We have sent the following letter to the promoter Live Nation and to the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. It is with absolute incomprehension that we note that Live Nation and the Lanxess Arena are prepared to give Xavier Naidoo a stage on 16 and 17 December 2025. Naidoo has been spreading antisemitic conspiracy propaganda for years. This decision trivialises Jew-hatred and represents a slap in the face of all those who campaign against antisemitism in Germany day after day. Xavier Naidoo has repeatedly shown that he knows no red line:
- He described the Holocaust as a “successful historical fiction” and declared that Zyklon B was not suitable for gassing people.
- In his song “Raus aus dem Reichstag” he takes up the antisemitic Rothschild cliché with the code word “Baron Totschild”.
- He devalued Jews as “so-called Jews”, spoke of the “Central Council of Lies” and defamed Jewish life across the board as being characterised by “high treason, bribery and extortion”.
- He spread the blood libel and praised the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as the “most important document in the history of humanity”.
There are countless further instances of his hatred towards us.
That the very same venue – the Lanxess Arena – had already, despite broad protests, given the stage to the BDS icon Roger Waters on 9 May 2023 deepens our disbelief. Waters’ appearance in Cologne took place even though he was internationally criticised for antisemitic symbolism and BDS agitation.
Anyone who repeats the same mistake two years later with Xavier Naidoo signals indifference towards antisemitic agitation and offers dangerous narratives a glittering projection surface.
Our demands are therefore:
- The Lanxess Arena must close its halls to Naidoo for 16/17 December 2025.
- Live Nation must cancel the concerts immediately and cease all promotion.
- Ticket platforms, sponsors and media are called upon to give Naidoo no further reach.
This is not about “cancel culture”, but about protecting the open society. Anyone who spreads Holocaust denial and antisemitic myths must not be given a show stage in Germany – least of all under the roof of those who only recently courted Roger Waters.
No stage for antisemitism – cancel Xavier Naidoo’s appearances now!
Elio Adler
-Chairman of the Board-
*Correction: in the first version of our open letter of 9 July 2025 we wrote that the Lanxess Arena and Live Nation had staged a Roger Waters concert in 2023. With regard to Live Nation we unfortunately made a mistake; the information was not correct. It was the Lanxess Arena and FKP Scorpio. We ask you to excuse this oversight. However, this changes nothing about our assessment of the current concert announcements by Xavier Naidoo and about our demands.
