Environmental activists from the “Last Generation” movement were evacuated on Friday evening at the opening of the prestigious Salzburg opera and theater festival after disrupting a play.
Three young activists loudly interrupted the performance to raise awareness about climate change. “We are the last generation capable of preventing tipping points” – these temperature thresholds which, once crossed, could lead to an irreversible vicious circle – they shouted before being escorted out of the room by the security services.
They intervened while the legendary play “Jedermann” (every man) was being played, an allegory on the Last Judgment written by the Viennese poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874-1929), one of the founders of the festival. It is traditionally taken up every year at the “Salzburger Festpiele”, which has been taking place since 1920 in this Austrian city.
For this edition, the director Michael Sturminger has rightly chosen to emphasize the impact of climate change. Fake activists even burst onto the stage at the start of the concert, according to the APA news agency.
Among the members of the environmental collective, Stefan Kogler-Sobl, a 25-year-old social worker and theater lover, explained that the decision to carry out this action “was not easy for him”. “But what are my other options? The richest of the rich are only interested in themselves and our politicians do (…) nothing,” he lamented in a statement.
Contacted by AFP, the organization of the festival did not react immediately.
