While Dino Merlin’s fans in Belgrade waited in line for hours to buy tickets for his concert announced in November, calls were published on right-wing Telegram channels for that musician from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to be banned from entering Serbia.
An online petition was also launched, which was signed by 18,700 people from July 27th until the publication of the text.
The alleged statements of Dino Merlin against the Serbs during the war in the territory of the former Yugoslavia are mentioned as the reason for the ban.
BiH musician has repeatedly denied many of the allegations and statements attributed to him.
Call for a ban on pro-Russian right-wing Telegram channels
Tickets for Dino Merlin’s first concert, scheduled for November 18th, were sold out on July 26th.
A day later, an online petition appeared. The call for the ban and the link to the petition was shared on several pro-Russian right-wing channels.
“I have never said that I hate anyone. That verb does not exist for me. It is a notorious lie. So much that has been written about me all these years is completely fabricated,” Merlin said in 2011 on one TV show in Serbia, ahead of his first concert after the war.
‘‘Politics is politics, I don’t interfere’‘
Tickets for Dino Merlin’s two concerts in November in Belgrade’s Stark Arena, which can accommodate up to 20,000 visitors, were sold out in two days.
In the meantime, tickets for the third concert have also gone on sale. Ticket prices range from 25 to 55 euros.
When asked how she comments on calls for a ban, Ivana Veljkovic from Belgrade said:
“Politics is politics, I don’t interfere. As far as I am concerned, he is an amazing artist, I adore him. I see him as an artist.”
