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Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Officials apologize for performance featuring raw chickens in diapers at German cathedral
Published May 30, 2025 • 2 minute read A raw chicken is pictured in this stock photo. Photo by stock photo / Getty Images BERLIN — A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country's president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show 'hurt religious feelings.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The show, 'Westphalia Side Story,' was part of a May 15 celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany. Video footage shows one woman and two shirtless men singing 'Fleisch ist Fleisch' ('Meat is meat') — apparently spoofing Austrian band Opus' 1984 pop song 'Live is Life' — with scythes and dancing with the dead chickens on a stage in front of Paderborn Cathedral's altar. Performance company bodytalk said in a statement Friday that the show featured work-in-progress excerpts from 'Westphalia Side Story' — which references the American musical 'West Side Story.' The finished show, which will premiere in September, is supposed to be part of the 1,250th anniversary's cultural programming. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'It was not meant to be a spoof at all,' bodytalk cofounder Rolf Baumgart said in an email to The Associated Press. 'As Westphalia is a rural dominated region with a turbulent history our research was focused on that.' The spectacle also prompted an online petition — signed by more than 22,000 people by Friday afternoon — that asks Paderborn Archbishop Udo Bentz for a personal apology, as well as penance. The signers also want him to reconsecrate the cathedral after it was 'desecrated by this performance.' In a statement posted online to the cathedral's website more than a week after the performance, the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe and the church's leadership said that the content of the performance wasn't known to the organizers or the venue. The cathedral, the statement said, is often host to cultural events and has begun an internal review. They also promised to more carefully vet proposed events in the future. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's office didn't immediately return a request for comment on Friday. — Philipp Jenne contributed to this report from Vienna. Crime World Olympics Sunshine Girls Toronto Raptors
3 days ago
- Entertainment
A show inside a cathedral featured raw chickens in diapers. The German president was in the audience
BERLIN -- A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country's president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show 'hurt religious feelings." The show, "Westphalia Side Story,' was part of a May 15 celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany. Video footage shows one woman and two shirtless men singing 'Fleisch ist Fleisch' ('Meat is meat') — apparently spoofing Austrian band Opus' 1984 pop song 'Live is Life' — with scythes and dancing with the dead chickens on a stage in front of Paderborn Cathedral's altar. Performance company bodytalk said in a statement Friday that the show featured work-in-progress excerpts from 'Westphalia Side Story" — which references the American musical "West Side Story." The finished show, which will premiere in September, is supposed to be part of the 1,250th anniversary's cultural programming. 'It was not meant to be a spoof at all,' bodytalk cofounder Rolf Baumgart said in an email to The Associated Press. 'As Westphalia is a rural dominated region with a turbulent history our research was focused on that.' The spectacle also prompted an online petition — signed by more than 22,000 people by Friday afternoon — that asks Paderborn Archbishop Udo Bentz for a personal apology, as well as penance. The signers also want him to reconsecrate the cathedral after it was 'desecrated by this performance.' In a statement posted online to the cathedral's website more than a week after the performance, the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe and the church's leadership said that the content of the performance wasn't known to the organizers or the venue. The cathedral, the statement said, is often host to cultural events and has begun an internal review. They also promised to more carefully vet proposed events in the future. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's office didn't immediately return a request for comment on Friday. ___
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A show inside a cathedral featured raw chickens in diapers. The German president was in the audience
BERLIN (AP) — A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country's president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show 'hurt religious feelings." The show, "Westphalia Side Story,' was part of a May 15 celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany. Video footage shows one woman and two shirtless men singing 'Fleisch ist Fleisch' ('Meat is meat') — apparently spoofing Austrian band Opus' 1984 pop song 'Live is Life' — with scythes and dancing with the dead chickens on a stage in front of Paderborn Cathedral's altar. Performance company bodytalk said in a statement Friday that the show featured work-in-progress excerpts from 'Westphalia Side Story" — which references the American musical "West Side Story." The finished show, which will premiere in September, is supposed to be part of the 1,250th anniversary's cultural programming. 'It was not meant to be a spoof at all,' bodytalk cofounder Rolf Baumgart said in an email to The Associated Press. 'As Westphalia is a rural dominated region with a turbulent history our research was focused on that.' The spectacle also prompted an online petition — signed by more than 22,000 people by Friday afternoon — that asks Paderborn Archbishop Udo Bentz for a personal apology, as well as penance. The signers also want him to reconsecrate the cathedral after it was 'desecrated by this performance.' In a statement posted online to the cathedral's website more than a week after the performance, the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe and the church's leadership said that the content of the performance wasn't known to the organizers or the venue. The cathedral, the statement said, is often host to cultural events and has begun an internal review. They also promised to more carefully vet proposed events in the future. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's office didn't immediately return a request for comment on Friday. ___ Philipp Jenne contributed to this report from Vienna.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
