The Flanders Festival Gent has decided to cancel the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra's concert on 18 September 2025. That is when the orchestra was scheduled to perform in Ghent together with its future chief conductor Lahav Shani. It was to be one of the artistic highlights of the festival. Image: Screenshot https://www.gentfestival.be/en/event/munich-philharmonic-conducted-by-lahav-shani
On 18 September, after the board of directors of the Flanders Festival in Ghent had decided that the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, and especially its conductor Lahav Shani, would not be performing at the festival as planned today, Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, stated during a visit to the Auschwitz Memorial:
“For Holocaust survivors, this day, and the decision of the festival in Ghent, will remain another sad and particularly shameful example of the growing anti-Semitism in Europe, which is becoming increasingly visible alongside cowardly security concerns and moral arrogance. Holocaust survivors thank all those who have expressed their respect for Lahav Shani and his message of humanity and reconciliation. They applaud him today on 18 September, a dark day for culture in Europe, and express great respect and gratitude for his music and his upright commitment to human dignity.”