Oktoberfest Bans Gigi D'Agostino's Party
A scandal involving the misuse of a 20-year-old Electronica anthem for extreme right-wing chants keeps growing. As more cases of playing the song during events surface, the Munich Oktoberfest has stepped in with a ban. "L'Amour Toujours," composed by Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino, is no longer allowed at the Wiesn.
Munich's economic referent for the organization of the Oktoberfest, Clemens Baumgaertner, informed the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation (BR) that the song won't be played "in the tent nor anywhere else." Baumgaertner has instructed hosts and booth operators to follow these orders. The Munich Oktoberfest is known for its international and open-minded vibe.
"We will ban it and I will ban it," stated the Oktoberfest chief. "There's no space for right-wing nonsense on the Wiesn." Baumgaertner told BR that the song itself isn't right-wing radical but got a "very clear right-wing radical connotation."
The rules of Oktoberfest permit banning of such slogans or content. These regulations state that sexist, racist, or xenophobic statements aren't tolerated at the festival. Baumgaertner described the Wiesn as a "light-footed and beautiful" festivity with lots of foreign visitors. The organizers have stopped racist slogans in the past and hope to prevent such occurrences in the future. "The Wiesn is apolitical."
Recently, the German media has exploded with controversy after reports of racist lyrics being sung to "L'Amour Toujours" at a commercial Easter celebration in Syria. Authorities in Schleswig-Holstein are also investigating instances of this song being used in a racist manner at folk and shooting festivals in Bavaria and Lower Saxony.
Two guests at a festival in Erlangen shouted racist slogans to the anthem, too. At a Pentecost festival in the Upper Palatinate, visitors yelled "Auslaender raus" when the song was played. Moreover, students at a boarding school in Schleswig-Holstein were reported to have sung racist lyrics during a party.
In Rhineland-Palatinate's Mosel town of Kröv, police shut down a private party on Saturday after receiving indications of potentially forbidden music. There were indications that the party in Bernkastel-Wittlich district had verfassungsfeindliche Parolen (federally hostile slogans).
This controversy has sparked a nationwide discussion about the rising trend of right-wing extremist sentiments in the country. The practice of singing racist lyrics to "L'Amour Toujours," which first emerged in 1999, is nothing new, and warnings have been issued about the spread of right-wing extremist "meme culture."
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The ban on Gigi D'Agostino's song "L'Amour Toujours" at Oktoberfest extends beyond the tents, as hosts and booth operators have been instructed not to play it due to its association with right-wing extremism. This move comes in response to reports of racist lyrics being sung to the song at various events in Germany, such as festivals in Erlangen, Upper Palatinate, and boarding schools in Schleswig-Holstein.
Source: www.ntv.de
