Latest news with #MarkoPerkovic
News.com.au
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘Great shame': Singer breaks world crowd record as Nazi salute controversy erupts
Croatian star Marko Perković Thompson has made history with a massive show in Zagreb that reportedly drew more than half a million fans, breaking the world record for the largest ticketed music concert. But the event has also sparked international outrage over far-right salutes and symbolism among the crowd, with authorities warning that some attendees could face prosecution. Held at Zagreb's Hippodrome on Saturday night, the concert was billed as a 'musical and patriotic spectacle'. According to event headquarters, around 450,000 tickets were sold, while organisers claimed as many as 504,000 people attended. That figure would surpass the previous record held by Italian rocker Vasco Rossi, who sold 225,173 tickets for his 2017 show in Modena. Fans began arriving from the early morning hours on a hot summer day in the Croatian capital, eager to secure their spots at the vast open-air venue. By evening, the Hippodrome was packed with a sea of people waiting for Thompson to take the stage. The concert kicked off around 9pm and ran for three hours, delivering a powerful performance with one of the most elaborate stage productions ever seen in Croatia. The stage itself was an engineering feat, standing 33 metres high and stretching 150 metres wide, with the platform elevated three to four metres above the ground to give fans a better view. Due to the scale of the production, some high-end technical equipment had to be imported from Dubai, as the necessary gear could not be sourced within Croatia. Authorities called it one of the most logistically complex events ever held in the region. Nearly 14,000 personnel were on duty throughout the day, including police officers, firefighters, paramedics, Civil Protection units, Red Cross staff and private security. The Ministry of the Interior reported that 123 people were taken into custody during the event and medical teams responded to 245 interventions at the Hippodrome and nearby Bundek area. However, the concert has drawn heavy criticism over displays of Nazi-era symbolism and salutes linked to Croatia's World War II Ustaše regime. During the performance, Thompson played songs that included the controversial 'For the homeland, Ready!' salute, a phrase associated with the Ustaše, the Nazi-allied puppet government responsible for mass murders during the Second World War. He told the crowd, 'With this concert we will show our unity,' adding that he wanted to 'send a message to all of Europe to return to its tradition, to its Christian roots.' Large sections of the crowd were seen responding with the salute, prompting condemnation from Croatian and international observers. Croatian Ombudsperson Tena Simonovic Einwalter criticised authorities for failing to send a clear message that such expressions are unacceptable and illegal. Former Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor accused officials and media of indulging Thompson, while former Serbian president Boris Tadić labelled the scenes 'a great shame for Croatia' and 'eerie' for modern Europe. Croatian state television reported that a prominent handball player was dropped from his team after attending the show.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Croatia govt lashed over 'disgraceful neo-fascist Woodstock'
A massive concert in Croatia by a singer notorious for his pro-Nazi sympathies was branded a "neo-fascist Woodstock" Monday, with the opposition calling it a "global disgrace" that the prime minister was photographed with him beforehand. Marko Perkovic, known by his stage name Thompson, drew nearly half a million fans to the show Saturday despite having been banned from performing in several countries because of his sympathies for Croatia's World War II fascist Ustasha regime. The Ustasha persecuted and killed hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croatians during the war, and sent others to concentration camps. The folk-rock icon became popular for his nationalist songs in the 1990s during the country's war of independence as Yugoslavia broke up. During Saturday's concert at the Zagreb hippodrome Thompson sang one of his most famous songs that starts with the illegal Ustasha salute -- "Za Dom, Spremni" ("For the Homeland, Ready") -- and the crowd responded. - 'Global disgrace' - The salute was also used by the far-right paramilitary unit HOS during the 1990s war, and the singer argued earlier the song referred to that war. Many fans at the show were dressed in black T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan and dozens sang pro-Ustasha songs in central Zagreb on the eve of the event. Conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic attended the rehearsal and had a photo taken with the singer, while parliamentary speaker Gordan Jandrokovic was at the event. The massive use of the