No Stage for Putin’s Supporter

Vitsche e.V. calls for protest against Anna Netrebko’s performance on July 21

On July 21, 2025, internationally controversial soprano Anna Netrebko is scheduled to perform at the Classic Open Air Festival at Berlin’s Gendarmenmarkt — an event promoted by the publicly funded platform VisitBerlin.de.

The Berlin-based Ukrainian NGO Vitsche e.V., together with GZA Europe, Chervona Kalyna Berlin, Ukrainian Alliance, Cult Resist, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Community in Berlin, will hold a demonstration from 6:00 to 9:00 PM at all three entrances to the concert venue.

This protest aims to make visible what the concert seeks to ignore: Netrebko’s public alignment with the Russian regime and the symbolic normalization of propaganda on Berlin’s most iconic cultural stages.

📍 Event Information

Date & Time: Sunday, July 21, 2025 – 18:00–21:00
Location: Gendarmenmarkt, Berlin
Format: Demonstration with speeches, visuals, and performance elements – designed for media visibility.

Following pressure from concert organizers to move the protest further away, Vitsche’s legal team successfully defended the right to demonstrate at the site.

Under the agreed terms:

• 🕕 6:00–7:30 PM: We will be loud — with voices, sound, and public presence

• 🕢 7:30–8:30 PM: During the performance, we are legally required to remain silent
  — but will stay visibly present with large, bold protest signs

• 🕣 8:30–9:00 PM: During the intermission, our voices will rise again

“While Netrebko sings, we are forced into silence. Her voice is protected – ours must fight to be seen.”

This asymmetry is telling. A voice aligned with an imperialist regime gets full protection. Ukrainian voices must negotiate — just to be heard.