Homayoun’s voice remained stuck in his throat as politics dominated the stage.
Homayoun’s voice remained stuck in his throat as politics dominated the stage.
According to Irangate, the controversy over the cancellation of Homayoun Shajarian’s street concert at Tehran’s Azadi Square not only did not end with the halting of this event but has also turned into a symbolic crisis in the relationship between artists, governmental institutions, and public opinion.
The sudden decision by Tehran’s municipality to cancel this concert has sparked widespread reactions from government officials, media, social activists, and social media users, ranging from criticism of managerial disorganization to allegations of political interference.
At the same time, Homayoun Shajarian himself has been subjected to conflicting pressures and criticisms, from being supported as the voice of the people to being accused of aligning with official policies.
This report examines the various dimensions of this event, the positions of the officials, media reactions, the artistic community, and its potential implications for the future of street concerts in Iran.
The controversy over the cancellation of Homayoun Shajarian’s concert at Azadi Square continues to provoke reactions.
The story of the cancellation of Homayoun Shajarian’s street concert at Tehran’s Azadi Square continues to provoke reactions even after several days have passed. This concert, which was supposed to take place on Friday night at 10 PM, was canceled by the decision of Tehran’s municipality. However, its consequences continue at the media and political level.
On Friday, September 5, Nader Rezai, Deputy Minister of Arts at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, in a video apologized to the people, artists, and Homayoun Shajarian himself, stating that he was supposed to be the axis of joy and unity among the people during the Week of Unity.
He expressed regret over the many injustices towards Shajarian and hoped that he would reconsider for the people and change his decision.
These statements were made while it seems Rezai was referring to the rejection of the proposal to hold the concert in the 12,000-seat indoor stadium of Azadi instead of Azadi Square, a proposal that was made by the municipality and was not well-received.
Meanwhile, Fatemeh Mohajerani, the government spokesperson, emphasized in an interview with Khabar Online on Thursday that holding the concert at Azadi Square was a government priority to provide an opportunity for strengthening cohesion, solidarity, and national hope with the presence of millions of people.
She emphasized the necessity of honesty with the people, referring to the considerations of some institutions, and added that the responsibility for decisions should be transparently accepted rather than passed on to others.
Homayoun Shajarian also stated in a statement regarding the cancellation of the concert that the reason for this decision was the inability to manage the millions of people and criticized why the necessary planning and arrangements were not considered before issuing the permit.
Meanwhile, reports emerged that Tehran’s municipality officials prevented sound equipment from entering Azadi Square.
However, the municipality defended itself by stating that the initial permit was issued with the assumption that all coordination and planning had been completed beforehand.
The proposal to hold the concert in the indoor stadium of Azadi was also made by the municipality but was not accepted.
Criticism of the concert’s cancellation quickly spread to the media and social networks, with some media and users attributing the municipality’s decision to political pressures and interpreting it in line with the positions of the Stability Front and the approaches of Alireza Zakani, Tehran’s mayor.
In response to these criticisms, an image of a letter from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to the Deputy of Urban Affairs of the Ministry of Interior was published, showing that the permit for this concert was issued on July 25, but the official letter for coordination with the municipality and other relevant authorities was only sent on September 9.
It is still unclear whether there were other correspondences between the Ministry of Guidance and the municipality before Homayoun Shajarian’s press conference.
Media seeking blame from external factors to internal hardline elements.
Tehran newspapers in their Thursday issue presented a different narrative of the concert’s cancellation. Shargh newspaper considered it the result of opposition from some critics and in line with the project of overthrowers.
Ham-Mihan newspaper also stated that the reason for the cancellation was not hijab or disorder but fear of the mass presence of people in the streets, pointing to the role of internal hardliners and external overthrowers, calling these two groups enemies of the people.
On the other hand, some value-driven users and figures who usually oppose the holding of concerts not only did not show opposition this time but also welcomed the event.
The conservative Farhikhtegan newspaper also criticized the lack of coordination between institutions, comparing Homayoun Shajarian’s concert to Friday prayers and the Eid al-Ghadir march, writing that the system has sufficient experience in holding such events in a short time.
Criticism of Shajarian himself from silence to alignment with the system.
Before the official cancellation of the concert, some reactions were directed at Homayoun Shajarian himself.
Some government critics accused him of collaborating with official policies and trying to normalize the current situation, an accusation that he responded to by emphasizing on Instagram that he is aware of the people’s problems and that his goal in performing this concert was not to deny their suffering.
Some critics accused Shajarian of being manipulated by the government, while another group — which includes his supporters — urged him to stand by the people.
Hamid Farokhnezhad, a cinema actor who emigrated from Iran after the 2022 protests, wrote in an Instagram post that Homayoun should remain an artist and the voice of the people and asked him to open the closed comments on his page to hear his audience’s voices.
Kamelia Sajadian, the mother of Mohammad Hassan Torkaman, one of the victims of the 2022 protests, also called the concert a government play with people’s emotions and asked whether Homayoun Shajarian is willing to clarify if the government, which has always distanced itself from the people, has dictated its intentions to him or not.
Shajarian emphasized in his press conference that it was the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance that approached him, while he had been seeking to hold a street concert for years and does not know why it was agreed upon now.
Alongside these criticisms, some also pointed to Shajarian’s silence in political junctures, with critics believing he has not had an appropriate reaction during protests and in the face of political repression, and like many male singers, he has remained silent on the ban on women’s singing to be able to have more live performances.
It is noteworthy that after the killing of Mahsa Amini, during Shajarian’s concert in Melbourne, Australia, the image of Mahsa was displayed while performing ‘Morghe Sahar’. However, after returning to Iran, his passport was confiscated for a week.
Uncertain future of street concerts: Government in a test of public trust.
The government of Masoud Pezeshkian had introduced this concert as the first step in a series of programs for holding street concerts featuring prominent music figures.
After the announcement of the cancellation of Homayoun Shajarian’s concert, some media named artists like Reza Sadeghi and Alireza Ghorbani as the next options.
Meanwhile, media have reported on the free performance of Salar Aghili during the Week of Unity celebrations titled ‘Dear Iran’ by the Chitgar Lake.
However, reports indicate that this program was met with little enthusiasm, and the images published from the first night show many empty seats.
Now, given the controversies surrounding Homayoun Shajarian’s concert and despite the government’s desire to continue these programs, the question arises whether other popular singers will be willing to risk performing street concerts in such a tense atmosphere.
