Sir Rod Stewart ‘booed’ in Germany after showing images of Ukraine flag and president
The singer was met with boos at a recent concert (Picture: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Sir Rod Stewart was booed while performing in Germany while singing the anti-war song he dedicated to Ukraine.
Sir Rod is currently touring in Europe and performed in Leipzig’s Quarterback Immobilien Arena on Friday, June 14.
While performing, the 79-year-old singer sang the 1991 hit Rhythm Of My Heart, which he has described as a war song over the years.
The Maggie May singer has dedicated this song to Ukraine for the last couple of years but was met with a mixed reaction after his recent performance.
Fans in Germany reportedly booed the singer when mid-performance images of the Ukrainian flag and the country’s President Zelensky appeared on screen.
It is unclear why the crowd reacted in this way but it has been speculated that it may have been linked to the sanctions by the EU on Russia’s natural gas which have been controversial in Germany.
Sir Rod is set to return to perform in Germany again at Hamburg’s Barclays Arena on Thursday, and it is unclear if he’ll make changes to his performance given the mixed reaction.
The singer’s anti-war song was met with mixed reviews (Picture: X/ hori_____zont)
In 2022, Sir Rod decided to dedicate an anti-war song to Ukraine during his upcoming tour.
‘I dedicate that to the Ukrainians, and we bring up a Ukrainian flag and Zelensky [on the big screen],’ he explained to PA at the time.
Sir Rod said he and his wife Penny Lancaster wanted to take action after seeing horrific scenes on the news.
‘When the war started, in this household we were shocked beyond shock. Because I was born just after the war and so my family came through the Second World War, and to see another ground war with tanks, I never thought we’d see the day, it was just shocking and it’s just beyond belief now,’ he said.
Sir Rod’s is performing across Europe at the moment (Picture: EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Sir Rod was knighted in the Queen’s 2016 birthday honours for services to music and charity.
He revealed in the PA interview that he hopes fans follow his charitable lead.
‘I’m a knight, I’ve got to do something and I hope other people follow. My charitable work in the future will be quiet but I just wanted somebody else to pick up the flag and maybe rent a house for someone,’ he said.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to Rod’s reps for comment.
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