Rod Stewart booed by German crowd for Ukraine support

British pop singer Rod Stewartwas booed by members of the crowd at a concert on Friday when he made a show of support for Ukraine. 

The jeering appeared to get going at the event in Leipzig when Stewart saluted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with images of the Ukrainian flag, devastation in Ukraine, and Zelenskyy himself, appearing on a large screen behind the singer.

“F*** Putin,” he shouted, announcing – as he has regularly done – that he was dedicating his 1991 song ‘Rhythm of My Heart’ to Ukraine.

The response from the crowd in Leipzig has been read as emblematic of a wider growing unease in eastern Germany over continued western support for Kyiv. Recent polls suggest nearly half of voters in Germany's east want the government to provide Ukraine with less assistance.

Stewart has regularly condemned Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of 2022, and even supported a family of seven refugees fleeing Russian aggression. His current tour – billed as his final tour of Europe – includes upcoming stops in Hamburg, Munich, Paris and Vienna. 

Whether the rock icon will continue in his vocal support for Ukraine at his next tour stops, only time will tell.