Music group Massive Attack has cancelled their upcoming show at Black Sea Arena in Georgia in support of anti-government protests happening across the country. The group announced their decision on social media, stating that they cancelled the show in protest of the Georgian government’s attack on basic human rights. The cancellation comes amidst nationwide protests opposing a new proposed law on the transparency of foreign influence, which requires NGOs to disclose their income if more than 20% of any funding they receive is from outside Georgia.
The law was established to “protect Georgia’s sovereignty from foreign influences,” but has been compared to the Russian foreign agent law. Protesters believe that performing at the state-owned Black Sea Arena could be seen as an endorsement of the government’s violent crackdown against peaceful protests and civil society. Massive Attack expressed that the recent beatings, arrests, threats, and violence against peaceful protesters and activists, along with laws smearing civil society and denying LGBTI rights, go against everything that they stand for.
Over the past few months, hundreds of thousands of people have protested against the Georgian government outside parliament in Tbilisi. Protests across the city have been supported by the club community, including Bassiani, KHIDI, and TES. Georgian electronic music festival 4GB also cancelled its 2024 edition due to political unrest days before it was set to take place. Massive Attack expressed their support for peaceful protesters defying state violence in Georgia, adding that they will return to Georgia “in freedom” in the future.
Gemma Ross, the Assistant Editor of Mixmag, reported the article, mentioning that protests have been ongoing across Georgia for some time and have been backed by popular music institutions in the area. These institutions, such as Bassiani, KHIDI, and TES, have pledged their support for the protesters and against the new laws around the transparency of foreign influence. Massive Attack’s cancellation of their show is seen as a significant act of solidarity with the protestors, who are fighting for their basic human rights
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