Green Day has canceled their upcoming stadium concert in Moscow amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The band had been set to perform at Spartak Stadium, an arena boasting an audience capacity of over 45,000, in Moscow on Sunday, May 29 as part of their ongoing Hella Mega Tour, though the trio – Billie Joe Armstrong,Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool – announced Sunday they decided to cancel the show. The date has since been removed from the band’s website.
In a statement shared to Green Day’s Instagram Story, the band announced “with heavy hearts” that “in light of current events we feel it is necessary to cancel our upcoming show in Moscow at Spartak Stadium.” The band said they “are aware that this moment is not about stadium rock shows, it’s much bigger than that.” Green Day went on to express hope of one day bringing their concert to their fans in Russia, adding, “but we also know that rock and roll is forever and we feel confident there will be a time and a place for us to return in the future. Stay safe.”
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Green Day marks just the latest musical act to pull out of scheduled performances in Russia amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which began last week and has resulted in numerous casualties and global condemnation. Russian rapper Oxxxymiron canceled six sold-out concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg in protest of President Vladimir V. Putin and his invasion of Ukraine. In a statement translated by The New York Times, the rapper said that he “cannot entertain you when Russian missiles are falling on Ukraine-when residents of Kyiv are forced to hide in basements and in the metro, while people are dying.” Pop act AJR made a similar decision, announcing that they “will be cancelling our upcoming show in Russia. Thank you to our Russian fans who oppose their country’s unprovoked and criminal behavior. Our hearts are with the people of Ukraine. At this point, the best thing you can do is share ACCURATE info.”
Geoff Meall, a London-based agent for Paradigm Agency, told Variety that it is likely that more cancellations will come. Meall, who said the agency has “acts due to be going there from next month right through the summer,” said he cannot “see any of those shows being able to happen. Ukraine is obviously an active war zone so it’s impossible to do a concert there, and with Russia, first, every government is advising its citizens not to go there unless it’s essential business – rock and roll probably wouldn’t be considered that – but more, a lot of artists wouldn’t want to be seen as supporting the actions of that government at the moment.”
As musical acts continue to cancel their Russian stops, the European Broadcasting Union has also banned Russia from the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest. In a statement, the organization said the decision “reflects concern that, in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine, the inclusion of a Russian entry in this year’s Contest would bring the competition into disrepute.”
