Elton John has announced that he is going to donate the proceeds of his June 16 concert at Messehalle in Erfurt, Germany, to the victim fund for the families of those killed when a 19-year-old student went on a shooting rampage in the local Johann Gutenberg Gymnasium high school on April 26. John received word of the tragedy while on his recent Australian tour. The singer-songwriter was aware that he would be performing in Erfurt in several weeks, and wanted to do whatever he could to help.
“I wanted to show my solidarity with the victims and their families, when me and my band come to Germany, especially as we will be coming directly to Erfurt,” John wrote on his official website (eltonjohn.com). “One can imagine that the people there cannot come to a concert as if nothing happened. Therefore we decided to dedicate our appearance to the victims and their families and friends. Music is an element that brings people together again and gives them strength, especially in times of need and desperation.”
The proceeds from all ticket sales for the June 16 concert will be given to the fund of the Thuringer Allgemeine and the Weisser Ring to be distributed to the families of victims of the massacre in Erfurt. More than 7,000 tickets have been sold thus far for the concert, according to German media reports.