A show inside a cathedral featured raw chickens in diapers. The German president was in the audience
BERLIN (AP) — A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country's president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show 'hurt religious feelings.' The show, 'Westphalia Side Story,' was part of a May 15 celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany. Video footage shows one woman and two shirtless men singing 'Fleisch ist Fleisch' ('Meat is meat') — apparently spoofing Austrian band Opus' 1984 pop song 'Live is Life' — with scythes and dancing with the dead chickens on a stage in front of Paderborn Cathedral's altar. Performance company bodytalk said in a statement Friday that the show featured work-in-progress excerpts from 'Westphalia Side Story' — which references the American musical 'West Side Story.' The finished show, which will premiere in September, is supposed to be part of the 1,250th anniversary's cultural programming. 'It was not meant to be a spoof at all,' bodytalk cofounder Rolf Baumgart said in an email to The Associated Press. 'As Westphalia is a rural dominated region with a turbulent history our research was focused on that.' The spectacle also prompted an online petition — signed by more than 22,000 people by Friday afternoon — that asks Paderborn Archbishop Udo Bentz for a personal apology, as well as penance. The signers also want him to reconsecrate the cathedral after it was 'desecrated by this performance.' In a statement posted online to the cathedral's website more than a week after the performance, the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe and the church's leadership said that the content of the performance wasn't known to the organizers or the venue. The cathedral, the statement said, is often host to cultural events and has begun an internal review. They also promised to more carefully vet proposed events in the future. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's office didn't immediately return a request for comment on Friday. ___ Philipp Jenne contributed to this report from Vienna.
Straits Times
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Liverpool boss Arne Slot honours Jurgen Klopp after clinching Premier League title
LIVERPOOL, England – Moments after the final whistle sounded to confirm Liverpool as Premier League champions in a remarkable debut season for manager Arne Slot, the Dutchman paid tribute to the man who helped pave the way for his success at the Merseyside club. Slot's post-match salute to the delirious Liverpool fans at Anfield involved leading them in a song about the club's beloved former manager Jurgen Klopp. After his emotional final game with Liverpool last season, Klopp, who won seven major trophies in his nine years on Merseyside, had encouraged the Anfield faithful to sing the same song – set to the tune of Austrian band Opus' Life is Life – about the incoming Slot. Klopp's classy gesture stuck with the 46-year-old Slot. 'Because of what (Klopp) did, before I even arrived here,' Slot said, when asked why he paid tribute to the German who guided Liverpool to the 2020 Premier League title. 'I think that is something that not even one manager ever did before, so that definitely helped me. 'He helped me even more with the team he left behind and the culture he left behind, the culture of hard work, not only from players but also from the staff members had been incredible. For obvious reasons, I thought it was a nice moment to thank him as well.' Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk had looked disconsolate after Klopp's emotional final game, fighting back tears as he wrapped his boss in a hug on the Anfield pitch that day. 'To replace Jurgen, it's a big job and I think the manager did it in his own way together with his staff. He definitely deserves a lot of credit for that,' a delighted van Dijk said on April 27. 'I don't think anyone – obviously that's been said by so many from the outside world – would have thought that we're going to be Premier League champions.' Slot becomes the fifth manager to win a Premier League title in his first season in England, and first Dutch boss to win one. The enormity of the accomplishment, he said, might take a while to sink in. 'To a certain extent, (it is) quite unreal, because you've worked so hard for this moment to happen, and when it then does happen, it needs some time for you to truly feel it,' he said. Asked about his emotions on the day, Slot said: 'The only moment I was emotional today was when we arrived at the stadium to see what it meant for the fans, what it meant for these people, for us to have a chance of winning. 'I think everybody who was inside that bus felt, if the fans are with us like they are, then it's impossible for us to lose this game of football.' Slot would not divulge what Liverpool owner John Henry said when they exchanged congratulatory handshakes. 'It was special for (the ownership group) to be part of this moment for them to trust me in this position,' Slot said. 'Maybe now everybody says, 'Ah, this makes complete sense'. But the moment they signed me, maybe not everyone was as convinced as everyone is now. 'So that tells you also what a special club this is, and that they don't always go for maybe the most simple or obvious choice, but they make the choice that they think is best for the club.' Asked how he would celebrate on Sunday evening and if there would be team training on Monday, Slot said 'no' to training, and 'Maybe with a glass of beer. Maybe two. Or three.' REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
