Elton John to headline festival in Auschwitz town

Elton John is to headline a musical festival in Oswiecim, the Polish town infamous for its geographical proximity to the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau, later this month.

The legendary singer-songwriter will top the bill at the sixth edition of Life Festival Oswiciem on June 18th – with veteran rockers Queen giving the closing performance the following day.

John, who was booked to play in the aftermath of November’s Paris terror attacks, said he looked forward to “celebrating life, peace and music”.

The Candle in the Wind hitmaker joins a stellar roll call of musical artists – including Sting, Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel and Chris De Burgh – to have performed in Oswiciem in recent years.

Life Festival, established by Polish journalist Darek Maciborek in an effort to “break the spell” cast over his hometown by its association with the worst horrors of the Shoah, bills itself as a celebration of peaceful relations beyond cultural and state borders and a protest against racism and anti-Semitism.

This year’s incarnation will take place between the 17th and 19th June.