According to their own statements, activists from the climate protest group Last Generation stuck themselves to the conductor’s podium during a concert in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie. A spokesman for the Hamburg police confirmed on Wednesday evening at the request of the AFP news agency that two people had stuck themselves in the concert hall. He did not initially provide any further information, referring to the ongoing deployment.
In a video that the group shared on Twitter, a woman and a man, each wearing a safety vest, were seen standing at the podium on stage and speaking to the audience. The activists called for resistance to what they saw as the government’s indecisive climate policy.
“Just as there is only one Beethoven violin concerto, we only have this one planet whose boundaries we so disregard that climate-related disasters are becoming more frequent and deadly,” said an activist in a video posted to Twitter by “Last Generation”. And: “There will be no more Elbphilharmonie to enjoy Beethoven when Hamburg is under water.”
A police spokesman said when asked by the German Press Agency that two activists had glued themselves to a railing in the Great Hall with superglue on Wednesday evening shortly after 8 p.m. – a few moments before the start of the concert by the Sächsische Staatskapelle. The two were released from the railing after a short time and taken into custody.
In the past few weeks, climate activists have caused a stir across Europe with various actions. They blocked roads and attacked paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet and Francisco Goya, among others. The activists want to demand a stronger commitment against global warming.
