Elton John Moscow concert to go ahead despite anti-gay law concerns

Elton John’s sold-out concert in Moscow on Friday will go ahead despite concerns over the country’s new laws on homosexuality, organisers have said.

“Despite groundless rumours spread on the internet and in media that Elton John’s concerts in Russia could be cancelled, the organiser assures you that they will go ahead as planned,” the Russian concert promoters SAV Entertainment said in a statement. The singer is also scheduled to play in Kazan on Saturday.

Earlier this year, Vladimir Putin signed a controversial new law into force that bans “homosexual propaganda” among minors. A September telephone poll on the liberal Ekho Moskvy radio station found that 52% of respondents thought Elton John’s concerts should be judged as “homosexual propaganda”.

John publicly said he was gay in 1988. He lives with his partner, David Furnish. In 2009, the couple attempted to adopt a child in Ukraine, but was denied because of his sexuality. Russia has recently introduced a law banning all adoptions from countries where gay marriage is legal.

In September, the singer told the Guardian he felt an obligation to perform in Russia. “There’s two avenues of thought: do you stop everyone going, ban all the artists coming in from Russia? But then you’re really leaving the men and women who are gay and suffering under the anti-gay laws in an isolated situation. As a gay man, I can’t leave those people on their own without going over there and supporting them. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’ve got to go.”

With the Sochi Olympics approaching, the Russian government has been shocked by the amount of attention the law has received in the west and the rhetoric appears to have been toned down somewhat. Putin recently insisted that the law does not discriminate against gay people and is only meant to protect children. Gay rights activists say the law has worsened a climate of homophobia and encouraged attacks on gay people.

While the singer’s sexuality makes him a target for Russia’s new laws, he has a huge number of fans in the country. Opposition politician Ilya Yashin said the mixed reception he is likely to receive is symbolic of a cultural confusion in Russia.

“Once again we’ll feel ashamed of wild ultra-Orthodox activists protesting against his visit, but I hope Sir Elton John won’t notice their homophobic hysterics,” he said. “It’s a kind of national schizophrenia: on the one hand Russia is trying to create a sort of Orthodox Iran here, but at the same time we feel eager to fill up stadiums with Madonna or Elton John fans.”

Source: The Guardian