Several hundred people gathered outside the Leipzig Opera House to protest the invitation to the controversial RAMMSTEIN singer Till Lindemann to be a special guest at Saturday’s Leipzig Opera Ball. The news was reported by German magazine Der Spiegel. 

About 200 demonstrators gathered opposite the red carpet on Augustusplatz on Saturday, according to a dpa reporter on the scene. They voiced their protest using banners, whistles and chants.

Police described the gathering as peaceful, with the number of participants reaching up to 400.

“We want to make the organizers aware that next time they should think more about the selection of guests in advance,” said Irena Rudolph-Kokot from a local Leipzig action network. The “Leipzig nimmt Platz alliance” and other groups had called for protests.

Lindemann is on the guest list as a VIP for this year’s Opera Ball in Leipzig, along with other guests from society, politics and business.

Saxony’s state Equal Opportunities Minister, Petra Köpping, cancelled her participation in the ball at short notice.

Lindemann, the 62-year-old frontman of the German metal band Rammstein, was at the centre of serious allegations of sexual misconduct two years ago. Several women had made accusations against him, some of them anonymously.

Lindemann rejected the allegations. In August 2023, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office dropped its investigation into the star.

The alliance “Together against sexualised violence and abuse of power” had criticized the invitation to Lindemann and called for a demonstration.

Responding to the criticism of Lindemann, Opera Ball organizer Vivian Honert-Boddin said, “We do not exclude anyone.”

Now in its 30th year, the Opera Ball is a charity event at which the proceeds from a raffle are donated to a Leipzig children’s foundation.