{"id":41660,"date":"2025-07-05T20:59:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T20:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/41660\/"},"modified":"2025-07-05T20:59:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T20:59:08","slug":"controversial-right-wing-singer-marko-perkovic-draws-tens-of-thousands-to-zagreb-concert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/41660\/","title":{"rendered":"Controversial right-wing singer Marko Perkovic draws tens of thousands to Zagreb concert"},"content":{"rendered":"

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) \u2014 A concert by Marko Perkovic, the right-wing<\/a> singer notorious for his perceived sympathy for Croatia<\/a> \u2018s World War II pro-Nazi puppet regime<\/a>, gathered tens of thousands of fans to Zagreb<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n

As he came out to the stage, Thompson told the crowd that \u201cwith this concert we will show our unity.\u201d He urged the rest of Europe to \u201creturn to its tradition and Christian roots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some 450,000 are expected to be in attendance at the Hippodrome, the biggest concert in Croatia\u2019s history, according to the police, viewed as a major security challenge. <\/p>\n

Perkovic, also known as Thompson, has been banned from performing in some European cities over frequent pro-Nazi displays at his gigs, but he remains hugely popular in Croatia, frequently attending rallies and sports events. <\/p>\n

Organizers said any display of any hate-fueling insignia is strictly banned at Saturday\u2019s concert. <\/p>\n

Some fans were seen wrapped in Croatian flags while others wore black Thompson-inscribed T-shirts.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee you at Hippodrome,\u201d Perkovic wrote on Facebook. \u201cTake care of each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Zagreb, a city of nearly 700,000 people, the event has been virtually blocked and traffic suspended in various areas days before the event. Authorities deployed thousands of police officers and set up a special control center and a field hospital. <\/p>\n

The state-owned HRT television said snipers were guarding the venue and helicopters were flying above as visitors streamed in. <\/p>\n

Some fans told The Associated Press they expected good fun and were happy to be at such an event gathering so many Croats in one place. <\/p>\n

\u201cThompson is a patriot. He does not insult anyone, he loves everybody,\u201d said Ivica from eastern Croatia, who gave only his first name. <\/p>\n

But not everyone was pleased. <\/p>\n

Former Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor on X criticized how \u201cthe state and the city have been put in service of one man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThrill and excitement as fans at downtown Zagreb already sing songs from the era of the criminal state,\u201d Kosor wrote on X. \u201cNo media are reporting about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Croatia\u2019s WWII Ustasha regime<\/a> ran concentration camps where tens of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croats were brutally executed.<\/p>\n

Some of Perkovic\u2019s songs include the Ustasha salute<\/a>, punishable by law in Croatia, and other references to the pro-Nazi regime. S ome Croatian nationalists<\/a> view the leaders of the Ustasha regime as the country\u2019s founders despite the recorded atrocities. <\/p>\n

Perkovic first became popular during a bloody 1991-95 ethnic war that erupted after Croatia declared independence from former Yugoslavia, in which he fought. <\/p>\n

Nicknamed \u201cThompson\u201d after an antique U.S. machine gun, Perkovic has claimed that his songs only celebrate Croatia\u2019s victory in the war and its independence.<\/p>\n

Index news portal posted video footage Saturday of some fans performing the Ustasha salute in Zagreb before the concert. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) \u2014 A concert by Marko Perkovic, the right-wing singer notorious for his perceived sympathy for…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":41661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[32868,32872,171,57,32871,32869,50,80,2938,103,107,32870],"class_list":{"0":"post-41660","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-croatia","9":"tag-croatia-government","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-general-news","12":"tag-jadranka-kosor","13":"tag-marko-perkovic","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-prisons","17":"tag-world","18":"tag-world-news","19":"tag-zagreb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114802639801117850","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}