The owners of Paris live music venue The Bataclan, the scene of Friday’s horrific terrorist-led massacre at an Eagles Of Death Metal concert, have released their first public statement following the devastating events.
“No words can express the level of sadness we feel. Our thoughts go to the victims, to those injured and to their loved ones,” the venue’s owners said.
The Bataclan was the site of unparalleled bloodshed during Friday night’s attacks, accounting for more than three quarters of the total casualties inflicted by a series of coordinated strikes across the City of Love, with 118 people murdered inside the walls of the concert hall and hundreds more injured.
Among the dead were Eagles Of Death Metal’s merch manager Nick Alexander, along with music journalist Guillaume B. Decherf and four label representatives from Universal Music.
As Rolling Stone reports, mourners have been swarming the blood-stained sidewalk outside the Bataclan to pay tribute to those killed in the attacks. But in their statement, the venues owners have urged patience.
“Many of you want to come to the Bataclan, but unfortunately, the authorities still need to work on [the] site,” they said in the statement posted on Twitter (as translated by Buzzfeed). “We will keep you informed as soon as it’s possible for you to come and mourn in front of the concert hall. Thank you for your support, which deeply affects us.”
Meanwhile, an online movement has been seeking to reclaim the Bataclan venue from the horror that was brought down upon it.
The hashtag #MonPlusBeauSouvenirDuBataclan (My most beautiful memory of the Bataclan) became the top trending topic on Twitter in France in the days following the tragedy, with punters sharing their favourite live music moments from the venue, and remembering the good times.
And despite numerous international touring bands – such as U2 and Foo Fighters – either opting or being forced to cancel their forthcoming scheduled tour dates in the French capital, the country’s government has now declared that the show must go on, and is urging the public to go back out to bars, concerts and restaurants in defiance of the terrorists.
Check out some of the most inspiring #MonPlusBeauSouvenirDuBataclan posts below, and if you can read French, check out the full statement from The Bataclan owners as well.
But, if you do nothing else, watch this moving speech by The Project‘s Waleed Aly, which beautifully and eloquently demonstrates the need for humanity to band together even more strongly in times such as these, and refuse to accept anyone preaching hate towards innocent Muslims in our communities.
Because when it comes to ISIS, “none of us wants to help these bastards.”
ISIL is WeakWaleed talks about how we can stop ISIL #TheProjectTVWritten by Waleed and Tom Whitty (@twhittyer) Posted by The Project on Monday, November 16, 2015