Ustasha symbols and slogans at the concert was slammed by left-wing opposition, NGOs, the EU nation's ombudswoman and the Serb minority. Croatian Serb leader Milorad Pupovac said shouting the slogan glorified the Ustasha and attempts to revive their spirit. "If Croatia is allowing space for these kinds of messages then I'm worried," he told reporters. But Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said he "cannot understand those who try to portray half a million people as extremists or radicals". The main opposition Social Democrats said "we witnessed a global disgrace in which extremist messages received state logistics and direct support from the top of the government." And a columnist in the Jutarnji list daily lashed Plenkovic's visit on the eve of the concert as "coming to worship... a neo-fascist Woodstock". The Youth Initiative for Human Rights NGO called the event "the largest fascist rally held in Europe since World War II" and said it represented a "direct attack on the fundamental values of the European Union." Ombudswoman Tena Simonovic Einwalter warned about condoning a large crowd using the Ustasha salute "as if it were something acceptable and legal. "A sufficiently clear message was not sent that all expressions of hatred and glorification of the darkest periods of the past are unacceptable and illegal." Meanwhile, Serbia's parliamentary speaker Ana Brnabic said she was shocked by the absence of any EU condemnation of the concert. Warning that the Ustasha salute was the equivalent of the Nazi "Sieg Heil", she said on X that the EU had to make clear "there can be no place on the European continent for such dangerous, hate-filled rhetoric". In recent years, more people have been pushing for Croatia to stop demonising its pro-Nazi past, presenting the Ustasha as the nation's founding fathers, with critics accusing the authorities of failing to sanction the use of their emblems. ljv/fg
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Croatian right-wing singer Marko Perkovic and fans perform pro-Nazi salute at massive concert
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — A hugely popular right-wing Croatian singer and hundreds of thousands of his fans performed a pro-Nazi World War II salute at a massive concert in Zagreb, drawing criticism. One of Marko Perkovic's most popular songs, played in the late Saturday concert, starts with the dreaded 'For the homeland — Ready!' salute, used by Croatia's Nazi-era puppet Ustasha regime that ran concentration camps at the time. Perkovic, whose stage name is Thompson after a U.S.-made machine gun, had previously said both the song and the salute focus on the 1991-95 ethnic war in Croatia, in which he fought using the American firearm, after the country declared independence from the former Yugoslavia. He says his controversial song is 'a witness of an era.' The 1990s conflict erupted when rebel minority Serbs, backed by neighboring Serbia, took up guns, intending to split from Croatia and unite with Serbia. Perkovic's immense popularity in Croatia reflects prevailing nationalist sentiments in the country 30 years after the war ended. The WWII Ustasha troops in Croatia brutally killed tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma and antifascist Croats in a string of concentration camps in the country. Despite documented atrocities, some nationalists still view the Ustasha regime leaders as founders of the independent Croatian state. Organizers said that half a million people attended Perkovic's concert in the Croatian capital. Video footage aired by Croatian media showed many fans displaying pro-Nazi salutes earlier in the day. The salute is punishable by law in Croatia, but courts have ruled Perkovic can use it as part of his song, the Croatian state television HRT said. Perkovic has been banned from performing in some European cities over frequent pro-Nazi references and displays at his gigs. Croatia's Vecernji List daily wrote that the concert's 'supreme organization' has been overshadowed by the use of the salute of a regime that signed off on 'mass executions of people.' Regional N1 television noted that whatever the modern interpretations of the salute may be its roots are 'undoubtedly' in the Ustasha regime era. N1 said that while 'Germans have made a clear cut" from anything Nazi-related 'to prevent crooked interpretations and the return to a dark past ... Croatia is nowhere near that in 2025.' In neighboring Serbia, populist President Aleksandar Vucic criticized Perkovic's concerts as a display 'of support for pro-Nazi values.' Former Serbian liberal leader Boris Tadic said it was a 'great shame for Croatia" and "the European Union' because the concert 'glorifies the killing of members of one nation, in this case Serbian.' Croatia joined the EU in 2013. Croatian police said Perkovic's concert was the biggest ever in the country and an unseen security challenge, deploying thousands of officers. No major incidents were reported.
