Næstved politician denies Isam B booking drove festival funding cut

Næstved municipal politician Githa Nelander says the decision to withdraw an annual 72,000-kroner grant from the Musik over Præstø Fjord folk festival had nothing to do with its booking of Isam B. DR reports that the festival’s funding was removed from the municipality’s budget agreement for next year.

Nelander said on P1 Morgen that the municipality needed to find 64 million kroner in savings for an already tight budget. She said the grant was cut for that reason.

But Andreas Pourkamali, a Næstved city council member for the Social Liberal Party, said he did not believe the decision was unrelated to the booking. Last year, the festival booked the pro-Palestinian debater and singer Isam B for a concert and panel discussion. Several local politicians then threatened to withdraw the festival’s support.

“Several of the politicians who made the decision to withdraw the grant stood last year and said: ‘We believe the festival’s grant should be withdrawn because they have Isam B on the programme,’” Pourkamali told P1 Morgen. He said politicians should not decide the content of cultural events.

Nelander, who was among the critics of the booking and is now an independent council member, rejected the suggestion that the grant cut was retaliation. “None of us sat at the table thinking that now we should get revenge on those who have not behaved properly over the past year,” she said.

However, Nelander added that organisers should consider who they put on stage using public money. Asked whether she meant Isam B, she said his views were controversial and “against Danish values”, adding that she did not think taxpayers wanted to pay for them. Asked whether the funding cut was therefore because of Isam B, she said no, repeating that the purpose of the budget negotiations was to find the required savings.

Musik over Præstø Fjord is an annual Nordic folk music festival that has been running since 2009.