The openly gay musician's two concerts in Russia are 'on the verge of collapse' after officials suspect he will use it as platform to break the country's new law against gay propaganda.
- Dec 3, 2013
AceShowbiz - Elton John is scheduled to play two shows in Russia this Friday and Saturday, November 6-7. However, the upcoming shows may be canceled as officials in the country suspect the British musician will break their new law against gay propaganda.
Russian media reports that John's Russian concerts are "on the verge of collapse" because of his stated intention to use it as a platform to express his solidarity with the country's gay community. "I've got to go," he said of keeping the shows going in an interview back in September.
"And I've got to think about what I'm going to say very carefully. 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," he continued.
"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," he added.
Russia's Your Day said that no decision had been made on whether or not the shows could continue as planned. The tabloid also reported that the preparation of the gigs had already cost a significant amount of money. The list of requests runs for fifty pages and it includes John's hotel dressing room in Moscow being turned into a "paradise garden" with "decorative birds" and trees.