Int'l Business Times
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Int'l Business Times
Croatia Govt Lashed Over 'Disgraceful Neo-fascist Woodstock'
A massive concert in Croatia by a singer notorious for his pro-Nazi sympathies was branded a "neo-fascist Woodstock" Monday, with the opposition calling it a "global disgrace" that the prime minister was photographed with him beforehand. Marko Perkovic, known by his stage name Thompson, drew nearly half a million fans to the show Saturday despite having been banned from performing in several countries because of his sympathies for Croatia's World War II fascist Ustasha regime. The Ustasha persecuted and killed hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croatians during the war, and sent others to concentration camps. The folk-rock icon became popular for his nationalist songs in the 1990s during the country's war of independence as Yugoslavia broke up. During Saturday's concert at the Zagreb hippodrome Thompson sang one of his most famous songs that starts with the illegal Ustasha salute -- "Za Dom, Spremni" ("For the Homeland, Ready") -- and the crowd responded. The salute was also used by the far-right paramilitary unit HOS during the 1990s war, and the singer argued earlier the song referred to that war. Many fans at the show were dressed in black T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan and dozens sang pro-Ustasha songs in central Zagreb on the eve of the event. Conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic attended the rehearsal and had a photo taken with the singer, while parliamentary speaker Gordan Jandrokovic was at the event. The massive use of the Ustasha symbols and slogan at the concert was slammed by left-wing opposition, NGOs and the EU nation's ombudswoman. But Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said he "cannot understand those who try to portray half a million people as extremists or radicals". The main opposition Social Democrats said "we witnessed a global disgrace in which extremist messages received state logistics and direct support from the top of the government." And a columnist in the Jutarnji list daily lashed Plenkovic's visit on the eve of the concert as "coming to worship... a neo-fascist Woodstock". The Youth Initiative for Human Rights NGO called the event "the largest fascist rally held in Europe since World War II" and said it represented a "direct attack on the fundamental values of the European Union." Ombudswoman Tena Simonovic Einwalter warned about condoning a large crowd using the Ustasha salute "as if it were something acceptable and legal. "A sufficiently clear message was not sent that all expressions of hatred and glorification of the darkest periods of the past are unacceptable and illegal." In recent years, more people have been pushing for Croatia to stop demonising and embrace its pro-Nazi past, presenting the Ustasha as the nation's founding fathers, with critics accusing the authorities of failing to sanction the use of their emblems. Some fans gave the banned Ustasha salute during and before the concert AFP Controversial: Croatia's nationalist singer Marko Perkovic Thompson AFP
France 24
07-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Croatia govt lashed over 'disgraceful neo-fascist Woodstock'
Marko Perkovic, known by his stage name Thompson, drew nearly half a million fans to the show Saturday despite having been banned from performing in several countries because of his sympathies for Croatia's World War II fascist Ustasha regime. The Ustasha persecuted and killed hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croatians during the war, and sent others to concentration camps. The folk-rock icon became popular for his nationalist songs in the 1990s during the country's war of independence as Yugoslavia broke up. During Saturday's concert at the Zagreb hippodrome Thompson sang one of his most famous songs that starts with the illegal Ustasha salute -- "Za Dom, Spremni" ("For the Homeland, Ready") -- and the crowd responded. 'Global disgrace' The salute was also used by the far-right paramilitary unit HOS during the 1990s war, and the singer argued earlier the song referred to that war. Many fans at the show were dressed in black T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan and dozens sang pro-Ustasha songs in central Zagreb on the eve of the event. Conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic attended the rehearsal and had a photo taken with the singer, while parliamentary speaker Gordan Jandrokovic was at the event. The massive use of the Ustasha symbols and slogan at the concert was slammed by left-wing opposition, NGOs and the EU nation's ombudswoman. But Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said he "cannot understand those who try to portray half a million people as extremists or radicals". The main opposition Social Democrats said "we witnessed a global disgrace in which extremist messages received state logistics and direct support from the top of the government." And a columnist in the Jutarnji list daily lashed Plenkovic's visit on the eve of the concert as "coming to worship... a neo-fascist Woodstock". The Youth Initiative for Human Rights NGO called the event "the largest fascist rally held in Europe since World War II" and said it represented a "direct attack on the fundamental values of the European Union." Ombudswoman Tena Simonovic Einwalter warned about condoning a large crowd using the Ustasha salute "as if it were something acceptable and legal. "A sufficiently clear message was not sent that all expressions of hatred and glorification of the darkest periods of the past are unacceptable and illegal." In recent years, more people have been pushing for Croatia to stop demonising and embrace its pro-Nazi past, presenting the Ustasha as the nation's founding fathers, with critics accusing the authorities of failing to sanction the use of their emblems. © 2025 AFP
