is true that a town councillor in Krakow, a Mr Łukasz Wantuch, has threatened to hold a meeting asking the council to declare me ‘persona non grata’ because of my public efforts to encourage all involved in the disastrous war in Ukraine, especially the governments of the USA and Russia, to work towards a negotiated peace, rather than escalate matters towards a bitter end that could be nuclear war and the end of all life on this planet.”
“Not withstanding that this chap Łukasz Wantuch seems to know nothing of my history of working, all my life, at some personal cost, in the service of human rights, he, in an article in a local newspaper urged the good people of Krakow not to buy tickets to my show. Not very democratic sir?”
Waters proceeded to assure fans that he is still planning on performing the two dates in Krakow in April 2023, and caveated his point by stating that it would “be a sad loss for me” if Wantuch gets his wishes. Elsewhere he described the councillor’s efforts as “draconian”, saying that they will “deny [the people of Krakow] the opportunity to make up their own minds” on his new live show.
He explained: “I have been looking forward to sharing my message of love with the people of Poland, something I have been doing on many tours over a career that has lasted in excess of 50 years.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.