The “Bi-2” group announced the cancellation of the concert in Dubai

Rock group “Bi-2” announced the cancellation of the concert in Dubai, which was scheduled for February 17.

The musicians’ statement does not mention the reasons for the cancellation. It only says that the money for the purchased tickets will be returned and that “the cancellation will not affect other concerts in the tour schedule – the rest of the performances will take place on the appointed dates.”

Earlier, the members of the group expressed fears about the arrival in Dubai due to the influence that the Russian special services have in the UAE.

On January 24, the musicians of the “Bi-2” group were detained after a concert in Thailand, the court imposed small fines on them for performing without work visas, however, after this, the members of the group were not released, but sent to a temporary detention center, where they spent almost a week.

According to the musicians, all this time the Russian consul general in Thailand, Vladimir Sosnov, sought to deport them to Russia – even despite the fact that a number of the group’s members are holders of foreign passports. “Bi-2” believe that if they were sent to Russia, they would face criminal prosecution there for their anti-war stance.

As a result, after the intervention of representatives of several foreign embassies, in particular – Israel, the musicians managed to be taken to Tel Aviv.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia denies that they sought to deport the group.

• “Bi-2” is one of several Russian rock groups that openly opposed the war with Ukraine. After that, the authorities declared the band’s leader Leva Bi-2 (real name Yegor Bortnyk) a “foreign agent”, and several of the band’s musicians were forced to leave Russia.