THE war in Ukraine has left a trail of devastation and displacement, with millions of Ukrainian citizens fleeing the incursion by Russian forces. The sentiment in Europe and most of the world has been overwhelmingly in support of Ukraine.
On Sunday, a venue in the Polish city of Krakow cancelled concerts by Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters after the artiste made remarks criticising Ukraine’s appproach to defending itself. Poland has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
Waters was to perform in Krakow next April, but received backlash after Polish media reported on an open letter he wrote to Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska urging her to ask her husband to choose “a different route” to peace, and criticising the West for supplying Ukraine with arms against Russia.
On Saturday, Krakow concert organisers announced the cancellation of Waters’ show, claiming it was at the artiste’s request.
In a social media post the next day, Waters denied that he or his management had cancelled the gigs and criticised a local councillor, Lukasz Wantuch, for voting to make him unwelcome in the city.
Waters wrote that if his “forthcoming concerts in Krakow are cancelled, it will be a sad loss for me, because I have been looking forward to sharing my message of love with the people of Poland.”
