November 5, 2007 10:33

Kosheen cancel gig at former Nazi death camp

Band say they were unaware of the site's history

Kosheen cancelled a gig at Belgrade’s Poseidon Hall, which had been scheduled to take place at the weekend (November 3), after the band discovered that the venue used to be part of a World War II Nazi death camp.

The hall was part of the Sajmiste concentration camp site during the conflict, and around 48,000 Jews, Serbs and gypsies were killed there.

The band released a statement saying: “Kosheen have been distressed and sorry to learn in the past few days of Poseidon Hall's former use. If Kosheen had known it's true history, they would never have agreed to play the venue, and as such have cancelled their show.”

The band said they hope to play a gig in Belgrade in the near future instead.

Jewish groups had protested against the gig, while Efraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre had condemned the planned concert, calling it “a heartless insult to the memory of the victims of the Nazis”.