Placebo cancels performances in Kazakhstan and Georgia after criticism from Ukrainians: who else boycotts the festival sponsored by Russian Yandex

The British rock band Placebo has canceled its upcoming participation in the Park Live festival in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and a concert in Tbilisi, Georgia, following criticism from Ukrainian fans. Due to the fact that the band is sponsored by the propaganda search engine Yandex, fans began to sound the alarm.

The artists were forced to announce the unpleasant news for Russians and other fans from the CIS countries 6 days before the show. On Instagram, they did not give a specific reason for the cancellation but noted that it was "not related to the professionalism of the organizers."

"Dear Placebo Fans. We are very sorry to announce that we will be unable to perform at Park Live Festival in Almaty, Kazakhstan on September 8th. There are compelling circumstantial reasons for this, not related to the professionalism of the organisers, which we were unable to resolve. Consequently, despite the best efforts of our Georgian promoters, this has made it logistically impossible for us to perform in Tbilisi on September 12th," the statement reads.

Placebo apologized to fans for the inconvenience they caused and said they hope to return to Kazakhstan and Georgia "in the future when it's possible."

Following the news,the festival's Instagram page posted a message stating that instead of Placebo, another British rock band, The Kooks, would perform on stage.

In the comments, Russians began to blame Placebo and said that they treated their fans like s**t:

• The band itself f***ed up, just f***ed up. The organizers are not to blame. They treated their fans disgustingly.

• Placebo, of course, have a lot of respect for their fans (sarcasm). A week before the concert, they canceled it. Clearly, Yandex had nothing to do with it (still sarcasm).
• I can't believe it. Everything was planned just for Placebo: tickets were bought from St. Petersburg, and a vacation was taken.

The rock band announced their participation in Park Live on social media on June 3. When Ukrainians learned about the sponsor, they flooded the comments and criticized the band. Soon after, they deleted all the posts and turned off the comment section under the news.

Criticism of Ukrainians can only be found on X. They noted that with this gesture, Placebo not only demonstrates its support for Russia, but also receives a fee from the war's sponsor:

• I am completely disappointed. How could you cooperate with Russia and take Russian money from the Russian company Yandex? And then you just deleted all the comments on your Instagram. It's very disappointing.
• All your songs have been removed from our playlists. It's a shame.
• There are many local promoters in Kazakhstan, but you chose a Russian festival and a large Russian technology company that sponsors the war in my country. I've been to two of your concerts in Kyiv and can't imagine my life without Placebo, but this is a huge betrayal of your fans in Ukraine.
• Taking Russian money from Yandex? Aren't you ashamed of yourself?
• You seem not at all embarrassed by the fact that Yandex supports the war and is one of the taxpayers that supports the war, circumventing sanctions with the help of Kazakhstan. Money does not smell. It's a pity.

It is worth noting that in July, another British rock band, Editors, refused to participate in the scandalous music festival, Suspilne reported. They explained that they did not know that Yandex was the sponsor of the multi-day show.

"As some people are aware, we have been in talks to play Park Live festival in Almaty, Kazakhstan. However, having now been informed who the sponsor of the event is, we have decided to withdraw our involvement. We dearly hope to come to Kazakhstan in the future, under different circumstances," the band said.

Previously, Park Live was held in Moscow, but in 2024, it was decided to organize it in Kazakhstan. This decision was probably made in order to circumvent EU sanctions and invite foreign artists. Among the headliners of the show were the South African duo Die Antwoord, American rapper Tyga and Kazakh rapper Scriptonite.

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